The Ministry of Health has launched a quiet but critical pilot programme across several healthcare institutions, marking a foundational step in Saint Lucia’s long journey toward universal health coverage. The initiative is designed to test both the financial and operational systems required to sustain a modern, integrated healthcare model.
At the center of the effort is the rollout of a Health Management Information System pilot, spanning key public and private institutions, including the Millennium Heights Medical Complex and St. Jude Hospital.
Health Minister Moses Jn Baptiste described the initiative as a necessary testing phase to determine how universal health coverage will function in practice across the entire healthcare network.
“The first is the launch of the Health Management Information System, HMIS, pilot at two of our public hospitals, the Millennium Heights Medical Complex and the St. Jude Hospital, as well as at two public clinics and two private clinics,” he said.
“This pilot will allow us to implement and test the major components of the National Health Information System, including financial systems, clinical systems, and operational management tools that will improve efficiency, transparency, and the quality of care across the health sector.”
According to the minister, the pilot is not merely a technological upgrade but a comprehensive stress test of how patients, services, and financing will interact within a universal system.
“From today, we will be implementing a pilot project. And just to explain, we want to find out how universal health coverage, the information system, will work across the health sector, from the hospital connecting to our primary care centers and also connecting to the private sector,” Baptiste explained.
“So, we are testing. We will be testing over the next few weeks the information system, how the financing works, and how you develop bills coming out of procedures at our hospitals. If someone goes to the hospital and then to the primary care facility or to the private sector, how do you follow this patient?”
He added that the pilot will also examine how services are costed and tracked across the system.
“How can you develop bills coming out? How can you cost the services and so on? So, the pilot project begins today,” he said.
Alongside the pilot rollout, the government is advancing the legislative framework needed to formalize universal health coverage. Baptiste confirmed that the proposed Universal Health Coverage Act is now in its final stages of consultation.
“The leadership of the Ministry of Health, including various heads of departments, myself and the Permanent Secretary, led a comprehensive review of the third draft of the proposed Universal Health Coverage Act,” he stated.
“These consultations have included voices from across our society, ranging from bankers, lawyers to fisher folk, elderly citizens, youth, and other groups of individuals.”
He noted that the feedback gathered will now be consolidated and submitted to the Attorney General’s Chambers for final drafting before being taken to Cabinet and, ultimately, Parliament.
“This collective feedback will be submitted to the Attorney General’s Chambers Legislative Drafting Team to prepare the final version of the proposed legislation. In the coming weeks, the finalized draft will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers… for review and approval before being presented to the Parliament.”
The pilot programme represents one of the most tangible steps yet toward implementing universal health coverage in Saint Lucia, offering a real-time test of the systems that will underpin equitable and accessible healthcare for all.