Following the COVID-19 outbreak, universities and government have boosted telemedicine solutions for the people’s benefit.
According to Peru's Ministry of Health (MINSA), more than 3 million of medical attentions, were provided in the various telemedicine services and systems in Peru in the first half of the year. Through services provided in teleconsultations, telemonitoring, among others, telemedicine has played a critical aspect during the health crisis by COVID-19.
The National Telehealth Network is made up of more than 2,000 health centers, meaning that Peru had a solid base prior to the pandemic, and this caused users to adopt it faster. In this way it was possible to reduce patients transfers and movements between cities and health centers.
As for universities, they have provided a number of solutions for different problems that have arisen throughout the contingency. For example, in a project developed by the University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC), a portable device was created that disinfects masks using UV light, allowing the masks to be used four times more. Also, in another project developed by UTEC, the Peru application was developed En Tus Manos an app for mobile devices capable of calculating the risk of infection:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=peruentusmanos.gob.pe&hl=en_US
Specialized projects have also emerged in the detection of COVID-19, as a group of biologists from the Universidad Popular de la Chontalpa developed a rapid molecular test at a lower cost than conventional tests.
Peru has a consolidated network of Telehealth, however, the health emergency has driven the creation and implementation of new projects, as well as the adoption of telemedicine as an alternative in health care.
