• 25 years in Ribera: the journey of my life

    Today, 1st December 2023, I am celebrating 25 years at Ribera and in the public-private partnership model that we had the privilege of launching all those years ago. On this same day, but in 1998, I was appointed manager of the Hospital de la Ribera, in Alzira, the first privately managed public hospital in Europe.…

  • The True Face of Valencian Healthcare

    A couple of weeks ago, I closely followed the first appearance in Les Corts Valencianes of the new Health Minister, Marciano Gómez. On one hand, he outlined the general lines of the new healthcare policy of the Government led by Carlos Mazón, which I will undoubtedly have the opportunity to analyze in detail on this…

  • Innovation and Collaborative Healthcare

    This week, I had the privilege of participating in a major forum on innovation, the Portugal Healthcare Innovation Summit, as the president of Ribera and alongside the management team of Hospital de Cascais, a clear example of an innovative management model for Portugal and other countries. This forum was chaired by the Minister of Health,…

  • Portugal takes action

    Just a few days ago, the Portuguese Government presented the draft Decree Law for the reform of its National Health System, which will come into force on 1 January 2024. This reform changes the entire organisational structure of the Portuguese NHS, creating 31 local health units and promoting an integrated health model, which introduces a…

  • Muface, underfunding and trade union advocacy

    Wherever you look, healthcare is going through a very complex time. And the public administrations are not making it any easier. I have commented on this in previous blogs. We have imbalances, a serious problem of underfunding and challenges that have been on the table for many years now, and few public managers are willing…

  • The genetics of internationalisation

    While I was travelling to Kuwait last week, I was thinking about how, thanks to the public-private collaboration model that we started with our first hospital in 1999, we at the Ribera Healthcare Group have had the opportunity to meet very interesting and different people from almost every corner of the world. On some occasions…

  • The value of growing and maintaining principles and roots

    The year is coming to an end and it is time to take stock of these twelve months and our challenges for 2023. In general, 2022 will be remembered as the year of the war in Ukraine, the first in Europe for 30 years, following the Russian invasion. This conflict has brought back the worst…

  • There’s an elephant in the room

    The pandemic has been a global tragedy from which we should have learned. However, that is not the impression that the public has, given the current situation in hospitals and primary care centres. That is why it is more necessary than ever to take brave and efficient decisions, in order to guarantee the sustainability of…

  • The Michael Neidorff Room

    It may seem surprising, but the truth is that this is the first blog that I have written in 2022. We have experienced very intense months at the Ribera healthcare group since practically the start of the year. Together with the challenges of the healthcare sector and the effects on the Covid pandemic, which are…

  • 32 years working for close, sustainable and innovative healthcare

    In this blog I would like to share some words of thanks for the New Medical Economics award which I received on 15th, November, in Madrid, for the work carried out during my career.  Firstly, I would like to thank this renowned medium of digital communication, edited by Health Economics S.L. and managed by Doctor…

  • A responsible health model for a better world

    Let me share with you all my article published in the spanish digital newspaper El Español on 11th November 2021 about Sustainable Development Goals Leaving the world in a better way than what we found it, thinking about the future with strong foundations in terms of well-being and designing tomorrow with sustainability, efficiency and solidarity…

  • The Ribera Salud doctrine

    Last Thursday we were informed about the Supreme Court’s (SC) ruling number 952/2021’s regarding reversions and the adherence to the 2012 Budgetary Stability Organic Law and that the fact that it, without a doubt, affects the case started by the Valencian regional government for the internalization of the management of the University hospital of Torrevieja.…

  • For responsible health

    In today’s blog I want to share an interview that I had recently with  La Voz de Galicia. The Ribera Group and Centene’s commitment to the Galician Community has been evident for several years. We manage three hospitals there: Ribera Povisa, in Vigo; Ribera Polusa, in Lugo; and since just a few weeks ago, Ribera…

  • Nurses, the soul of the healthcare centers

    Last Sunday I had the honour of participating as the keynote speaker in the graduation of the CEU Cardenal Herrera University of Valencia’s 17th year of nursing. It was a very moving ceremony and it filled me with pride addressing the new nursing professionals, one of which was one of my children. They are very…

  • The example of Farnós

    Joaquín Farnós, a person to whom the healthcare and politics of the Valencian Community and Spain owe a lot, has passed away. He was always a pioneer and, in my opinion, someone very ahead of his time. This is because he didn’t hesitate to defend projects, initiatives and management models in order to guarantee quality…

  • Citizens lead the way

    The number of people taking out health insurance has steadily increased over the last decade. Almost thirteen million citizens in Spain (12,802,665 to be exact) currently have it in our country, according to ICEA, the Spanish Insurance Sector’s Studies Service, responsible for carrying out research and publishing all of the statistics. The number of health…

  • Three challenges for the health system

    I would like to take advantage of this blog to publically reflect on and provide my post-pandemic vision. You know, those of you who follow these blog entries, that I often like to reflect on and analyze the current situation, in order to try to stay ahead of the game and make the best decisions…

  • Overlooking healthcare is a mistake

    This is my first blog entry of 2021 and although the majority of us were hoping that the year would have started better, the truth is that this pandemic is making life difficult for us. As the president of Valencia’s College of Physicians quite rightly described, this is not a wave, this is a vertical…

  • Open letter to Torrevieja Health Department employees

    Dear colleagues, As you all know, yesterday the Health councillor, Ana Barceló, unfortunately confirmed the Generalitat Valenciana’s unilateral decision to not extend Torrevieja Health Department’s contract with Ribera Salud. I firmly believe this is the wrong decision for the professionals and citizens in this area, and worst of all is that I am certain that…

  • The Challenge of digital transformation

    Based on my intervention during the 1st Public Health Observatory Symposium, organised by the newspaper El Español on September 10, I would like to share some of the thoughts I was able to contribute to that interesting forum, specifically during the discussion panel dedicated to digital transformation. When we talk about digital transformation, of the…

  • A new opportunity

    We have been talking about this for many years. The post-COVID-19 reality means that it is now more necessary than ever to undergo reformations in the Health sector that will allow the system to be more flexible and provide it with the tools necessary to face health care crisis such as that we have just…

  • Digitalisation and reindustrialisation, more lessons from this crisis

    Last Friday I was interviewed on Cadena Ser by Amadeo Salvador and Arturo Blay, with whom I talked about the importance of global strategies when facing healthcare crises like COVID-19, how this worldwide emergency has proven that we need digital technology and the importance of undertaking an urgent reindustrialisation in Spain. As I have said…

  • For a sincere collaboration

    We have been under a state of alarm for over a month in response to the COVID-19 healthcare crisis, which has forced most of the population into lockdown and has ground practically the entire economy to a halt as a consequence. This decision, absolutely necessary to help curb this public health crisis, had to be…

  • Let’s build from a place of unity

    When we celebrated the start of a new decade a little over three months ago, no one could have imagined that the 21st-century’s first pandemic was knocking on the door. It was a moment when we all wished each other health and happiness for the coming year. Health, what a beautiful word. Today we’re fighting…

  • Generosity and a call to service: committed young people

    All the professionals at Ribera Salud Group are doing their best during this crisis caused by the COVID19 global pandemic. We’re an organisation of people who serve people, and over these past few weeks our staff has proved that it always takes the extra step to ensure the best possible care for those who need…

  • The value of the local sphere

    It’s been one week since the government announced a state of alarm, and citizens and organisations are still struggling to adapt to these exceptional circumstances. We are all writing a line in the Story of managing this global pandemic, the first of the 21st century. Every citizen plays their part in this situation: health professionals,…

  • Together, a step ahead of the virus

    As a society, we are facing a global crisis caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus, a public health threat that originated China and spread across several countries to neighbouring Italy, France and Spain and is now a global pandemic. It is this century’s first crisis deserving of the name. I’m not a doctor and cannot offer…

  • Tripping twice (or a thousand times) on the same stone

    I have spoken several times on this blog about waiting lists, and this time I want to start with public recognition of the transparency exercise undertaken by the Generalitat. Even when the data isn’t good, there is no doubt that transparency is essential in a mature society that aspires to progress. Unlike many, I like…

  • We all create the future together

    The future belongs to the brave. Ronald Reagan said this phrase, so frequently repeated by coaching experts, to the North Americans after the Challenger tragedy in 1986. His message was clear: We can never give up, we must always be looking forwards, work hard, get up after every fall, keep moving and never stay still.…

  • Condemned to wait?

    The year is ending with the worst waiting lists in the recent history of Spain. The Ministry of Health has published this information by autonomous communities on September 30th and the balance is shocking. The average waiting time on a national scale has moved from 93 to 115 days in just one year. This is…

  • Welcome Povisa Ribera Salud focuses on local projects with global strategies

    I haven’t written any entries for the blog since September because I wanted the first entry this year to be about the incorporation of Povisa to the Ribera Salud group. Finally, it is now a reality.   I have been personally following the project of this great Vigo hospital since 1990. It was probably one…

  • Futurs, the innovation lab by Ribera Salud

    They say perfection doesn’t exist. Perhaps. But our obligation at Ribera Salud is to always seek excellence in our patient care and to be ambitious. It’s a real challenge, I know. But right now we avail of a tool that we didn’t have before: technology. That’s Futurs: the revolution of health technology at the service…

  • Boom! Alzira’s problems explode

    I didn’t think that I would be devoting any more lines in this blog to the Ribera Health Department, the past is in the past. But the Works Council press conference last Tuesday brought a feeling of déjà vu. Listening to them speak, the language they used, the deplorable state of the centre and the…

  • I want a country of ‘Amancios Ortegas’

    The strategies and ways of those who manage Spanish social politics and healthcare have hardly changed in the last few decades but our society certainly has. And when a structure that is already quite rigid is put under pressure, it can break. With 30 years of experience in health management, I still continue to be…

  • A year since La Ribera reversal (Chapter 3)

    The Health Department of La Ribera (Alzira) began to be publicly managed on 1 April 2018, following the reversal. A year has since passed. In my opinion, more than enough time to draw conclusions about its performance for citizens and professionals alike. Valuations that, as you may have read in my previous two blog entries,…

  • A year since La Ribera reversal (Chapter 2)

    “I am very sorry for all those who predicted that Alzira would be a victim of its own success once it rid itself of private management”. Thus began the first part of my blog devoted to the reversal of La Ribera Healthcare Department (Alzira). Today, I press on with the need to publish, analyse and…

  • A year since La Ribera reversal (Chapter 1)

    In just one year we have seen that the most controversial decision of the Valencian Regional Government, the return to public management of La Ribera Healthcare Department, is not bearing the fruits anticipated by the major advocates of 100% public health. The truth is that after 365 days, La Ribera Healthcare Department (Alzira) neither works…

  • Are the Audit Office reports worth the paper they are printed on?

      Yesterday, the newspaper Valencia Plaza published an in-depth interview with Vicent Cucarella, the President of the Audit Office. An interview that caught my attention and that I read with great interest because of the resounding statement the journalist chose as the title: “We have no objection to submitting ourselves to more checks, but not…

  • The original sin of the Alzira Model

    With this post on my blog, I bid farewell to 2018, for many reasons an unforgettable year, both for me and for all the Ribera Salud team. It has been twelve months full of extraordinary news, not all good, but our team is not easily intimidated, and we look to the future; we know how…

  • Today is a very special day: Torrevieja is 12 years old today

    The Torrevieja Health Department has been giving the best of itself every day for the last 12 years. I am very proud of this determined spirit, which has helped it to overcome all barriers: thanks to the efforts and sterling work of all of the professionals at Torrevieja, we’ve come a long way. The continued…

  • The value of innovation

    The health publication New Medical Economics, through the votes of the Editorial Board and its readers, has given Ribera Salud the award for the ‘Best Project in Digital Health’. Last week we were in Madrid to receive the award and I must confess that this recognition particularly excites me because it highlights our group’s firm…

  • An Agatha Christie One

    We have all heard of Agatha Christie (1890–1976). This British writer, specialist in detective novels, achieved major international success and even set a Guinness World Record as the best-selling novelist of all time. A pioneer in the detective genre, she has been copied and plagiarised: yes, it happened to her work, too, though no copy…

  • What’s easier: implementing health reforms or climbing Mount Everest?

    Health systems around the world must face major global challenges like an aging population, chronic diseases, the evolution of technology, and the introduction of new medicines. While it is true that we are still in the beginning stages of defining a strategy to address these challenges, many countries are fortunately already working ‘side by side’,…

  • A university, an orchestra and a hospital

    An estimator from Harvard was asked: what is the most difficult thing to organise? To which he replied: there are three things that are very difficult to organise: a university, an orchestra and a hospital. The interview with Dr. Bartolome Beltrán, which took place last week on La Sexta Television, began with this visual anecdote…

  • The report that is becoming topical once again

    I recently read that in 2022, however incredible it may seem, we will be given more fake news than true. In fact, various media outlets and even Twitter and Facebook are working on how to solve this problem and ensure that the quality of journalistic information is the fundamental pillar of a mature, democratic society.

  • We have made the news in the MIT Technology Review

    The Spanish edition of the prestigious magazine, MIT Technology Review, created under the umbrella of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, contacted me recently for an interview. I was delighted about the call from the oldest technology magazine in the world.

  • Heroes and heroines

    This morning we celebrated the eighth anniversary of Hospital Universitario del Vinalopó (Elche, Alicante) with an awards ceremony for “The Health Advocate Awards 2018”, an honor that is bestowed every year by the health centre to professionals, institutions and entities in recognition of what they have done with regards to health.

  • The ´A Tu Salud´ supplement turns 15

    The weekly supplement, A Tu Salud, edited by the La Razón newspaper, is now 15 years old. It is one of the most award-winning specialised publications in the Spanish press, both in print and digital. Through this blog I´d like to congratulate their director, Sergio Alonso, and all of his team for the excellent work…

  • From professional to political management

    On 14th, January, 2017, the then commisioner of the Ribera Salud Department, José Sanfeliu, recently named the Deputy Director of staff costs and financial control of the Ministry of Finance, had already predicted: «A La Ribera job pool will be created, which will include our family and friends«. It has been barely a month and…

  • The story of Alzira in two speeches

    It´s been a month since the Valencian government took over the management of La Ribera Health Department. After almost 20 years of private management, on 1st April, La Ribera began a new stage of direct public management. There are many conclusions to be made about the whole situation, which I will discuss in future blog…