Costa Rica has the conditions to move towards the adoption of a personalized health care approach, despite some pending challenges in its objective of impacting the entire population.
A research report “Personalized medicine in Latin America: Universalizing the promise of innovation”, prepared by the Intelligence Unit of “The Economist” (EIU, for its acronym in English) indicated this and also highlighted that it is the Central American country with better social, political, economic and health conditions for its application.
To contribute to greater and better local coverage, the study recommends the construction of an initial frame of reference that includes issues of governance, awareness, and attitudes; infrastructure and financial management, where patients, the medical community, and health authorities understand the possibilities and challenges of personalized medicine in aspects such as patient and doctor education, improvements in digital and laboratory infrastructure, transition to advances in medicine, among others issues.
The study had the support of Roche Latin America and in addition to Costa Rica, it included Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay. The nine countries were categorized as level one, two, or three, based on their assessment of the basic elements necessary for the successful implementation of personalized medicine, and where they are in the process.
The report places Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay at level one, countries that it considers “ready to decide”, as it has substantial elements of the reference framework, but with important gaps in terms of its evaluation.
The best-prepared
At this level, Costa Rica is the Central American country best prepared to decide whether to create a comprehensive approach encompassing its entire health system and not just separate initiatives, which allows accompanying each patient on their journey, from prevention to treatment, monitoring and identifying their needs.
