Estimating Need, Demand and Supply in Primary Health Care Services: A Local Application in Argentina

Abstract

To provide equal access, health care provision should be distributed across geodemographic space based on need. In Argentina, the social security, publicly funded health care and private health care subsectors are responsible for delivering health services. In the public subsector, which is responsible for providing primary and secondary care mainly to the uninsured population, supply of services is not always associated with need. The lack of coordination between levels and subsectors makes it diffi cult to transform need into demand.