The digital imperative is not new. For years it has been standard to do bank transactions online, pay utility bills on smart phones, and check in for flights on airline websites. However, before the pandemic, most people picked out their fruit at the supermarket, tried on shoes before buying them, and attended all their medical appointments in person. Lockdowns and mobility restrictions showed that doing things in person is not as indispensable as we thought. This changed everything: for the digitally savvy and the uninitiated, for those who were ready and those who weren’t. The circumstances catapulted everyday digital behavior to levels it was thought were still years in the future.

The government sector experienced a similar shift. For years, LAC countries’ agendas have included adopting digital tools for areas critical to development like education, labor markets, and health. This prompted the development of sector-specific action plans, like the Action plan for strengthening health information systems (IS4H) 2019-2023 of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO). Some countries made significant strides in the area of health, like implementing EHR Systems for patients in Uruguay and Costa Rica or using artificial intelligence expand telemedicine services to remote areas of Brazil. When the pandemic struck, several countries fast-tracked legislation to make it easier to prescribe medicine or provide medical services remotely. Others expedited measures like electronic triage systems in emergency departments. At the beginning of the health crisis, between March and July 2020, almost half the population (45%) in 18 LAC countries did not receive the medical care they needed.¹ It has yet to be seen how much the measures taken were able to mitigate the drop in health care and how quickly the region can handle the backlog that formed during the pandemic, as well as new challenges like the growing mental health crisis (worldwide, the pandemic triggered an estimated 28% increase in cases of clinical depression and 76% increase in cases of anxiety disorder). ²

The lessons from this health crisis unequivocally underscore the urgency of technology-based processes to transform health systems. Additionally, several studies on potential scenarios for the next few years show that the pandemic-driven migration to digital tools will only continue to gain momentum during the recovery stage³ and that both public and private institutions have to improve their capacities in this area if they are to achieve their objectives.⁴ The path forward is not a mystery. Thispublication will explore exemplary implementations and experiences in the region that show its potential future in digital health.

DT processes are thus crucially important in LAC’s current socioeconomic climate, in which countries not only have to do more in the area of health care, but they also have to do it more efficiently and with better quality, all while curbing rising expenses. This call to action is even more urgent in relation to the most vulnerable groups. The time to act is now, not 10 years from now.