The health system measures put into place in Chile to contain the spread of COVID-19 are:
– A national campaign was launched to inform the public of prevention measures and detection.
– As of April 1, the coordination of the public and private network was handed over to the Undersecretary of Healthcare Networks. This means that the Ministry of Health took control of the management of public and private infrastructure to face this emergency.
– Testing for people covered by the National Health Fund is free (subject to a prescription). Price for people covered by private insurers is capped. Between March and May, the daily capacity of PCR tests was almost quadrupled.
– Hospital capacity will be reinforced by speeding up the completion of five new hospitals and other facilities, such as a field hospital, 6 health care posts, a navy ship and a new field hospital with a capacity of 3 thousand beds in a convention center, among others.
– Between March and June, ICU beds with mechanical fans will be doubled.
– Bed capacity for people who must be quarantined will be increased. The government announced on May 17 the expansion of the existing network of Health Residences nationwide to accommodate people in need, with special concern and priority for the elderly.
– Elective surgeries will be postponed in cases where delay does not imply a significant health risk.
– The National Health Procurement Agency will accelerate the delivery of personal protection equipment for emergency services and primary health care staff.
– Workers that have been in contact with confirmed cases are granted a sick-leave.
– The Ministry of Health authorized the performance of synchronous care in 11 medical specialties. While the Health Alert is in force, these medical consultations may be carried out remotely in the same terms as face-to-face care, through information technology and telecommunications between a patient and a doctor who are in different geographical locations and who they can interact with each other in real time.
– The government instructed health insurance institutions to deliver medications at home to patients diagnosed with any of the 85 pathologies guaranteed by the state, without this implying an additional cost. The measure aims to prevent the displacement of these patients to obtain the dispensing of their prescriptions.
– To cope with the effects of the pandemic and the confinement in the mental health of the population, the government announced on May 17 the Healthy-Mind program. This program will strengthen the public and private offer of mental health and will include a digital platform for consultation, support and recommendations on this matter.
The published information can be found here
