The Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) has included 29 active ingredients and medicines to improve the control and development of diseases such as HIV, whooping cough, hepatitis C and cancer.
Albín Chaves, director of epidemiology at the Fund, said that adding new, effective drugs for patients is a challenge because it requires studies to assess whether they are therapeutic innovations.
From 2014 to 2015, a treatment for breast cancer was included, they indicated that according to the authorities of the Fund, it has had great results. A type of morphine was also included.
An IUD for women who suffer from severe bleeding and would prevent a woman to undergo a surgery in which the uterus is removed was also added. Not all women can use such procedures, though, due to diseases such as obesity, diabetes and others.
In addition, a vaccine to control whooping cough was included. This will be applied in women with 20 weeks of gestation.
In the Official List of Drugs of the Fund, new treatments to control HIV are avaible, which allow patients to reduce their consumption of daily pills.
According to the authorities, to include a new drug, efficacy, safety, prescription and market availability are studied.
Furthermore, the Fund counts on 6 oncology treatments to be given to patients.
Nine medications were excluded from the list, including one against malaria due to disuse.