Panama health centers to offer extended hours and weekend services from 2027

Panama is set to enhance public healthcare access with Law 528, which mandates extended operating hours and weekend services for public health centers, beginning in 2027. This new legislation aims to ensure that citizens can receive medical attention more readily, especially outside traditional weekday schedules.

The law requires the Ministry of Health (Minsa) to ensure that each health region designates at least one primary care facility to operate with extended hours. The specific schedules will be determined by Minsa based on population needs, facility capacity, staffing, and budgetary resources. For Saturdays and Sundays, minimum staffing levels for medical, health support, and administrative areas will be required, with the possibility of expanding services based on regional planning.

Initially facing an objection from President José Raúl Mulino, the bill ultimately passed through legislative insistence. It is part of a broader strategy to improve medical service coverage and reduce barriers to accessing consultations, treatments, and medications.

Furthermore, the law incorporates provisions for the financial sustainability of these extended services, obligating the Executive Branch to include necessary budget allocations in the General State Budget. The Ministry of Health will also define services at second-level care centers, aiming for at least one facility per region to operate 24 hours a day with adequate supplies.