The Emergence of Modern Hospital Planning and Administration in Spain (1966–1986)

In the middle of the 1960s Spain could be considered one of those countries that had not yet to begun establish a modern hospital planning and administration. This text offers a much-needed summary of the main factors that influenced the planning of the majors reforms of Spanish Hospital conducted from 1966, the year in which the Law of Bases of Social Security began to be applied, until 1986, the year in which the General Health Law was enacted, which is still in force today. Focusing on historical perspective and through the collection of statistical data, the chapter draws attention to the causes of the growing hegemony of the hospital-centric culture in Spain in the 1970s and 1980s.