Jaime Rodríguez-Arana, a professor at the University of A Coruña, criticized Spain’s healthcare system for putting its own processes ahead of the people it is meant to serve. He made the remarks as he closed the third day of the VII Simposio del Observatorio de la Sanidad de EL ESPAÑOL-Invertia.
He described patients lost in a maze of forms and red tape, with too many feeling like just another number. Rodríguez-Arana argued that “buena administración,” or good administration, should mean more than a line in the law books. “The citizen must feel that healthcare exists to serve them, not the reverse,” he said. In his view, many hospitals and clinics remain a long way from that standard.
By the end of 2025, 853,740 patients in Spain were waiting for scheduled surgery, with an average delay of 122 days, information from the Ministry of Health.
He pointed to a major problem: public offices keep asking for personal data they do not really need. “The data is the person,” Rodríguez-Arana warned. Handling sensitive information, he said, requires training and a sense of duty. Too often, officials treat it like just another file, while people hand it over without thinking twice.
Rodríguez-Arana also rejected the hype around artificial intelligence. Algorithms can assist with routine tasks, he said, but machines should not make decisions that depend on human judgment and democratic values. “AI is a tool, but it lacks the sensitivity for the most human and democratic issues,” he said. He called for open oversight and a public voice in how healthcare algorithms are built and used.
For him, long waiting lists show that the system has lost its way. The answer, he said, requires technical fixes alongside a change in attitude among those running the system and the people using it. Rodríguez-Arana urged citizens to stand up for their rights and push for a healthcare culture that puts their needs first.
The Spanish government is preparing a reform of waiting-list management, articulo14.es reports. The proposal would count waiting time from the date of the medical decision and prohibit parallel lists, aiming to increase transparency and keep the system focused on the patient. It also proposes publishing statistics quarterly, with monthly data, as part of a broader push for accountability.
On the legal front, Rodríguez-Arana criticized the now-defunct Proyecto de Ley de Gestión Pública, which expired when general elections were called for November 29. He rejected the idea that the 1997 law clashes with public health, calling it a biased take. Instead, he advocated management models grounded in quality and objectivity, free of dogma and political fights. “I see too many laws that identify enemies rather than serve the common good,” he said, describing this “manichean” thinking as a sign of failed lawmaking.
He backed evaluation commissions to assess healthcare quality, provided their members are genuine experts. “Sometimes I see expert committees that are not experts at all. In Spain, we need to return to objectivity,” Rodríguez-Arana said. He pressed for clear, objective measures to assess contracts and rules, while acknowledging how difficult that remains in Spain.
Calls for reform are not new. As reported earlier, political parties have put healthcare at the center of their campaigns, promising major changes and new ideas. Rodríguez-Arana focused on respect for each person and open data, while urging a steady push for quality over politics.
Spain’s healthcare system is often praised for its universal coverage, but Rodríguez-Arana’s critique points to deeper shortcomings. He called for a patient-first mindset and objective checks, alongside careful planning and a cultural shift that puts the citizen, not the bureaucracy, basic to every choice. Until then, truly patient-centered care will remain out of reach.
