Health authorities in the province of La Rioja, in northwestern Argentina, are developing a Digital Health bill within the framework of the Provincial Health Plan.
The Ministry of Health of La Rioja met with deputies from the province to open a dialogue on the Digital Health bill, which seeks to modernize the province's health system. The proposal for this law would form part of the Provincial Health Plan, and is planned to focus on the patient and prioritize quality and efficiency in medical care.
Juan Carlos Vergara, Minister of Health of La Rioja, highlighted the importance of having regulations for the exercise and implementation of Digital Health: “Digital tools and regulations are needed to accompany this profound change. We must develop a health network that is where we are going, having tools to share data that translates into information and in making the best decisions. The Digital Health Law is one of the main axes of transformation of the health system”.
He also explained that Digital Health not only requires computers, but that it is a system that includes a clinical history deployed throughout the province and at all levels of care.
After its elaboration and subsequent enactment, the new Digital Health Law of La Rioja seeks to initiate a long-term plan for digital transformation, which includes training health personnel on new technologies, improving connectivity in different parts of the province , and adapt hospitals to the use of technology.
“We have to prepare ourselves to eliminate the technological gaps and continue advancing; teleconsultations today are a daily tool just like digital prescriptions, the digital health law is an important advance and it is time to be able to work on it, work on a clinical history that brings us closer and that is owned by people, in addition to the savings that we can produce within the health system itself, it is an advance so that people in each point of the province receive quality care and do not feel isolated”, explained Teresita Madera, vice president of the Chamber of Deputies of the province .
For his part, the president of the chamber's health commission, Juan Carlos Santander, explained that the creation of a law that promotes and regulates the use of digital health generates new rights for the population in terms of access to health. "It has to do with Digital Health, a project that looks 10 years ahead, with the commitment to be able to reduce asymmetries, to improve access to health for all La Rioja people," he added.
