WILLEMSTAD – The Curaçao government has acknowledged that the island’s healthcare information infrastructure remains fragmented and increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches.
The warning appears in the 2027 Budget Memorandum as the government prepares a new program to modernize digital healthcare infrastructure.
According to the government, patient and healthcare information is currently distributed across different systems and institutions, making secure and efficient information exchange between healthcare providers difficult.
The fragmented system also limits integrated patient care and makes it more difficult for the government to use health information for policymaking, disease surveillance and crisis management.
At the same time, digitalization of Curaçao’s healthcare sector has accelerated without a uniform framework governing cybersecurity and protection of medical information.
The government warns that this increases the risk of data leaks, hacking and disruption of critical healthcare systems.
To address the problem, XCG 3 million has been reserved in 2027 for cybersecurity standards, secure exchange of medical information, health-data infrastructure and development of Population Health Management.
The government itself classifies cybersecurity incidents as having potentially high consequences and identifies insufficient cooperation from healthcare institutions and a shortage of technical expertise as additional risks.
The initiative is expected to continue beyond 2027 and could eventually provide the foundation for a more integrated national electronic healthcare information system.