Did you know that in Mexico, complaints from health care consumers are handled not by the Federal Prosecutor's Office for the Protection of Consumer Rights (Profeco), but by a special government agency — National Medical Arbitration Commission (Conamed). At the same time, Conamed considers complaints about the work of any institutions and persons providing medical services — public, private or social. Medical arbitration issues apply only to civil cases.
In 2020, Conamed handled 28,158 cases involving healthcare services. The reasons for the complaints were as follows:
- quality of treatment — 32.1%
- misdiagnosis — 23.9%
- quality of surgical treatment — 20.4%
- relationship between doctor and patient — 11.3%
- diagnostic tools — 5.3%
- administrative shortcomings — 2.9%
- childbirth and obstetrics — 2.5%
- accidents and incidents — 1.6%
Agency data shows that complaints of alleged negligence or poor quality medical care account for less than 10% of all cases. Most complaints related to legal or bioethical issues.
Conamed clarifies that between 2018 and 2020, the medical specialties that accounted for the largest number of complaints were: traumatology and orthopedics, emergency support, general surgery, gynecology and obstetrics, dentistry, general and preventive medicine, ophthalmology, neurology, plastic surgery, cardiology and pediatrics.
92.5% of all complaints came from government agencies — IMSS, ISSSTE, public social security institutions, Pemex, Sedena and Semar, Ministry of Health and public health services. The remaining percentage (7.5%) corresponds to complaints about the services of private medical institutions.
According to Conamed, approximately 90% of reported medical disputes are resolved within 48 hours. In 2020, 52.6% of medical dispute decisions were final, meaning no award or referral to other courts was made. 47.1% of complaints were closed due to the expiration of the maximum period of the process (120 days), withdrawal of the claim or lack of desire for reconciliation. Only 3% of disputes were referred to other courts for adjudication, and a similar proportion is observed year after year.
So, filing a complaint about the quality of medical services is allowed in two ways: personally or by proxy, in both cases — only in writing. Appeal through Conamed is completely free of charge.
If submitting in person, documentation must be delivered to the Conamed General Directorate in Mexico City.
1. A written application must contain:
- Your name, address and telephone number and, if applicable, the name and contact information of the health care provider whose actions you disagree with.
- A description of the facts that motivate your complaint. Claims do not need to be substantiated, they just need to be stated.
- Social Security Number (NSS) if the complaint involves government agencies.
2. The following must be attached to the complaint:
- Copy of ID.
- A photocopy of a medical record or other similar document.
- Copies of documents confirming the relationship between the doctor and the patient, in particular, medical records, prescriptions, discharge sheets, clinical reports, laboratory test results, etc.
- If the complaint is filed on behalf of a third party, documents confirming that you represent him for family or other reasons, in particular, a signed simple power of attorney.
3. After filing, you must wait for notification that the complaint has been accepted for consideration, and then for notification of a conciliation hearing.
It is possible to fill out the application in advance: download thisfile, fill out all the required fields of the form, indicating personal data (CURP is not required), address and contact information, name and coordinates of the medical institution to which the complaint is being made, and at the last stage — Briefly describe the complaint, indicate what you require from the health care provider and what solution you propose to resolve the complaint. Electronic copies of all the papers that we listed above should be attached to the form.
After filing a complaint, you will receive an email response within 24 hours stating that the complaint has been accepted for consideration and information about the progress of the review.
You can also get advice regarding appealing the quality of medical services by calling: (+5255) 54207000, 54207015, 54207086, 54207141.
Please note that a complaint about the quality of medical services can be filed with Conamed regardless of your status in Mexico — guest of a power, resident or citizen.