ECUADOR

PRESENT Death rates are down, long-term disability is down, life expectancy is higher than ever, and we're making progress against the most serious diseases we face. Actually, The Ecuadorian public health care system permits patients to be attended daily in public general hospitals, with reserved appointment, by general practitioners and specialists in the External Consultation. This is done using the four basic specialties of pediatric medicine, gynecology, clinical medicine, and surgery.

Although fully equipped general hospitals are found in the major cities or capitals of the provinces, there are basic hospitals in the smaller towns and canton cities for family care consultation and treatment in pediatrics, gynecology, clinical medicine, and surgery Community health care centers or day hospitals, are found inside metropolitan areas of cities and in rural areas.

FUTURE

New innovative medicines will assume an increasingly prominent role in the way we improve the quality of care for future generations.

The Nanotechnology Initiative expects new commercial applications in the pharmaceutical industry that may include advanced drug delivery systems, new therapies, and in vivo imaging. Neuro-electronic interfaces and other nanoelectronics-based sensors are another active goal of research. Further down the line, the speculative field of molecular nanotechnology believes that cell repair machines could revolutionize medicine and the medical field.

The use of biotechnology in medicine is revolutionizing the diagnosis of diseases caused by genetic factors. New tests can detect changes in the DNA sequence of genes associated with disease risk and can predict the likelihood that a patient will develop a disease. While this monumental healthcare shift is in its early stages, new medicine, diagnostics and technologies are being developed that can hold great potential to improve patients lives.