Héctor Castro, director of Medicines and Health Technologies at the Colombian Ministry of Health since 2016, explains how the regulations and quality standards implemented have contributed to make Colombia’s healthcare system one of the best in Latin America.
You were appointed director of Medicines and Health Technologies at the Ministry of Health and Social Protection last year after working as the founding executive director for the Health Technology Assessment Institute-IETS. What have been your main priorities since you took over the role?
"While we’ve achieved universal healthcare coverage; technological, social, and media pressures, as well as the epidemiological transition have put us at risk of being unsustainable in the long-term."
