By Daniela Chueke
Special correspondent
Whilst the region’s media was caught up in the prospect of a war between Argentina and Uruguay, as mooted by Tabaré Vazquez, doctors and computer technicians from both countries assembled early at the Uruguayan capital’s town hall in an effort to create new spaces for the exchange of knowledge and experience in order to drive mutual growth, showing that we still have many reasons to stick together.
At the opening ceremony, presided over by the Minister for Public Health, Dr. Jorge Venegas, Dr. Julio Leivas, President of SUIS and Dr. Selene Indarte, President of SUEIIDISS, the objective of the congress was presented: to spread awareness about the need to create working teams that involve all the different interested parties in the sector, including industry figures and doctors, academics and governments.
In the words of Selene Idarte: “We are all convinced of the need to administer healthcare efficiently and effectively. Phrases such as marketing and change management are no longer alien to healthcare institutions. The healthcare system needs its institutions to be efficient, well-managed and more profitable.” According to Indarte, information technology, “is going to be implemented, whether we doctors like it or not, because it is an absolute necessity.”
She went on to highlight the support that the two largest institutions in the sector in Uruguay, SUIS and SUEIIDIS, where most of those involved in the sector are concentrated, have received from CEPAL, which will shortly publish a report on FEMI, the association which includes all the social insurance organizations in the country, and its recent experience with computerization, and also distribute the first medical information technology manual for the Region.
The Uruguayan government will also have a presence at the event, in the sections dedicated to the inclusion of medical information technology in the Uruguayan Digital Agenda, through AGESIC as represented by the Engineer José Clastornik who will coordinate the presentation of the paper by Dr. Andrés Fernandez, representing CEPAL, on TICs and Healthcare in Latin America.
