When we, the patients in LAC, are asked what we think of our health systems, the major areas for improvement become clear. Eighty-eight percent of us believe that our country’s health system needs fundamental changes in order to function better, and only forty percent characterized the quality of service as “very good” or “excellent.”1 To be more specific, we repeatedly demand better access to services and better use of our information to create a more efficient and higher quality system. More than half of us report not being able to schedule doctor’s appointments digitally, and we don’t think medical specialists have enough information on our medical history from our primary care providers.2 Naturally, this situation exasperates us. We know our medical information exists because we’ve shared it a thousand times. We also know there are technologies that streamline the use of that information because almost all of us have a cell phone and use it daily.
“For just as Gutenberg democratized reading, so there is the chance that smart phones will democratize medicine. That will ultimately be achieved when each individual has unfettered, direct access to all of their own health data and information.”3.
- Eric Topol -
In this context, the age of digital health holds great promise for us. We hope digital transformation brings health systems that are more centered on us and our needs and that offer services that are higher quality, more efficient, and more accessible. We hope digital health is indeed a step towards further “democratizing” health care4 to give us increasing access and direct control over our health information and let us take a much more active role in our care. We hope digital health fuels a more equitable approach that puts patients, in all our diversity, at the center of health care.
I, a patient in the digital age, should have an up-to-date, reliable, and easyto-access medical file with my health information. The results from my medical consultations, lab tests, and imaging should be close-at-hand. I should be able to schedule a doctor’s appointment or submit insurance claims with just one click.
I pacient - Mercedes Viera
Hear from an end-user of digital health in Uruguay
With telemedicine solutions, I, the patient, should have more efficient access to healthcare services, especially in areas of the country where there are few professionals or specialized services. I also know that digital solutions can make it easier for me to access educational content on preventing diseases and promoting health that helps me keep better track of my health, especially if I, like millions of my peers, suffer from a chronic disease requiring constant monitoring. During the pandemic, I clearly saw how digital tools can help me access key public health information on how the virus is spreading and how to stop it, and how they can help me better manage my testing or vaccination certificates. In the age of digital health, I, the patient, know that I can feel more empowered. I know that thanks to digital health, healthcare personnel will have access not only to my medical information and file, but also to the most up-to-date knowledge to give me higher quality service, the most novel diagnostic tools, and information on the effectiveness of possible treatments.
So I, like many of my peers, demand more and better digital health in my country. While there is still little data, wellfunctioning digital health is a reality in many countries in the world. In Canada, for example, 91% of users surveyed during the pandemic were satisfied with their online healthcare experience, and more than three fourths (76%) are willing to continue receiving health care in that way after the pandemic.5 LMy Canadian neighbors see digital healthcare services as especially positive when it comes to care for chronic diseases or routine processes like renewing prescriptions, accessing test results, and accessing their medical history and records from anywhere and at any time.6
For me, and my friends and family across Latin America and the Caribbean, the pandemic marked an important shift in our perception of digital health. An IDB study shows that 60% of us that were surveyed are willing to share their health data to combat the virus, provided it is done in a safe and protected environment and it benefits them, their family, and their community. More than 70% of patients like me said they were willing to install apps for reporting symptoms, 75% asked for digital solutions for receiving information on virus exposures, and more than 85% approved using technology to ensure that social distancing and lockdown measures are properly implemented.7
I, the patient, am also aware of the risks and possible limitations in the age of digital health. My first concern in this new world is about ethically and safely processing my health data. Protecting personal and sensitive data is one of my main demands. Like many of my peers, I want legal and technical guarantees that this will happen. I also know that digital health can be a challenge for certain groups of patients who face obstacles like difficulty accessing the Internet or devices or poor technological skills. For certain groups and patients, like older people or people with fewer digital skills, digital health can be intimidating, so we need to find solutions tailored to each user group and always combine digital channels with traditional, in-person modes of health care. I, the patient, demand that digital health be for all of us.
Reference:
1 BID, Desde el paciente: Experiencias de la
atención primaria de salud en América Latina y el
Caribe, (Washington D. C.: BID, 2018), el estudio
incluye datos de Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, El
Salvador, Panama and Jamaica
2 IIDB.
3 Eric Topol, The Patient Will See You Now: The Future of Medicine Is in
Your Hands, (New York: Basic Books, 2015).
4 Topol, Eric. 2015. The Patient Will See You Now:
The Future of Medicine Is in Your Hands. New York:
Basic Books.
5 Canada Health Infoway, “Consulting Canadians on the Future of Their
Health System: a healthy dialogue”, (noviembre de 2020),
https://www.infoway-inforoute.ca/en/component/edocman/resources/reports/3850-a-healthy-dialogue-executive-summary
6 Government of Canada, “Digital Health Services Survey: What We Heard
from Canadians”, Competition Bureau, (febrero de 2021), https://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/04573.html
7 BID, 2021, encuestas a usuarios sobre salud digital