Costa Rica will create a safe hospital monitoring system

Currently, Costa Rica does not have an automated system that allows capturing data ​​from other systems to intelligently evaluate health services. A project originated in the Health Services Harmonization Unit of the Ministry of Health of Costa Rica aims to change this situation. The project was recently selected among the winners of the call for applications for the implementation of information systems for health projects (IS4H) in the Americas promoted by the Pan American Health Organization.

The main objective of the "National Safe Hospital Monitoring System" project is to systematize and monitor the implementation of national and international policies and regulations on safe hospitals. Costa Rica has joined the commitment to comply with and implement PAHO/WHO resolutions to implement a safe hospital system that allows to evaluate the quality of public and private hospitals, and also create a model of continuous improvement to prepare for disasters and emergencies.

Once implemented, the project should result in the development of an electronic data collection tool integrated into the National Health Surveillance System, in the creation of a module and a notification follow-up process that integrates data from different systems of health information, in addition to the creation of a control panel and open data site for citizen access.

The program is aimed at the population in general who access daily public and private health services. It has a direct impact on the administration of health centers, as well as on improving the quality of infrastructure and services. In addition to the Ministry of Health of Costa Rica, the project has plans to incorporate strategic allies such as the Office of the Comptroller of Services and Medical Management of the Social Security of Costa Rica, the Association and the Chamber of Private Hospitals of Costa Rica.