Myrna Marti is the Regional Advisor in Management of Knowledge and Technical Cooperation at the Pan American Health Organization, and in Argentina works with issues related to eHealth.
In conversation with E-Health Reporter Latin America during CAIS 2013, she describes the PAHO’s work in different countries in the region.
When implementing the same project in different countries, how does the PAHO adapt to cultural differences?
The Ministries of Health play a very important role in this as they are the ones who really know the region. Virtual training is provided in the use of the system: these courses are prepared by the ministries for users of the solutions. In any case one must bear in mind that it isn’t the patient that makes the consult but the doctor, nurse or health agent, who have an institutional obligation, i.e.; they have an institutional relationship apart from the cultural aspect.
What barriers does the PAHO find in the different regions where it operates?
The main barrier we are coming across is the lack of experience with the technology. A professional might have a very old telephone and so must be trained in the benefits of the technology. We do a lot of work on awareness.
What is your opinion of access to information in Argentina?
I think that Argentina is one of the more developed areas in terms of access to information. We have seen a major trend toward open access. Access to information is very important in healthcare, especially for CONICET. At the Garrahan we are quite advanced in telemedicine and El Cruce stands out in terms of administration.
And what is the weak point?
We are weak in terms of interoperability, because development consistently occurs in isolation. But that’s true at a regional level. There are countries such as Mexico, for example, that have legislation on interoperability. Just the same, in a study we are carrying out at the moment, we are going to find out in detail about the state of interoperability in the region.
One of the missions of the PAHO is to strengthen and incentivize the use of e-Health solutions, how are you working to achieve this?
We are trying to be a catalyst organization: we need to share knowledge and information. We place a lot of emphasis on strengthening the development of scientific knowledge, because the truth is that a lot of information is produced in the region but no-one collects it or uses it as an asset. So we think that ICTs can help to generate a lot of learning through information systems that generate knowledge.
