What is the customers association?
According to the definition provided by the National Health Superintendency: The users association is the mechanism available to people affiliated with the general health social security system, who have the right to use health services according to their affiliation system. They group together under this figure to ensure service quality and defend user rights against health service provider institutions and health promotion companies, whether public, mixed, or private.
This form of citizen participation is based on what is described in decree 2063 of 2017, issued by the Ministry of Health:
The political constitution highlights in its preamble that the purposes pursued with the regulations issued must be carried out within a legal, democratic, and participatory framework, and articles 1 and 2 emphasize that value and fundamental principle within the organization of the state.
Law 100 of 1993, in its article 153, modified by article 3 of Law 1438 of 2011, establishes as a principle in the General Health Social Security System, in its numeral 3.10, social participation, which is the community’s intervention in the organization, management, control, and oversight of institutions and the system as a whole.
Law 1438 of 2011 states, in article 136, that the Ministry of Health and Social Protection will define a social participation policy in health. PPSS.
Statutory Law 1751 of 2015 provides in its article 12 that the fundamental right to health includes the right of individuals to participate in decisions made by health system agents that affect or interest them.
Functions
- Ensure the rights of participants in research studies.
- Maintain communication channels with management and users that allow knowing their concerns and demands to make proposals to the Center for Pediatric Infectious Disease Studies institution.
- Objectively inform the corresponding instances and the respective company if the quality of the service provided does not meet users’ needs.
- Address the complaints that users present about service deficiencies and monitor that corrective measures are taken.
- Propose measures that improve the timeliness, technical quality, and human quality of health services and verify compliance.
- Democratically elect their representatives before the corresponding entities.
- Participate in the process of appointing the representative before the management.
- Represent users in formal and informal spaces where decisions affecting health services are made.
- Create statutes and internal regulations and reform them with the approval of the Assembly. (Optional)
- Encourage and promote the permanent involvement of users in the Association for its growth and strengthening.
