After consolidating remote patient care, health institutions are now concentrating their efforts on improving the efficiency and quality of medical care, while optimizing a large part of their processes and solving the challenges of electronic medical record interoperability.
With the pandemic, telemedicine experienced an unexpected boom, becoming the most notable symbol of the digital transformation of the health sector. Today, with the Covid-19 situation already under control, this telehealth tool has remained as a post-pandemic legacy in health centers.
For example, of the 20,000 primary care consultations that the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital in Brazil carries out monthly, 17% are already done through telemedicine. Through its digital emergency service, it handles 2,300 consultations monthly.
Since the beginning of 2019, the teleconsultation service of Sanna, the Peruvian private health network, has had nearly 500,000 consultations throughout the country through its application and its care platform.
However, today telemedicine goes beyond teleconsultations. “We are developing mechanisms where health professionals take advantage of technology to connect remotely during surgical procedures, transmitting the video of the surgical technique being performed. This allows another group of doctors to provide feedback and learn advanced techniques. Our radiology system has also been renovated to allow the interpretation of imaging studies remotely, facilitating access to imaging subspecialists,” says Francisco Álvarez, corporate manager of Digital Health at Christus Muguerza .
Furthermore, this digital transition has not only changed the way healthcare professionals interact with patients, but has also improved the efficiency and quality of medical care and optimized several clinical processes.
For example, after implementing ERP systems, Grupo San Pablo has managed to improve the quality of services and clinic administration, optimizing and integrating patient information with management processes. “We increased the speed of implementation of our [digitalization] projects; we are at 80% and we are going for more,” says Manuel Marroquín, Corporate Commercial Manager of Grupo San Pablo .
Sanna has also already digitised most of its key processes, from service requests and patient admissions to medical records management and medical results. “As for emergency services, such as ambulance management, we are still heavily dependent on the human factor. Although we have implemented digital support tools, such as geolocation systems, real-time communication and telemedicine, the nature of these services requires a rapid response and immediate clinical decisions on the ground, which prevents complete digitalisation. The challenge here is to complement technology with highly trained human coordination,” comments Daniel Diaz, Medical Director at Sanna Outpatient Division .
For its part, the Clínica Bíblica Hospital is in phase 4-5 of the interdisciplinary self-assessment of HIMSS, the acronym for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, an organization dedicated to improving medical care through better use of information technology and management systems.
“We are implementing a new ERP management system to improve the traceability of supplies and inventory management. Starting next year, we will implement Intersystem's TrackCare system, which will allow for complete integration of the electronic record, improving access to clinical and administrative information,” says Guillermo Fernández, Medical Manager of Hospital Clínica Bíblica .
Interoperable challenge
Although several clinics and hospitals in Latin America already have an electronic medical record or medical file, the challenge today lies in interoperability with other actors in the health ecosystem.
“We have new challenges on our path to digital transformation, such as having a solid and integrated database that allows interoperability between different healthcare systems and platforms. Another important challenge is the implementation of artificial intelligence. However, this requires well-structured data, a regulatory framework that guarantees the ethical and safe use of technology, as well as patient acceptance of this new technology and distance from the doctor,” says Daniel Diaz.
In the case of Christus Muguerza, a process of stabilization and continuous improvement began in 2019 with the first installation of the electronic health record. “We are now moving towards taking advantage of the data generated during medical care, using advanced data processing techniques and machine learning to improve our operational flows. We are also deploying AI models that have already been validated for the detection of pathologies in the thorax, brain and breast,” says Andrés Nevárez, Corporate Manager of Health Innovation at Christus Muguerza .
Along these lines, in 2023 the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital developed its own digital platform along with a new data architecture designed to organize patient information and facilitate the use of AI algorithms. “All of this is done in compliance with the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) and with the best cybersecurity practices, guaranteeing data protection,” says Fernando Ganem, general director of the hospital .
Digital transformation in healthcare has definitely improved access to and quality of services and the management of clinics and hospitals. However, there is still a long way to go to close the gaps that exist in this sector.
