Timely and accurate health data and information can allow those making decisions to achieve a safe, effective, responsive, and patient-centred care, that is also cost-effective and accessible. New digital health services and applications are possible thanks to a wider use of health data and information that is easier to understand and valid for a range of uses and users. These new digital health services, ranging from telehealth to artificial intelligence, may lead to better access to healthcare and increase patient satisfaction, especially amongst those patients that face the most barriers to traditional in-person care services such as those living in remote areas in LAC (OECD, 2021[2]).
This digital transformation could be useful to improve healthcare access and quality in Latin America and the Caribbean. Countries in LAC could also facilitate the establishment and integration of regional health bodies through the digitalisation of health, thanks to the real time communication and resource dissemination that have been highlighted by the COVID‑19 crisis (Di Paolantonio, 2020[3]).
LAC3 countries had on average 65% of primary care practices using EMRs, compared to 93% in OECD24 countries. Only Costa Rica, reporting that all public primary care facilities are using EMRs, had a higher coverage rate than the OECD on average. Mexico had the lowest coverage amongst LAC3 countries with less than a third of primary care practices reporting using EMRs (Figure 5.1).
Two main aspects of people‑centred health systems are consulting individuals on their healthcare as well as giving them access to their health data and information. Partly due to the COVID‑19 crisis, patients and providers are more and more interested in using digital tools to improve individual health and facilitate patient engagement with health systems. In five LAC countries, 41.6% of individuals aged 16‑74 used the internet to seek health information in the three months preceding the survey, compared to 58.6% on average in OECD38 countries (Figure 5.2).
However, important demographic and socio‑economic differences in seeking health information online are in place (Oliveira Hashiguchi, 2020[4]). Older adults, individuals with lower levels of educational attainment, as well as those from households with lower incomes were less likely to search for health information online. Both health and digital health literacy are key to guarantee that the digital transformation leaves no one behind.
