Officials from the Health Information System (HIS) of Paraguay presented the progress of teleconsultation in the country during the 44th World Congress of Hospitals, held in Barcelona.
The HIS is a technological tool implemented in 2019 by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare (MSPBS) of Paraguay with the support of the government of the Republic of China. This tool allows the management of patient data, medications, medical records in health establishments, teleconsultation care, among other utilities. At the end of 2020, 55 health establishments had this system, which made it possible to serve more than 1,150,000 people in that year.
Also in 2020, it was implemented in seven third-level hospitals and two second-level hospitals exclusively to implement the teleconsultation model. The progress of teleconsultations in the country was a topic at the 44th World Congress of Hospitals, where representatives of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the National University of Asunción (FCM-UNA) and the HIS project, exposed the importance of teleconsultation in Paraguay during the pandemic.
At the beginning of 2021, the MSPBS reported that there were 2,258 users trained in the use of HIS in health facilities. This allowed more than 27 thousand teleconsultations to be carried out in 2020.
Given the drop in the number of consultations, remote consultation services were key. It was not only important for medical care, but also to streamline other services such as the collection of medications in the hospital, appointment scheduling, among others.
Project progress
Currently there are more than 60 establishments that make up this project. Health centers are classified into regional hospitals, specialized hospitals, district hospitals, health centers, Family Health units and other establishments.
On the other hand, the HIS generates specific information on various departments of the hospital, for example, in emergencies, the system shows a traffic light-type classification of the degrees of urgency of each patient they receive. The system includes information such as admission data, pre-consultation and the procedures to be performed in the hospital. In addition, regarding hospitalized patients, the HIS shows statistical data on pathologies and records the use of medications and their doses.
This project has promoted digitalization in Paraguay, and the improvement of the quality of assistance. In addition, as it is a computer system, it seeks transparency and efficiency to transform the country's health system.
