[Antecedents of the Catalan health model]

The Catalan healthcare model is a particular way of addressing public health contingencies of the population as a whole, based on an organizational tradition that brings together stakeholders, such as the civil society, local government, the church, mutual care societies, public and private foundations, which for centuries have worked in coordination and complemented each other to provide quality public healthcare, far and beyond merely catering to the poor or those passing through. This model is based on a selfless, public spirited concept of society, achieved through a vocation to form social agreements, preserved in Catalan civil law. During the 3 periods of self-government Catalonia has enjoyed throughout the twentieth century, it has adapted to the economic, social, and scientific conditions, which define modern society, without sacrificing its fundamental features, thereby achieving a remarkable level of efficiency together with significant social consensus.