HIMSS21 Digital was a hybrid event this year, with conferences in Las Vegas and broadcast through digital channels. One of the digital presentations opened a space for Latin American countries to present their advances in Digital Health.
The Latin American Summit at HIMSS21 had the participation of agencies from countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Guatemala, Chile, and more. The speakers presented local and national experiences of interoperability, telemedicine application, use of data in decision making, among other topics.
Dr. Mariano Groiso, advisor to HIMSS in Latin America, presented the panel: Interoperability: an essential key to accelerating health innovations during and after the pandemic. During this panel, detailed explanations were presented on the innovation strategies that have been applied since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Manuel Rodríguez Arce, director of the Single Digital File Department of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS), explained that there are currently more than 5.4 million people in Costa Rica with a digital file, and that they have also enabled electronic medical prescriptions, to achieve more efficient drug control.
Through this system, patients can obtain medical care at any level, and the health professionals who treat them will have their complete file. It is a unified system, which has also been key during the pandemic, recording hospital occupancy in real time.
On the other hand, in Argentina the electronic medical record has also been important during the pandemic. However, Analía Baum, director of Health Information Systems of the City of Buenos Aires, explained that the connectivity strategy through fiber optics and more than 500 free Wi-Fi access points have been essential during the COVID-19 outbreak. 19 and maintain order in the capture of epidemiological data. In this way, it is possible to notify positive cases on time, as well as the occupation of beds in intensive care and, more recently, the monitoring of the vaccination campaign.
In Chile, they have highlighted the acceleration of digital transformation and the adoption of new technologies. Erick Cortez Pinto, head of the ICT Management department of Metropolitan Sur de Chile, explained that: “The pandemic achieved a digital transformation overnight. The need was seen from the community, the population demanded a change and we had to integrate information systems and deliver health services in innovative ways”.
