Costa Rican Social Security Service “La Caja” (CCSS) received the United Nations’ Public Service Award 2019 in the category “Promoting digital transformation in public sector institutions”, Good Health and Well Being for the implementation of Single Digital Health Records, a unique tool in primary medical care.

“The United Nations Public Service Awards is the most prestigious international recognition of excellence in public service. It rewards the creative achievements and contributions of public service institutions that lead to a more effective and responsive public administration in countries worldwide. Through an annual competition, the UN Public Service Awards promotes the role, professionalism and visibility of public service”, explains the UN website.

“Medical records of the Costa Ricans were not easily accessible or transferable between different offices and regions. The Single Digital Health File (EDUS) consists of a set of applications and services that allows the automation of health processes. Using the EDUS, health professionals of the CCSS (Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social) can review patients’ health record from any medical establishment and throughout its network of services. It facilitates better clinical decision making and quality control. The access to clinical information available in real time and the implementation of clinical protocols for the medical care guarantee the standardization of the processes. The system also employs mobile messaging features to directly communicate with people using EDUS. As a result, it is used in 1,047 Basic Teams of Integral Health Care (Primary Care Establishments) of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund in the 7 provinces”.

This award will be received during a three-day event that will have the participation of close to 450 people, including UN officials and representatives from around the world.

Román Macaya, Executive President of CCSS, said this is a recognition of the efforts of the institution when it comes to digital transformation, “The CCSS is transforming digitally to provide better service to users (…) This is not only a recognition for the CCSS but also to its human talent, since this application was build by a technical and professional team of CCSS”.