Costa Rica has made significant progress in its healthcare system in recent years, having better health coverage and greater social security has achieved great progress in the digitization of its services.
In recent years, the Costa Rican health system has implemented technologies for the management of health services. For example, the Single Digital Health Record (EDUS) and the National Information System and Single Registry of State Beneficiaries (SINIRUBE). However, they are not part of an ecosystem, but rather individual projects that are not interconnected.
Also thanks to the connectivity policies through the 5G Route and the arrival of Internet connection to rural areas, it has been possible to increase the offer of telehealth services.
Alejandro Benavides, a specialist in Digital Health and member of the Central American Health Informatics Network (RECAINSA), was interviewed by Health Cluster Net (HCN), a Dutch foundation dedicated to the promotion of innovations, mainly from the European Union.
In the interview Benavides explained how the healthcare system is organized in Costa Rica, in which the Ministry of Health acts as the guiding authority and the Costa Rican Social Security Fund manages the public health sector, which provides healthcare services to around 87% of the population. In addition, it also resulted in the work of the private sector as a complement to the public service.
Regarding the health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the acceleration of the digitalization processes, Benavides acknowledged that: "COVID rightly pointed out that this (digitalization) should have been addressed many years ago".
In 2020, Costa Rica achieved the creation of the Costa Rican Promoter of Innovation and Research, which seeks to promote innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems in various areas, but especially in health-related issues.
Benavides emphasized that "there has begun to be an evolution, but this requires significant investment, and the right investment. The most important thing has been that we have put on the table the awareness that we are living in an era of human reality where technology is a great support".
