From our LATAM: “Closing the gap with a digital bridge” (Part 1)
By Jhonatan Bringas Dimitriades, MD
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a diversified amount of disruptive solutions. From innovative Telehealth platforms, remote monitoring software/app solutions to the wearable revolution and the acceleration of Pharma compounds through DCT (Decentralized Clinical Trials). This disruption has touched the general medical practice worldwide, making the clinical experience a more “patient centric” experience while enhancing the efficiency of the not so well oiled, rusty, medical system (Specially in areas such as the European Union, the USA, Canada, Australia, etc.)
The situation, however, has been different in the LATAM (Latin-American) area. To understand the impact of Digital Health in this region, we need to understand the current and pre-pandemic situation of the LATAM healthcare systems across this vast region.
In the case of countries like Mexico, Colombia or Perú, the pre-pandemic situation was already precarious.
- Centralization of Medical Services in big cities (Such as Mexico City, Lima or Bogota).
- Faulty universal coverage, which was far from efficient, characterized by the long waiting times, excessive amount of medical operational mistakes that led to malpractice in many cases and the incapacity to follow up their own chronic or post-acute patients (also called after-care).
- Disparity of private care standards: The standards of private care (A very broadly used alternative in the countries) had different levels of quality, ranging from very poor levels (involving failure to be aseptic or antiseptic), to high end luxury standards (that might even surpass levels in countries such as the USA, Switzerland or The Netherlands) involving healthcare hospitality management and complete hotel-hospital services.
- Remote locations left behind. The americas are known for having very remote human settlements, from towns in the middle of the Andean mountains, to the Amazon rainforest and Central American rainforest. The people living in these human settlements have very limited access to services such as drinking water, electricity, mobile connectivity, urban infrastructure or even roads to communicate them from the centralized services. The situation of healthcare was no different, remote settlements without any medical personnel, medical devices or therapeutic products. With a little to none medical system in these areas, exceptional transportation is frequently needed and the mortality-morbidity rates are at a very high end for very controllable diseases.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world in ways we still start to understand. The economic burden in regions such as Latin-America has been very heavy, leading to a dramatic economic contraction. Countries such as Perú and Ecuador have experienced involutions of more than 15% in the last year and a half. Unemployment is in its highest since the 2000s and it continues to increase as the LATAM region remains in one of the longest (and most inefficient) quarantines organized worldwide.
The solution to the LATAM deep disparity issue in healthcare might be solved (or at least patched) without infrastructure.
The disruption in Digital Health, originated by the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Latin-America as the countries started to shut down. Form remote working to e-commerce and online banking, LATAM had to get rid of previous cultural distrust to technology, and adopt the new digital era fast (Specially if it wanted to keep up with the world economic demands). This disruption affected, in its majority, the healthcare services worldwide. It accelerated adoption to digital tools and made healthcare more efficient and available.
The lack of infrastructure for healthcare services in the case of Latin America is no (or may not be a) limitation to the expansion of Digital Health, this is why we name it a bridge for the healthcare gap (originated by centralization, faulty universal coverage and disparity) in the region. The solution to the LATAM deep disparity issue in healthcare might, then, be solved (or at least patched) without infrastructure.
End of Part I
