The Ministry of Health of Panama has incorporated 32 new establishments to the telemedicine modality.
As part of the activities of the Council of Ministers of Health of Central America and the Dominican Republic (Comisca), the Telemedicine Forum was held, with the aim of making known the advances in the region of the new models of provision of services of health and innovation in health systems.
From March 2021, the congress of Panama, ratified by the president, approved Law 313, whose purpose is to promote a telehealth system throughout the country, to reduce the workload of hospitals and medical professionals.
Thanks to this law, professionals from the Ministry of Health (Minsa) and the Social Security Fund (CSS), can carry out preventive or initial diagnoses and monitor patients remotely.
During the telemedicine forum held on May 31, the head of the Minsa, Luis Francisco Sucre, explained that, since the beginning of the pandemic, telemedicine services have been implemented in the primary care network. Well, this service is now implemented in 12 of the 15 health regions of Panama.
He also highlighted that 32 health establishments belonging to the Minsa have adopted telemedicine as a care modality, not only for doctor-patient care, but also for the consultation of general practitioners with specialists.
On the other hand, Sucre highlighted the cooperation and telemedicine strategies in which Panama has been involved, for example with Brazil and the European Union. In this way, Panama has become one of the countries with the greatest progress in telehealth and telemedicine in the Central American region.
