Technology and health: transforming the future of healthcare in the region

Date of last revision: 09/02/2024

The sudden arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic made the digitalization of various services inevitable, with one of the most critical areas being healthcare institutions. The need to adapt to new circumstances drove digital transformation in hospitals, aiming to ensure efficient and safe care for patients. The implementation of digital technologies in the hospital setting became a priority to optimize processes, improve access to healthcare, and facilitate communication between healthcare professionals and patients.

While progress has been made in measuring digital transformation, there is still a need to standardize indicators that comprehensively cover all its applications, driving the need for constant innovation in creating creative ways to develop effective metrics. In order to evaluate and measure the progress of digital transformation in the hospital setting, a specific indicator has been devised.

This indicator seeks to quantify the following online functionalities of 200 hospital institutions:

• •Online scheduling: allows patients to book appointments with their chosen doctor and/or procedures at the selected institution.
• •Medical exams: patients can view their medical test results online.
• •Telemedicine: the healthcare institution provides virtual medical consultations to its patients.
• •Other functionalities: refers to all other options available on the main website of the hospital institution, such as access to the intranet, providers, and other tools.

This study was conducted during December 2023, and the results obtained are detailed below:

Hospital institutions with digitized medical functionalities, selected Latin America and the Caribbean countries, 2023

(In percentages)

Source: Own elaboration based on "Ranking Web of Hospitals" from Webofmetrics (https://hospitals.webometrics.info/en/Latin_America).

Note: The top 200 hospital institutions in the ranking are included. For each institution, a manual search is conducted to determine if it has at least one of the following functionalities: online scheduling, medical exams, telemedicine, and others. Countries included, with the number of institutions analyzed in parentheses: AR (26), BR (54), BS (1), BZ (1), CL (16), CO (13), CR (3), CU (2), DO (4), EC (1), GT (4), HN (2), HT (1), JM (1), MX (50), NI (2), PA (4), PE (6), PY (1), SV (1), UY (1), VE (6)

Based on the results of the analysis of online medical functionalities in 200 hospitals in Latin America and the Caribbean, it can be concluded that while there is significant adoption of online scheduling and viewing of medical exams, the implementation of telemedicine services and other additional functionalities still has considerable room for development and improvement

These results highlight the importance of continuing to advance in the digitalization of the healthcare sector to ensure that everyone, regardless of their geographic location or socioeconomic situation, has access to quality healthcare. The implementation of tools such as online scheduling, viewing of medical exams, and telemedicine are key steps in this process, but it is also crucial to expand the scope of other functionalities to cover the emerging needs of the population. We must ensure that health is accessible to all so that no one is left behind, promoting an inclusive and equitable approach to healthcare delivery in the region. This entails not only investing in technology and training but also in policies that promote equal access and the removal of barriers that may prevent certain groups from accessing the healthcare they need.