Levels of Care. The responsibility of the territorial entity in organizing health services through one or more entities to meet the health needs of its population.
Degrees of Complexity. Services organized by entities will be classified by degrees of complexity to optimize the use of available resources, achieve better distribution throughout the country, and maintain quality in service delivery.
Classification Criteria for First-Level Entities. At a minimum, they must meet the following criteria:
- Population base of the municipality or municipalities to be covered.
- Coverage of care for the population within the same municipality as well as other municipalities lacking hospital care in their territory.
- Frequency of the health issue that justifies the service.
- Low-complexity technology, straightforward and simple to use for outpatient consultation, hospitalization, emergencies, and support services for diagnosing and treating less severe health issues.
- Care provided by general, technical, and auxiliary professional staff.
Administration of first-level entities. They may be administered by the departments under the principle of subsidiarity in accordance with current regulations.
Criteria for classification of second-level entities. They meet at least the following criteria:
- Frequency of health issues justifying the services provided by the entity.
- Coverage and care for populations in one or more municipalities or communities with first-level hospital care.
- Care provided by specialized professional staff responsible for service delivery.
- Medium-complexity technology requiring specialized professionals for its operation, applicable in outpatient consultations, hospitalization, emergencies, and services for diagnosing and treating moderately severe pathologies.
- A broad population base covering one or more territorial entities according to their care needs.
- Presence of socio-economic development plans in the area to become a development hub for larger regions in the country.
Criteria for classification of third-level entities. For institutions to be classified as third-level, they must meet at least the following criteria:
- Frequency of phenomena or pathologies that justify the corresponding services.
- A large population base in the territorial entities to be covered.
- Coverage of care for other territorial entities with first- and second-level care facilities.
- Required technology of the highest complexity.
- Care provided by specialized and subspecialized personnel responsible for delivering the services.
- Existence of socioeconomic development plans in the area to position it as a hub for the development of larger regions in the country.
Administration of Second- and Third-Level Entities. These may be administered by municipalities based on the principle of complementarity in accordance with current regulations.
