Digital transformation in Chile is underway, and this includes healthcare services, which since before the pandemic have offered remote medical care.
For several years Chile has had several projects in universities involving telehealth, telemedicine, or government projects in conjunction with private parties such as those developed by the National Center for Health Information Systems (CENS) around Digital Health.
The study "Internet Use Gap: Digital Inequality in 2020" by Fundación País Digital, published in July 2020, explains that the health emergency caused the population to join digitalization in an abrupt pace.
The digital gaps in Chile are closing, since in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago 87.5% of the population has Internet connection, and in the regions of Magallanes and Antofagasta the percentages are 85.8% and 83.1% respectively.
According to this study, the increase in the use of Internet focused on government procedures has risen 12.5% in the last 8 years in Chile. This has had an impact on the healthcare system, the use of electronic medical records has become normal in Chile's largest public and private hospitals.
The use of paper has already been reduced to promote the digitalization of the healthcare system, so that healthcare professionals can consult patient data in one system. In addition, during 2020, the use of teleconsultation was presented as a great alternative to traditional consultations to avoid COVID-19 contagions.
In a document prepared by Jana Nelson, Latin America leader of the Amazon Web Services Institute and Pamela Orbenes, Digital Health specialist at AWS Chile, the five current Digital Health trends in Chile were identified:
- Growing adoption of technology in healthcare professionals;
- The aforementioned "zero paper" initiative;
- Empowered patients eager for technology adoption;
- The use of technology as part of the healthcare professional's academic training; and;
- "The cloud": A logistical solution for scientific research in health.
“These five trends put Chile on the digital health front line in Latin America. An increasingly digital healthcare system is a more patient-focused, less bureaucratic and less costly healthcare system for Chileans. By highlighting the advances and trends, we celebrate both public health professionals and their efforts to transform healthcare in Chile,” the document explains.
