In Costa Rica: How a middle-income country built a world-class primary care system

This episode is the first in a two-part series on the primary care system in Costa Rica. Dr.Tara Kiran sits down with Dr. Madeline Pesec, an internal medicine physician and pediatrician, to explore Costa Rica’s ambitious primary health care system. They talk about how Costa Rica's commitment to health as a human right and its community-oriented primary care have led to significant improvements in health outcomes. From the concept of "Hospital Without Walls" to the role of community health workers, Madeline shares insights from her extensive research and personal experiences in Costa Rica. Then, join us in our next episode where Tara goes on a tour of a Costa Rican clinic and speaks to members of the EBAIS (Equipos Básicos de Atención Integral de Salud) about both how and why they do their work. Further reading:Take a look at the research article that first introduced me to Madeline Explore this brief Commonwealth Fund case study on the Costa Rican primary care system or dive deeper into this more detailed case study from Ariadne Labs Read the article “Costa Ricans Live Longer Than We Do. What’s the Secret?” in the New Yorker magazine by Dr. Atul GawandeMAINPRO CREDITS: Family doctors can claim Mainpro Credits by completing a linking learning exercise. More about Primary Focus:Subscribe to our Substack newsletterVisit our website at primaryfocus.caLearn about the OurCare StandardDo you have an idea for an episode? Email [email protected]. Tara Kiran is a family physician and researcher who is passionate about building a stronger, more equitable primary care system in Canada. She practices at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto where she is also a scientist at MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions. In 2022, Dr. Kiran launched OurCare, a national initiative to engage the public in shaping the future of primary care in Canada. You can learn more about Dr. Kiran’s research here: https://maphealth.ca/kiran/ Primary Focus is supported by the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael’s Foundation and the Max Bell Foundation. Dr. Tara Kiran is supported as the Fidani Chair in Improvement and Innovation at the University of Toronto and a Scientist in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit primaryfocus.substack.com