There are notorious health inequalities in Latin America and the Caribbean. A series of factors limit access to timely and quality medical care: scarcity of human resources, infrastructure, facilities and medicine, as well as low family incomes, physical and cultural distance between supply provided by the public sector and the population requiring care. Income levels, place of residence and ethnic origins are therefore variables that shape vulnerability and exclusion of millions of households throughout the region. This situation is accompanied by changes in health demand structure stemming from the fast speed of population aging and urban growth, especially in intermediate cities. On the other hand, increasing movement of people between countries, especially in border areas, poses the challenge of integrated strategies for epidemiological surveillance and healthcare. This situation is exacerbated by the rising cost of medical care, due -- among other reasons -- to the higher cost of health related technologies (medicine and equipment), and more commonplace chronic diseases because of the increasing number of older people. This scenario implies important challenges for the development of State policies and strategies that must include decisions regarding the incorporation of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The potential of these policies and strategies for reducing access limitations, improving efficiency in the health sector and in the quality of care and patient safety, are some of the elements that must be considered in order to decidedly face the difficulties and resistance that other sectors have already tackled. Major changes and increasing improvements for ICTs, as well as the breakneck development of bioengineering and technological convergence are changing the way we can work around the issue of health. The possible application of such technological innovation encompasses many, if not all activities related to health care, administration and education, offering opportunities to both increase coverage and improve the quality of care, as well as health system effectiveness and efficiency. The concept of electronic health (e-health) is used herein to encompass the multiple potential applications of ICTs in this field, regardless of whether they are aimed at health sector authorities, organizations providing care and health professionals, or used as customized systems for patients and citizens in general. This concept includes applications ranging from electronic medical records and various types of telemedicine to health portals and hospital management systems, among others. This basically refers to everything that uses ICTs in order to improve health actions in the sphere of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and management. However, limited institutional progress has been made despite several electronic health initiatives being implemented throughout the region. Consequently, most of these projects have limited scope and are not properly integrated into health policies or national ICT strategies. This document starts by identifying and describing the several benefits expected as a result of incorporating ICTs in health and goes on to summarize present and future challenges for health policies, especially inasmuch as the most vulnerable populations are concerned. Thirdly, the document showcases global progress made in several applications, strategies implemented and difficulties faced in some developed and LAC countries. The document finishes with generic proposals for the formulation of policies and strategies to be considered and adapted by countries throughout the region.

Information and communication technologies have expanded dramatically in Latin America. During the last two decades, mobile phones have penetrated more quickly in this region than in developed regions at a remarkable rate. Similarly, the per capita growth rates of Internet users have been higher in developing countries than in developed countries. The really fast diffusion of newer technologies such as mobile telephony, broadband and Internet has opened up big opportunities for using these technologies in the delivery of information in businesses and social service providers in Latin America and the Caribbean. 'Information Technologies in Latin America' provides a collection of rigorous empirical studies that contributes to a better understanding of the role and impact of old and new information technologies on Latin American economic development. It provides evidence using randomized and quasi-experimental designed studies for different ICT interventions. In evaluating their development impact a critical concern has been to contribute to the little existing evidence. In fact, whereas many ICT projects in the developing world have been promoted by multilateral organizations, bilateral aid agencies and nongovernmental organizations in recent years, the extent to which these interventions and policies actually contribute to the development of the region is unclear. The book provides evidence on what works and what does not. An important objective is to test one of the frustrating benefits of randomized controlled trials, namely, their ability to show that a program works when it does not and in fact, important policy lessons can be gained from failed field experiments. This collection of essays aims to provide valuable insight on both the promise and the pitfalls of trying to replace conventional, high-cost outreach with technological alternatives. Thus, it may be relevant both to researchers working in the area of information technologies and development, as well as to practitioners pondering how to leverage technology to improve outreach and reach clients in innovative ways.

Explora las posibilidades de lograr cambios favorables en los sistemas de atencion a la salud de America Latina y el Caribe y de alcanzar una Salud para Todos en el siglo XXI. Contenido: Futuros de la salud : herramientas para una mejor toma de decisiones; Desarrollo economico y social y Salud para Todos; La revolucion informativa y la atencion a la salud en Chile; El futuro de terapeutica; Tendencias futuras de la vacunologia; La genomica: promesas y las precauciones a tomar en la aceleracion de la calidad de la prevencion; el diagnostico, el tratamiento y la curacion; El futuro de los farmacos y de su regulacion en America Latina; Los sistemas de salud latinoamericanos en transicion: una vision para el futuro; El futuro de la atencion gerenciada en America Latina; Salud para Todos en las Americas: el escenario preferido; +Que significa todo esto? El sector privado, el sector publico y Salud para Todos(AU).