[A critical view of the human resources planning and autonomous managed hospitals in Chile]

In 2002, Chile began a process of health reform where autonomously managed establishments as part of a network were introduced into the public health provider system. However, gaps in human resource planning for the needs of these establishments are evident. One fundamental aspect that was absent in the planning of human resources in health during the health reform process was a needs assessment for professionals in the public health sector. Moreover, the networked autonomous establishments now demand a debate on the issues of flexible contracting of human resources. For the current scenario of health reform implementation, the lack of a policy for the requirements of human resources in diverse aspects of the process constitutes a drawback that still can be corrected.