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JULY 22, 2019

President Piñera passes law on preferential healthcare for senior citizens and disabled persons: “We want to alleviate and improve their quality of life”

The initiative will facilitate the access, promptness and quality of healthcare, and the provision of medication and scheduling of appointments.

On Monday, at La Moneda Palace, President Sebastián Piñera, along with First Lady Cecilia Morel, enacted the law that establishes preferential healthcare attention for senior citizens and disabled persons, which seeks to provide them with greater access and better services.

“This law seeks to alleviate and improve their quality of life, providing preferential healthcare attention to senior citizens and people with any kind of disability,” the President said. He was accompanied by the ministers for Health, Jaime Mañalich, and Social Development, Sebastián Sichel, as well as the members of Congress that introduced the motion and the directors of the National Service for Senior Citizens (SENAMA) and the National Disability Service (SENADIS).

The initiative on preferential and prompt attention consists of, once the patient has been admitted, facilitating appointment scheduling and healthcare attention, consultations with specialists, prescriptions and the dispensation of medications and testing and examination procedures. 

This law, a motion that was introduced by senators Francisco Chahuán, Guido Girardi, Carolina Goic, Rabindranath Quinteros and Jacqueline Van Rysselberghe and supported by President Piñera, mandates the creation of a regulation that establishes protocols and procedures implementing this preferential attention.

The President has placed the protection and promotion of senior citizens at the core of his policies. The First Lady has promoted the Programa Adulto Mejor (Better Senior Citizen Program) focused on promoting positive ageing and changing society’s point of view, acknowledging and giving more visibility to senior citizens and their rights.

The Government is encouraging the training of 50% more geriatrists for Chile and implementing Acute Geriatric Units to provide interdisciplinary attention to senior citizens. Additionally, the technology in use at the Rural Digital Hospital is connected to SENAMA’s Prolonged Hospital Stay Establishments for Senior Citizens and provides professional support.