The country can take advantage of a significant number of internationalization opportunities by becoming a “Global Health Hub”. In this way, it will be able to promote economic activities such as the attraction of pensioners, biomedical research, global medical education, the attraction of foreign patients and the export of digital health services, services that have evolved as a result of the pandemic and achieved excellent results.
This is how the Health Chamber considers it
“Costa Rica has extraordinary resources such as its national health system (public and private) and an important group of professionals that make it very competitive and attractive on a global level. We have the opportunity to move from the manufacture of medical devices to the export of knowledge in health.
This means getting involved in the research and development processes of new medical devices, positioning ourselves as a global center for medical education and health training, becoming a regional benchmark in the development of clinical studies which, in addition to the impact on the quality of life of patients, can also generate a positive impact on the development of local scientific evidence, collaboration in the transformation of the health system and in the current context, an important source of additional income for Social Security”, said Massimo Manzi, executive director of the Chamber.
In addition, the Chamber considers essential to work for streamlining the provision of health services by the Social Security and also access to health technologies.
“In this context, the development of public-private alliances in health is fundamental in order to support the system for generating solutions and new models that contribute to the sustainability of the health system and the solution of the waiting lists problem that has been growing for reason for the pandemic.
More efficient alternative
The Chamber urges the creation of an inter-institutional working group to talk about this and other important issues on the national health agenda. The recommendation of the Chamber is to develop new models of health care with the participation of the private sector, for example, what it has carried out for decades on the subject of audiology.
Also, strengthen the models for contracting medical equipment by migrating from a sales system to one where the private sector is the one that contributes and invests in the equipment and the necessary infrastructure, and Social Security pays for its use through rentals or payments. by surgery or examination.
