Editorial: How specialized services are organized in Spain

Reference Healthcare Centers, Services and Units, or CSUR (Centros, Servicios y Unidades de Referencia ), are centers which perform specialized medical procedures or provide specialized treatments. Treatment received in a CSUR center for a specific disease is reimbursed through DRG and financed through the Cohesion Fund at the national level by the Ministry of Health. The reimbursable DRGs are included in the Interregional Mobility Catalogue. 

CSUR centers concentrate specialized resources in terms of knowledge, experience, equipment, indicators, and training of health specialists on the treatment of the indicated disease. The main objective of the CSUR is guaranteeing the provision of specialized healthcare to those citizens requiring a highly specialized treatment or those with a more complex clinical situation (e.g. comorbidities). 

New healthcare centers and centers with new medical procedures can apply for inclusion into the CSUR list, maintained by the Ministry of Health, Services and Equality. The list is updated annually, details of the changes for 2017 can be found in the article included in this edition of Market Access Monitor.