Speaking of World No Tobacco Day, technology in health continues to innovate in all areas. Have you heard of Florence? a digital advisor helping people know and understand better about the reasons why they should quit smoking and how to achieve it… some might find it weird -talking to a virtual tool-, but some prefer apps or machines over actual human beings.

This is basically a much-improved interactive source that provides facts, debunks misinformation, and fills in all those gaps caused by physical, distance, educational, or economic impediments.

Could this kind of artificial intelligence (AI) be a modern version of sympathetic magic based on similarity and imitation and influencing people´s choices?

Digital transformation goes beyond just getting rid of physical paper. It is a driver of change, moving a whole medical ecosystem, including patients, to the digital era. And whether we like it or not, we all are enrolled in it one way or another.

With Covid-19-related restrictions and circumstances, everyone has had a taste of what not being able to visit the doctor´s office is like, and the alternatives left are digital.

The lack of medical staff, the limited open facilities, and having to experiment with making online appointments and sessions shook us all to a whole new world that we may have decided to put off.

Telemedicine has been the way out. From a patient sharing with their doctor instant photos and test results to a remote peer-guided cardiac surgery, its reach is inexhaustible.

In another aspect, virtual learning environments as well provide continuous access to unlimited educational information bridging distances and weaving opportunities that otherwise would have seemed impossible. 

Some people are ‘digitally born’ according to Aleksander Kuleshov, and this can only mean efficacy and breakthrough in a world that won´t cease to reinvent itself.

But what about underdeveloped countries, older generations, and remote communities? In Guatemala, for instance, currently, cell phones are the main communication service used, they are considered fundamental tools for development, and are used in 80% of the homes. Nevertheless, this progress has not resonated in the health sector, where 80% of the doctors are based in the metropolitan area -mainly specialists-, 15% in rural areas, and only 5% travel to certain remote places.

Even though the PAHO launched the concept Cyberhealth in 2005, it was only until 2011 that the term Telehealth/Telemedicine appeared as basic national strategy of eHealth in the Americas, and, in the case of Guatemala, it was only until 2018 that the concept started circulating among the population.

There is still so much to do, achieve, and educate in terms of healthcare and technology. Yet, throughout the process and already having managed it, individualization and the sense of presence found in traditional means are cornerstones we cannot afford to lose.

Alejandra Contreras, Health Information Linguist

31st May 2021, Guatemala

Sources:

PAHO, Launch of Florence in Spanish: a digital health worker to help you quit tobacco, https://www.paho.org/en/events/launch-florence-spanish-digital-health-worker-help-you-quit-tobacco

The didactic potential of virtual information educational environment as a tool of geography students training, https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2002/2002.07473.pdf

Avances en salud digital ¿En dónde encaja la telemedicina en Guatemala? Red Centroamericana de Informática en Salud, https://recainsa.org/avances-en-salud-digital-en-donde-encaja-la-telemedicina-en-guatemala/

© 2021 Alejandra Contreras, protected under British Copyright Law 1988.