In a rare moment of political, business and academic synchronicity, the Dominican Republic’s public health leadership and the leading opposition voice have converged on a single strategy: transforming the country into a regional hub for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medicine.
In this direction, the conference, Foro Global@Santiago: Health of the Future, Data, Artificial Intelligence and Medicine held on 24 March 2026 at the HOMS Health & Wellness Center complex in Santiago, brought together experts immersed in the health sector. There were the university researchers and those with practical experiences, ranging from Futurity Systems innovation guru Mark Bunger to Claudia Laselva, of the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a global leader and visionary Dr. Julio Mayol, professor at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
The recent conference organized by the Homs and Funglode congregated hundreds of the Dominican medical community, especially from the Cibao area, to listen to those who are already making a difference in the United States, Europe and Latin America.
Boding well for continued successful efforts in the direction of using AI to improve medical services, the conference became a rare consensus opportunity between the vision of President Luis Abinader and Public Health Minister Victor Atallah and the opposition party leader, former President Leonel Fernandez.
Earlier this year, in February, Minister of Public Health Víctor Atallah had officially designated 2026 as the “Year of Digital Health” with the support of the World Bank and the government of Japan. Dr. Atallah has endeavored to set prevention of disease as his main objective in office.
Central to this mandate is the rollout of the Unique Electronic Medical Record (Récord Médico Único Electrónico – RMU). While major private and public-private hospitals have maintained independent digital systems for decades, the Ministry is now moving to integrate these into a single national public health network.
The strategy, rooted in the National Health Strategic Plan (PLANDES 2030) and the Institutional Strategic Plan 2025–2028, focuses on:
• Predictive Analytics: Utilizing data to manage endemic crises, such as dengue outbreaks and chronic disease surges, before they saturate the hospital network. The Ministry of Public Health under Atallah has been able to remarkably reduce the impact of dengue disease in the country.
• Resource Efficiency: Equipping facilities with digital tracking to minimize waste in the public sector and better allocate resources.
The political alignment was underscored during the Santiago conference. In the conference opening remarks, former President Leonel Fernández called for the Dominican Republic to become a global “node for innovation.” Fernandez called for the country not to be a spectator in the artificial intelligence world. “We should become a node for innovation and high-tech medical services,” he stated.
Fernandez called for establishing alliances with academia around the world to this intent. “The DR has the talent to be at the vanguard,” he stated. He called for the forum to be a moment of reflection and starting point for a plan for Dominicans to achieve long life. He stressed the new technologies can make it possible to offer quality services all throughout the country.
Mark Bunger sets roadmap for the DR in health sector
Conference keynote speaker Mark Bunger of Futurity Systems called for the Dominican Republic to continue to build on what it is already doing and take advantage of its own medical data. Bunger, an innovation specialist from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and president of Futurity Systems, delivered the central speech: “Health of the Future: Santiago as a Destination for Health Tourism in the Era of Artificial Intelligence.”
Bunger urged the medical sector in the Dominican Republic to build on advances already made in dentistry and plastic surgery, and spoke of the opportunities to step up these services by leveraging AI. “Make better and more accurate models of what you are already doing,” he said.
He also mentioned opportunities for services to seniors as the baby boomers, the largest demographic segment, have retired.
He spoke of opportunities for telehealth and health tourism, with 24-hour specialists improving diagnostics.
He encouraged Dominicans to focus on using AI to free up time for physicians and nurses to spend more time with patients and less time filling forms. He said AI can replace most of the documentation roles.
Bunger also pinpointed that the Dominican Republic has a relatively young population. “DR’s large youth population is an amazing asset,” he said.
He specifically pointed to Santiago’s potential to lead in aesthetic surgery and dentistry by integrating AI into the patient journey, from initial diagnosis to post-operative remote follow-up.
Other key points
Democratization of health technology: He argued that AI is “leveling the playing field,” allowing developing nations to build medical solutions in weeks that previously required years and millions in investment.
Dominican Republic as a medical hub: He highlighted that the DR has a unique competitive advantage due to its geographic location and existing hospital infrastructure. He suggested the country is perfectly positioned to become a regional “hub” for AI-driven medical tourism.
Funglode digitalized the entire conference. Other international speakers at the conference were:
Dr. Sergio Blasco, CEO Homs Santiago.
Dr. Jose Manuel Martinez Sesmero, Hospital Gaita-Sescam, Madrid.
Computer engineer Eveling Castro, Peru.
Maryam Saleh, Institute of Technology (ITT), Illinois
Nicholas Hatsopoulos, University of Chicago
Dr. Samuel Volchenboum, University of Chicago
Jeff Bray, Intuitive Surgical
Paco Cuevas, Google Healthcare
Dr. Jaime Manalich Muxi, former Minister of Public Health of Chile
Engineer Luis Cruces, IE University, Jener Healthcare, Chile
Alex Kane, Amazon Web Services health sector
Concurrently with medical services, the Dominican Republic’s private sector is also immersed in the manufacturing of medical devices. As of early 2026, the sector is not only the country’s leading export but also a primary driver of the nation’s high-tech industrial strategy with new records in exports of medical instruments and pharmaceuticals reaching approximately US$2.87 billion in 2025. The sector accounted for 33.4% of all free trade zone exports and approximately 22% of national exports. The Dominican Republic is currently the 7th largest exporter of medical devices globally. Within the region, it is the 3rd largest exporter to the United States, following only Mexico and Costa Rica.
Read more in Spanish:
El Dia
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Roberto Cavada
CDN Minister of Public Health Declaring 2026 Digital Health Year
26 March 2026