President Piñera announces 2018-2022 National Health Investment Plan

President Sebastián Piñera presented the Health Investment Plan today, which includes building 25 new hospitals by March 2022 as well as launching the construction of 25 more public health centers.

The plan includes continuing work on another seven hospitals while 25 or more projects will be in the study, design or bidding process.

“We are committed to overhauling health care in Chile, and that involves many facets, including comprehensive modernization of our hospital infrastructure -buildings, equipment and technologies- so that we can decrease historic gaps and take a major step forward in quality”, the President explained during a visit to the new Hospital Félix Bulnes in the municipality of Cerro Navia.

The investments, which will cover the entire country, will total over US$10 billion over the next four years. The plan involves adding approximately 12,400 beds to the public health system as well as the completion of 120 primary care centers during this period, another 40 that will be in the execution process and 40 that will be in the bidding, design or study stage.

Piñera, who was accompanied by Health Minister Emilio Santelices and Public Works Minister Juan Andrés Fontaine, noted that, “We clearly have to make a huge effort as a society to meet this urgent, keenly felt need to improve the timeliness, quality and dignity of the health care that we provide to the Chilean people”.

President Piñera also presented the Digital Hospital initiative, which will use information technologies and knowledge such as Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to store patient data from all hospitals.

“This Public Health Investment Plan will mean that we will increase the numbers and quality of hospitals, beds and medical equipment and, most importantly, that we will provide access to more dignified, timely and higher quality health care to all of our people”, the President said.