Ricardo Mestre was born in Serpa in 1978.
He has a degree in Economics from the Lisbon University School of Economics and Management (2021).
He is a specialist in hospital administration: XXXV CEAH of ENSP, in 2007 and a post-Graduate degree in Health Services Administration from Moderna University in 2004. He took the Health Services Leadership Programme at AESE, the Barcelona Course in Health Financing – Special Theme: Universal Coverage of the WHO, and the Summer School on Integrated care: moving beyond the rhetoric of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.
He was under director-general of the Directorate-General for Health as of June 2022.
He managed the Public Finance Council project on health and the State Enterprise Sector (March 2021 to June 2022).
He was executive member of the Health System Central Administration (ACSS) executive board (March 2016 to March 2021).
He was director of the ACSS Management and Financing of Healthcare Provision (May 2012 to March 2016).
He headed the Alentejo Regional Health Administration (ARS) Procurement and Contracts Department (May 2008 to May 2012).
He was advisor to the Alentejo ARS board of directors (May 2006 to May 2008).
He was a trainer in Economics and Management (April 2005 to April 2006).
He was senior staff at the S.Paulo, Serpa, Hospital’s Financial Services (July 2002 to February 2005).
He was a researcher on health and co-wrote several papers, a tutor in the field and guest arguer to discuss the work of several students of CEAH, ENSP, and UNL.
He coordinated several working groups in the field of health, of which he highlight: procurement and contracts in primary healthcare; procurement and contracts in continued integrated care, defining an NHS strategy for physical healthcare and outpatient rehabilitation, following up on the implementation of the family nurse activity, implementing the ICD-10-CM/PCS medical coding system in Portugal.
He was a member of the Alentejo Regional Coordination Team within the National Continued Integrated Care Network (September 2006 to May 2012).
Guest lecturer and speaker at various higher education institutions.
Author and co-author of several published pieces in the field of health administration and management.