In Argentina, 61% of the population has access to public healthcare and 13.6% has private coverage. However, the quality of care is often not good enough to prevent death or disability, with high costs for both the patient and the system. There are multiple risk factors, from lifestyle to comorbidities, making it difficult for the system to have adequate management. The challenge is to build interoperable, agile systems in Argentina, along with mature federal regulations for preserving patient confidentiality.

Brazil’s constitutional right to healthcare encompasses primary, secondary and tertiary, but there are huge challenges in providing quality coverage to all its 214 million citizens. Brazil devoted only 10.5% of its public budget to health in 2019, well below the OECD average of 15.3%. Rates of obesity are on the rise, while harmful alcohol consumption has tripled to 17.1% in just six years. More preventative measures and better efficiencies are needed to address these and other lifestyle-related conditions, as well as the challenges of an ageing population.

Waiting times in Chile increased 365% during the COVID-19 pandemic. The national average is now 157.3 days, and among the patients most affected are those with lung cancer, with a total of 3,969 new cases diagnosed in 2020. This is exacerbated by a lack of unified and standardised prioritisation criteria and a fragmentation in decision-making across all levels of care. Absenteeism and lack of operational efficiency inside institutions also affects waiting times and leads to ineffective care.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Colombia. Three out of every 10 citizens also suffer from diabetes, while 1.6% of the population has been diagnosed with epilepsy. The challenge is to improve access to services, continuity of care, interconnection between healthcare providers and the collection of patient data, enabling the use of digital technologies and interoperability to increase citizen empowerment over its own health management.

Costa Rica has an integrated health system (public-private) that ensures universal access. The promotion of healthy lifestyles and preventative measures is also an integral part of Costa Rican society. But despite the country's high health coverage (94.4%), the system is struggling to maintain its level of care due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and a growing and ageing population. Long waiting lists and delayed treatments are thus having a high impact on the quality of life.

Ecuador’s health system is seen as one of the most efficient globally in terms of life expectancy and relative and absolute health spending. Healthcare is covered by the public and private sectors, and a national health system provides free medical care to all residents, regardless of income. However, the country still struggles with shortages of staff, medicines and equipment, and healthcare coverage is much lower in rural areas. Low-income communities are also vulnerable to malnutrition, poor sanitation and weak preventative measures.

According to the 2020 census, 70.9% of Mexicans are covered by public healthcare, with 2.3% of the population insured through the private sector. This leaves 32 million Mexicans (26.5%) with no access to any form of healthcare, a situation exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is also a shortage of medical professionals, with just 1.95 doctors per 100,000 people. Infant mortality is the highest in the OECD, and the country also struggles with high rates of obesity (32.4%) and diabetes (15.9%).

In Peru, 64% of the population rely on public healthcare. However, there are many challenges when it comes to the efficiency of budget allocation and spending across governmental levels, along with a lack of human resources. This is especially acute at the regional level, which is responsible for 40% of public spending on health. This leads to inequities in access to and quality of care and, overall, lower healthcare coverage for the population.

Uruguay is one of the most advanced countries in terms of electronic medical records (EMRs), but there is still a need for more effective use of the data. The quality of information depends on health professionals, who have limited consultation time, while the quality of analyses depends on working with datasets from all organisations and, therefore, on interoperability agreements. So any data-driven decisions require new models based on the needs of patients.