Digital transformation is impacting the health sector and medical tourism
3 minutes read
- To improve the quality of the services they offer patients, the public and private sectors must keep adopting electronic systems that digitalise medical care and administrative processes.
Santo Domingo. – Digital transformation continues to impact every aspect of our lives. In the specific case of health, this phenomenon can be analysed from several angles, which broadly refer to giving more people access to health services with greater quality, speed and safety. It also refers to the interconnection of players through electronic processes that allow information to flow between them quickly, said Fedor Vidal, CEO of Arium Salud Digital.
Listing these aspects, Vidal, who has more than 20 years of experience designing, implementing and leading technology infrastructure, said that democratising information for all players in the health sector has increased the transparency and visibility of their services. “Ultimately, the exponential and effective improvement of administrative processes reduces care costs and increases the capacity of clinical systems.”
He said these changes are even more striking for medical tourism. “In addition to the points mentioned, which apply to medical tourism, the biggest impact on health tourism is clinical data through protocols.”
On this information, Vidal said the most important contribution of these processes is the ability to clearly measure providers in terms of Clinical Outcomes, or health indicators.
Private and public sectors in digital health
To ensure a national agenda that creates a more efficient and transparent health ecosystem, Fedor Vidal said one of the most important steps for public and private sector representatives is adopting quality electronic systems that digitalise medical care and the administrative processes that come with it.
“This is a step that cannot be put off, and neither can the immediate adoption of international technical standards and protocols that allow the sector’s players to interconnect, enabling much-needed interoperability.”
He said the Dominican Republic must adapt its regulatory framework to the reality of new technological processes, including the use of more international protocols. “And most importantly, medical digitalisation systems must be provided transparently, with the choice of provider respected and encouraged.”
Digitalisation of processes in the DR
In recent years, players in the Dominican health sector have worked consistently to digitalise their systems. “The pandemic brought this agenda forward exponentially. The country and the sectors involved must begin adopting these systems more aggressively and not slow down this irreversible process”, said Fedor Vidal.
He also said educating players is a challenge to overcome, “which is why at Arium Salud Digital we focus on educating the sector through our participation in international congresses and events on the subject”.
Artificial intelligence in health tourism
In health tourism, artificial intelligence promises major benefits, especially in identifying procedures and services in which the country could lead the region.
Fedor Vidal, CEO of Arium Salud Digital, gave the example that comparative analysis of care costs and quality of care indices (outcome data) against other countries is only possible by digitalising clinical processes and adhering to international clinical coding protocols.
He noted that another great artificial intelligence tool to be used in the country and in the health tourism sector relates to identifying potential patients through population profiles and data, reducing the risks associated with caring for tourists in Dominican hospitals.
A company belonging to the INTEGRA health ecosystem that provides digital services and tools to transform how existing processes are managed in the health sector through interconnected systems, while facilitating interaction between the different players in the market and providing technological solutions for their effectiveness.