The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) plays a fundamental role in promoting and strengthening telehealth in the Americas. Through its technical cooperation, it promotes the implementation of digital solutions such as the all-in-one platform, and offers specialized support for strengthening health information systems, with a special focus on primary care.
PAHO has created a variety of tools and resources, such as guides, technical documents, and maturity analysis tools, to support countries in assessing their readiness for telehealth, training health personnel, and implementing telemedicine services. PAHO promotes the development of interoperable health information systems, which allows for more fluid and efficient communication between the different actors in the health system and facilitates the provision of telehealth services.
Through training and technical assistance programs, it contributes to strengthening countries' capacities to design, implement and evaluate telehealth programs, ensuring that they are sustainable over time and works to ensure that the benefits of telehealth are accessible to all populations, including those living in remote areas or those with fewer resources.
Technical documents and references
Telehealth Readiness Assessment Tool
Tool to assess the maturity level of health institutions to implement telemedicine services. This tool has been specifically designed to help health institutions assess their maturity level to offer telemedicine services. It not only helps institutions understand their current readiness, but also helps identify potential gaps or areas that require additional attention and expert technical support. Its design is based on models that have been successfully implemented by several health institutions with different levels of complexity in multiple countries. The development of this tool was a collaborative effort, involving institutions and experts specialized in telemedicine and the use of information technology (IT) in public health in the Region of the Americas.
Actions to facilitate access to telemedicine
This knowledge capsule is based on the implementation of COVID-19 AND TELEMEDICINE: A tool to assess the maturity level of health institutions to implement telemedicine services and has been developed to support that tool.
Connectivity and bandwidth: key areas to improve public health
For the efficient and effective implementation of technology in the public health agenda, connectivity and bandwidth are critical for success both globally and in the Region of the Americas. Digital connectivity for all can enrich health service delivery, improve service quality and patient safety, and increase efficiency and coordination of care. The publication discusses several issues, such as what digital connectivity means and whether the Region is ready for the era of digital interdependence. It also shows how the topics relate to the Health Information Systems Initiative and the Eight Principles for the Digital Transformation of Public Health launched by the Pan American Health Organization in February 2021.
Universal connectivity
One of the eight guiding principles of the digital transformation of the health sector promoted by the Pan American Health Organization is connectivity. This policy overview presents key concepts, recommended lines of action, and indicators for monitoring with the aim of advancing universal connectivity.
Interoperability
Interoperability allows telemedicine and other applications to access, exchange, integrate and use data in a collaborative and coordinated manner through common interfaces and standards, within or outside the same institutional, regional, national and even transnational setting, to provide rapid and seamless portability of information and optimize health outcomes. To achieve this, it is essential that governments intervene by creating digital agendas that can generate consensus on the strategy to build and expand health information systems, to facilitate the establishment of communication bridges across organizational, regional and national boundaries.
Digital public goods
Digital public goods (DPGs) are one of the eight guiding principles for the digital transformation of the health sector promoted by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). This policy brief presents key concepts, recommended lines of action, and monitoring indicators, with the aim of advancing DPGs. On the path to universal access to health care, digital transformation plays a key role. DPGs, which include open software and applications, open interoperability standards, and high-quality open and shared data, represent an opportunity for low- and middle-income countries with fewer resources to access adaptive and innovative technologies.