In its most recent installment of the Working Papers series on technological symbiosis with crucial topics such as health, education, fiscal policy and the digital economy, The Competitive Intelligence Unit published the one relating to the “Electronic Clinical Record in Mexico” (https : //bit.ly/3n1SkPq).
What is an Electronic Health Record (ECE)? An ECE contains historical information, in digital format, on the health status of a patient, as well as the different medical acts and procedures performed on him by health professionals. It includes written, graphic, electronic, magnetic, electromagnetic information and contributes to an optimal provision of health services.
In accordance with international experience, the document analyzes the factors that affect the implementation of an Electronic Health Record System (SECE), from the technical, operational and economic aspects, to the legal framework that governs our country.
Implementation Cases. Mexico is no stranger to the implementation of a SECE, to date 65 cases have been identified at the national level and, at the local level, there are the Administrative System of the Clinical Record of Colima (SAECCOL) or the System of Medical Administration and Hospital information (SAMIH), in Mexico City.
There are even regulatory mechanisms that seek to guarantee interoperability, processing, interpretation, confidentiality, security, and the use of standards and information catalogs in these systems (NOM-024-SSA3-2012). Likewise, estimates from the Ministry of Health point out that the implementation of an ECE in a universal way would generate savings for the public health system of 38 billion pesos, equivalent to 17% of the amount budgeted for universal health in 2022.
Barriers to the Development of a SECE. The characteristics of the Mexican health system, such as its high degree of fragmentation and lack of coordination between federal and state authorities, constitute barriers to implementing an interoperable SECE. Therefore, a close collaboration is required between the technology industry and the health system.
Another factor to be solved is the digital divide.
The Economic Censuses of 2019 and the Population Census of 2020 (INEGI) indicate that 78.1% of hospitals, 43% of health service providers and 52% of households have internet access. In this sense, it contributes in a fundamental way to promote connectivity in public and private health centers, the coverage and capacities of the Shared Public Network for its creation and operation.
Smartphones and Wearables as Enablers. The massive use of smartphones in Mexico solves a link in the connectivity chain, as they are devices that enable access and information management of an ECE.
As of the second quarter of 2021, these reached an accounting of 118.4 million or 92.7% of the total lines in Mexico.
Also the capabilities of wearables are an important source of information processing and monitoring of the health status of their users, so together with smartphones, they should be considered as devices on which access and exchange of health information should rest.
Based on the aforementioned barriers, it is of utmost importance to promote a technological solution of this magnitude that results in generalized benefits for patients and for the country’s health system. However, the task of having an interoperable platform that integrates them is a pending issue.
@ernestopiedras
Director General de The Competitive Intelligence Unit
Competitive intelligence
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx