Experts discuss the challenges and opportunities of rolling out primary care in the Dominican Republic

• During the talk, the speaker and panellists highlighted what is needed to establish an efficient Primary Care system in the Dominican Republic.

Santo Domingo.- The Health Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic (AMCHAMDR) held the talk “Challenges and opportunities of rolling out primary care”, with keynote speaker Arismendi Díaz, president of the Social Security for All Foundation (FSSPT).

At the meeting, Díaz spoke about the state of primary care in the country, pointing out the risks and opportunities for improvement in this discussion, and stating that “Primary care must begin for the benefit of patients, doctors, the sector and other social security stakeholders involved.”

“Those in government must see that there is a national bloc demanding something the law still owes; medical, grassroots, social and trade union organisations must be involved in the rollout (…) this benefits companies directly and indirectly, because it solves health problems for employees’ families and increases productivity,” said Díaz, outlining some of the advantages an efficient and innovative Primary Care System could bring to the country.

The panel “Challenges and opportunities of rolling out primary care” featured Magdalena Rathe, president and founder of Fundación Plenitud; Dr. Eduardo Read, president of the Dominican Association of Primary Care Centres; and Edward Guzmán, general manager of the National Social Security Council (CNSS). The discussion was moderated by Dr. Alejandro Cambiaso, head of the AMCHAMDR Health Committee Access and Coverage Commission.

The panellists discussed the importance of creating an inclusive Primary Care system in the country, focused not only on the sick or elderly but on all Dominicans, thereby advancing preventive medicine that makes it possible to identify in time risk factors or diseases that are usually not very noticeable until symptoms and effects appear, such as diabetes and hypertension.

Dr. Eduardo Read, president of the Dominican Association of Primary Care Centres, said during the panel that to achieve the goal of establishing a fair system, “the patient and the Dominican people must be made the priority”.

“The main reason Primary Care has not started in the country is that the patient has not been placed at the centre. There are economic discussions about insurance, networks and a thousand other things, but unfortunately the importance of health and patient prevention as the central focus has not been leading the conversation. There must be political will to say this is going to start, and to hold working groups to reach agreement,” said Read.

During the debate, Magdalena Rathe, president and founder of Fundación Plenitud, who has worked on health system performance for years, explained that what matters when developing a strategy like this is that its provisions are met in order to achieve the desired results.

“In this work on performance, we have seen something fundamental: the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with the best-performing health systems are precisely those with a strong Primary Care system in operation,” said Rathe.

Stressing that Primary Care does not refer to a care centre but to a strategy in which all stakeholders must be involved and move in the same direction, Edward Guzmán, general manager of the National Social Security Council (CNSS), said discussions on establishing and improving Primary Care in the country have stalled due to a lack of consensus.

“Including Primary Care requires consensus – we need to be able to meet, keep talking and putting forward ideas. As a country, we must build consensus. Funding from the State and Social Security is also important and cannot be overlooked,” said the official.

To close this AMCHAMDR Talks, Dr. Alejandro Cambiaso, head of the Chamber’s Health Committee Access and Coverage Commission, reiterated that achieving an efficient Primary Care system in the Dominican Republic requires taking the discussion to a level where all the public and private stakeholders involved can discuss and work together.

This Talks event was made possible thanks to the support of AES Dominicana, Barrick Pueblo Viejo, Cervecería Nacional Dominicana, Citi, HIT Puerto Río Haina, Grupo Humano, Inicia, Grupo Martí, Altice Dominicana, Grupo Rica, Grupo SID, Grupo Punta Cana, Grupo Estrella and Squire Patton Boggs. We also thank Banco BHD, Banreservas, Seguros Reservas, Banco Popular, Banesco, DP World and AF Comunicación Estratégica.

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About the American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic (AMCHAMDR)

The American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic (AMCHAMDR) is a non-profit association, legally incorporated on 8 November 1923, that fosters a healthy investment climate based on access to knowledge, opportunities and a culture of best practices for the socio-economic and professional development of its members. AMCHAMDR is affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is a founding member of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America (AACCLA).

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