The Ministry of Health (Ssa) announced the transformation of the care model for diabetes, chronic kidney disease and heart conditions. Because they share risk factors and alterations in the body, they will be treated comprehensively and under a new clinical entity: cardio-renal metabolic syndrome, stated the head of the agency, David Kershenobich.
He explained that these conditions cause four out of every 10 deaths in the country, more than 300,000 a year, and obesity is one-third related to a serious health problem that has been growing constantly for three decades.
In a conference to present the new care model, Gustavo Reyes Terán, medical director of the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers (Issste), highlighted that due to the high prevalence of these illnesses and the premature deaths they cause, life expectancy has not increased in Mexico for 20 years. It has remained at 75 years, on average.
The new scheme will be applied with the strengthening of prevention and the incorporation of more than 50 key medications in family clinics and health centers, including semaglutide, indicated for the treatment of diabetes and weight loss, and dapagliflozin, which protects kidney function. To control high blood pressure, medications are incorporated that contain two or three active substances in a single tablet.
This makes it easier for patients to adhere to therapies against diabetes, with which 14.4 million people live; high blood pressure, which affects 21.3 million, and chronic kidney disease, present in 9.2 million individuals, Kershenobich explained.
He anticipated that to strengthen the prevention and early detection of diseases and as part of the creation of the Universal Health Service, starting in January 2027 there will be 12 thousand new first contact clinics.
The aim, he added, is to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses of people and families who use private services, particularly offices adjacent to pharmacies.
An additional objective is to offer continuous care and obtain efficiency indicators of the new care model for cardio-renal metabolic syndrome.
Two years ago, it was recognized that the aforementioned conditions share alterations and when one is present, the risk of the others developing increases.
Until now they have been treated separately and from now on, based on the National Health Care Protocols (Pronam), we will seek to standardize timely detection and clinical management with high quality standards.
Reyes Terán highlighted that the goal is to achieve the detection of 80 percent of people with diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease; that 80 percent receive adequate clinical treatment, and that of these, the same percentage achieve control of the conditions.
To achieve this, the care model proposes, among others, that people perform a general urine test, measure blood pressure and blood sugar levels, at least once a year. This is anticipating diseases and their complications, Kershenobich added.
Regarding medications, Reyes Terán mentioned that some are authorized only in second and third level hospitals, so the corresponding administrative adjustments will have to be made and medical staff trained.
For this, Pronam represents an advantage, explained Ruy López Ridaura, medical director of health services at Petróleos Mexicanos, since clinical inertia will end. The protocols clearly indicate when therapies should be changed to maintain the health and quality of life of patients.
The application of the new care model is mandatory for all public health institutions, including the Mexican Social Security Institute and IMSS-Bienestar.
The Secretary of Health highlighted that these actions are added to other public policy actions such as Healthy Schools programs, the promotion of physical activity and regulatory measures, including taxes on sugary drinks to prevent chronic non-communicable diseases.
