Protection of health rights in Peru: supervisory experiences from the viewpoint of the National Health Authority

Abstract

In Latin America, national superintendents are charged with the supervision and enforcement of health-related matters, and accordingly the regulatory systems used by these individuals are aimed at protecting health rights and detecting solving infringements. Here, we discuss the approach undertaken by Peru with regard to health rights as programmatic rather than fundamental rights, as well as the determination of penalties. Since 2015, the National Health Authority (SUSALUD), through the Control and Penalty Intendance, has maintained both the regulatory and supervisory roles deemed essential to public health in our country. Accordingly, we present the experiences of SUSALUD with regard to the implementation of the punitive administrative process (PAP) from January 2014 to April 2016. During this period, 38 PAP responsibilities were determined and of these, 78.3% correspond to institutions that provide health services. In conclusion, the penalties applied by SUSALUD are derived from programmatic-level health rights.