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Argentina

AR

Healthcare System

Argentina's health system is divided among three subsectors: the public sector (Sistema Público), social security through Obras Sociales (~50% coverage), and private prepaid insurance (prepagas, ~7-8%). The three subsectors coexist with significant overlap and fragmentation. Regulated by the Superintendencia de Servicios de Salud (SSS).

System Type
Mixed tripartite (public/Obras Sociales/private)
Regulatory Body
ANMAT (Administración Nacional de Medicamentos, Alimentos y Tecnología Médica) — drug, medical device, and food regulation
Data Protection
Ley 25.326 (Protección de Datos Personales, 2000 — Argentine GDPR equivalent) + Ley 26.529 (Derechos del Paciente en su Relación con los Profesionales e Instituciones de la Salud, 2009). AAIP (Agencia de Acceso a la Información Pública) is supervisory authority. Habeas data constitutional right (Art. 43 CN).
Currency
ARS (Argentine Peso)
Emergency Number
107 (SAME — Sistema de Atención Médica de Emergencias, Buenos Aires); 911 (national emergency line); 144 (gender violence hotline)
Languages
es

Coding Systems

diagnosis

CIE-10 (Spanish ICD-10, Argentine version)

Clasificación Internacional de Enfermedades, 10ª revisión — Spanish translation of WHO ICD-10. Same code structure as WHO ICD-10; Argentine Ministry of Health uses DEIS (Dirección de Estadísticas e Información de Salud) implementation. Codes are directly compatible with WHO ICD-10; same format and hierarchy.

dental

FDI (ISO 3950)

Federation Dentaire Internationale two-digit notation — standard in Argentina. FAOA (Federación Argentina de Odontología y Afines) and all insurers use FDI.

procedures

Nomenclador Nacional de Prestaciones Médicas (NNPM)

The Nomenclador Nacional de Prestaciones Médicas is the official procedure code classification mandated by the PMO (Programa Médico Obligatorio) for Obras Sociales and prepagas. Codes are 6-digit numeric identifiers organized by specialty chapter (01–30). Updated periodically by the Ministerio de Salud and Superintendencia de Servicios de Salud. Used by all SSS-regulated insurers for claims processing.

drugs

ANMAT registry (Vademécum ANMAT)

ANMAT (Administración Nacional de Medicamentos, Alimentos y Tecnología Médica) — equivalent of US FDA. All drugs require ANMAT registration. ANMAT certificate number format: NR-[XXXXXX]. PAMI has its own Vademécum for subsidized medications. INN (International Nonproprietary Name) commonly used alongside brand names.

drugs Public

Vademécum PAMI

PAMI maintains its own formulary (Vademécum) for retiree prescription subsidies — specific PAMI codes for subsidized drugs. Medications dispensed free or at 50–80% discount through PAMI-affiliated pharmacies.

Translation Corridors

AR→IT (Italian-Argentine dual nationals — ~1M with Italian passport, receiving care in Italy under SSN, records needed in Italian with ICD-9-CM codes) AR→ES (Argentine diaspora in Spain — ~400K, using SNS; Argentine Spanish to Peninsular Spanish medical terminology) AR→US (Argentine-Americans, medical tourists, insurance claims) AR→DE (Argentine professionals in Germany, GKV reimbursement) AR→FR (Argentine community in France) Medical tourism TO Argentina: dental, plastic surgery, cardiac, ophthalmology — patients from US, Europe, other LatAm

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