Costa Rica

Costa Rica, through the Ministry of Health, reaffirms its commitment to strengthening the digital transformation of the national health system through the development of a national digital health strategy focused on interoperability, health data governance, continuity of care, and evidence-based decision-making.

As part of this national vision, Costa Rica made the strategic decision to implement SNOMED CT as the national clinical terminology standard, recognizing its importance in ensuring semantic interoperability, improving the quality of clinical data, enabling integration among health information systems, and supporting advanced analytics and artificial intelligence initiatives in healthcare.

The country is currently promoting the progressive incorporation of SNOMED CT in priority use cases, particularly in areas such as pathology, oncology, laboratory results, and clinical interoperability based on international standards such as HL7 FHIR. In parallel, efforts are underway to develop national guidelines, terminology governance mechanisms, and institutional capacity-building initiatives to support its sustainable adoption across the national health ecosystem.

The Ministry of Health, as the governing authority of the National Health System, leads this process through the Directorate of Digital Transformation and Digital Health, in coordination with public and private institutions, academia, and international organizations, promoting an implementation aligned with international best practices and the modernization objectives of the health sector.

In this context, Costa Rica will continue strengthening the capabilities of its National Release Center, with the purpose of consolidating the national management of SNOMED CT, supporting implementers, promoting terminology standardization, and facilitating the secure and interoperable exchange of health information nationwide.