The Minister of Health, José Ruales, presented the Digital Health Transformation Agenda 2023-2027, with the support and technical advice of the World and Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO), the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Society (Mintel), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Vice Presidency of the Republic of Ecuador.
Recently, the Ministry of Public Health has developed a national digital transformation policy for the health sector: The National Digital Transformation Policy for the Health Sector 2024-2034. This strategy has the following aspects:
- Main objective: Modernize the health system through digital technologies
- Implementation period: 2024-2034
- Identified challenges:
- Cultural change resistance
- Data fragmentation
- Obsolete technological infrastructure
- Digital divide
- Insufficient technical training
- Main components:
- Implementation of a unified electronic health record
- Development of interoperable health information systems
- Promotion of telemedicine
- Training of health personnel in digital technologies
- Fostering a digital culture in the health sector
- Focus on equity: Aims to reduce inequalities in access to quality health services.
- Intersectoral collaboration: The policy was developed with the participation of various actors from the health and technology sectors.
The policy aims to improve efficiency, reduce inequalities, and expand access to health services through digital tools such as telemedicine and electronic medical records.