PALLIATIVE CARE AND ITS INTEGRATION INTO HEALTH SERVICES IN ARGENTINA: ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL REGULATIONS

Abstract

The World Health Organization urges states to strengthen the incorporation of palliative care into health services. This involves several challenges, including their integration into health policies and the adoption of legal norms. Within this framework, this work aims to analyze how the duty to ensure that palliative care is part of all health services is fulfilled at the normative level, both nationally and provincially. The article addresses four dimensions of the issue. The first is the integration of palliative care into the general regulatory framework of the health system, with particular reference to protocols. The second is the coverage of services by the health system. The third considers the different modalities of palliative care service provision in each health system (inpatient; outpatient; home care; hospices or care homes). The fourth systematizes the normative provisions regarding the creation of devices and the formation of palliative care teams. The work concludes with findings on national and provincial regulations related to these four dimensions.