Waiting lists: How does technology contribute to health?

Mr. Director:

As admitted a few days ago by the Agent for Healthcare Networks, Fernando Araus, health waiting lists are currently the most important in the history of our country. This is an alarming scenario, which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 epidemic. Today, more than two million people are waiting for care from specialist consultations, while more than 330 thousand surgeries are awaiting resolution, of a different nature.

This situation includes extremely serious and important circumstances: as of December 31 of last year, taking into account only diseases covered by GES, among the 20 health problems that have accumulated the largest number of deferred opportunity guarantees, among others, Cataracts, refractive errors, comprehensive oral health for pregnant women, prophylactic cholecystectomy, diabetic retinopathy, chronic kidney disease, osteoporosis of the hips, type 2 diabetes and various types of cancer, such as cervical, uterine, breast and stomach cancer, Colorectal cancer and prostate cancer.

As can be seen, we are faced with a problem of high social importance, which entails a challenge to all actors involved in the healthy ecosystem, who must act in a coordinated manner for the benefit of the population as a whole. Fortunately, there is widespread consensus at the national level that integration between the public and private sectors is one of the main ways to effectively reduce waiting lists in the field of health, because in this way it is possible to improve the management of resources and to achieve more efficient management of the processes involved in this complex problem. This was indicated by the current government authorities as well as by representatives of the previous government.

Faced with a challenge of this magnitude, from the Association for Medical Device Innovation Industry (ADIMECH), we are open to collaborating with various sectors of the health field, making our expertise, capabilities and technological solutions available to the relevant country in tackling the complex problem of queues. Medical devices are present throughout the health care life cycle. This kind of tools, equipment and software It contributes to the prevention of diseases, facilitates their timely detection and also allows access to diagnoses, treatments and rehabilitation processes of proven quality and efficacy. During the pandemic, the role of ventilators has been vital, while in GES diseases, in vitro diagnostic reagents, ultrasound scanners, magnetic resonators, and prosthetics, among others, are essential for their diagnosis and treatment.

We believe that no one can be excluded from this crusade, because it is necessary to obtain the opinions of all the actors involved, and to establish a dialogue that allows the design and implementation of creative and innovative solutions for the benefit of the well-being of millions of people. The Chileans.

Yerica Mendoza

head Association of Medical Devices of Chile (ADIMECH)

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