The adoption of digital technologies in the health sector continues to accelerate in the Americas and the Caribbean. And millions of people benefit from this advancement. These were the main conclusions of the Regional Event on Digital Transformation in the Health Sector held by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) in Panama City, between November 14 and 16, 2022.
The meeting, which had the financial support of the government of the United States, had as its main focus to discuss the lessons learned in the implementation of Telemedicine projects -especially in the area of non-communicable diseases- and Digital Vaccination Certificates.
The opening session of the meeting had remarks by Luis Garrido, Advisor to the Superior Office of the Ministry of Health of Panama, Rocio Medina-Bolivar, Representative of the IDB Group in Panama, Dr. Sebastián García Saisó, Director of the Department of Evidence and Intelligence for Action in Health (EIH) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), Ana Rivière Cinnamond, PAHO/WHO Representative in Panama, in addition to Dr. Anselm Hennis , Director of PAHO's Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health (NMH).
Dr. Hennis highlighted the importance of telehealth in the fight against NCDs. According to him, telehealth can, among other things, "support people living with NCDs and associated comorbidities in the population by promoting healthy lifestyles and preventive measures, focusing on health risk factors and people in the pre-disease states. It can streghten data, allowing the provision of timely and secure access to population-based information that can help prevent NCDs and improve the delivery of care, as well as precisely profiling communities that most need services."
Experts from the World Health Organization and envoys from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) participated in the discussions and presentations, along with representatives from 13 countries, who presented the results of their projects, highlighting the achievements - but also pointing out the difficulties they faced, and continue to face, in the development of different projects.
From the challenge of extending telehealth to a country like the Bahamas, made up of dozens of different islands, to the difficulties of bringing connectivity to rural Suriname, the meeting offered a unique opportunity for discussion and collaboration. The countries present were able to learn from the mistakes and successes of other nations, and offer their examples of creativity and resilience in the development of different programs.
For Dr. Sebastián García Saisó of PAHO, the meeting held in Panama was an important opportunity to strengthen "this necessary vision towards building resilient health systems. We all address it every time we talk about the importance of digital tools, of this digital transformation and what it implies within the systems, what it implies for the programs, what it implies to better serve the needs of people and communities."
The countries that attended the meeting held in Panama City were Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Uruguay. People in other countries had the opportunity to follow the event via Zoom.
The event in pictures
Luis Garrido, Advisor to the Superior Office of the Ministry of Health of Panama
Rocio Medina-Bolivar, Representative of the IDB Group in Panama
Dr. Anselm Hennis, Director of PAHO's Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health (NMH)
Ana Rivière Cinnamond, PAHO/WHO Representative in Panama
Dr. Sebastián García Saisó, Director of PAHO's Department of Evidence and Intelligence for Action in Health (EIH)
Alain Labrique, Director of Digital Health and Innovation of the World Health Organization
Marcelo D’Agostino - Senior Advisor, Information Systems for Health (EIH/PAHO)
Photo of the meeting in Panama
Photo of the meeting in Panama
Group photo of all participants