Innovation and access to health care

The place where you live should not determine the quality of healthcare you receive, after all, the national constitutions of each country enshrine a person’s right to a healthier and happier life.
The reality contradicts this right and the disparity in access and provision of care is undeniable.
Scientific publications refer to rural areas as areas of reduced access to healthcare, but we know that, depending on the country, urban areas of the largest state capitals in Brazil have the same characteristics as rural areas in academic articles.
These zones have:
Fewer providers: Access to hospitals is limited. The same happens with basic exams. People are not monitored for heart disease, blood pressure, weight or diabetes, with the consequent results. Not only is there a lack of adequate care, there is a lack of information, there is a lack of promotion and awareness campaigns.
Health plans: In rural areas, such as on the outskirts of large cities, access to health plans is an obstacle. Employer-associated health plans are a rarity and the costs of hiring also discourage a type of population with low purchasing power.
Distance: Seeking quality healthcare or seeing a specialist can require a journey of hours. Between time spent and associated expenses, the distance factor will discourage inhabitants of these areas.
Transport: Depending on the area, the issue of transport can vary from non-existence to a scarcity of options.
Internet: Access to broadband is a real factor in 2024. (note: Oi stated in September 2019 that it would lay fiber on the street where I live. To date, this option still does not exist. Imagine a rural or peripheral area…). Without a stable internet connection, it is difficult or impossible to access telehealth services. There is the technology, there are the tools, but there is a lack of access.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, CFM was forced to leave medieval times and accept telehealth, but, more than that, all the people who were suspicious or had reservations about the use of telehealth, today use it naturally and routinely. .
But, again, if we consider international studies on rural areas and include peripheral urban areas, but if we also include the poorest or elderly population, the problems are the same.
The solution seems to be technology, digital. However, internet access is required. Around the world, nations, states and municipalities have invested in increasing access, depending on the location, via broadband or Wi-Fi.
But it is possible to go further. Wearables and portables. Monitoring patients has a double benefit. They track health continuously, providing critical data to healthcare providers, feeding databases, which feed AI tools. The big challenge is accessibility, but as soon as the public sector and the private sector understand the value of having a healthy population and the value of health data, the calculation will give a result: double the benefit. Healthcare organizations can thus analyze and identify trends and disparities and track community health metrics. Consequently, providers have a powerful tool to identify areas of need and allocate resources efficiently. Through AI it is also possible to develop health research.
Care on wheels: Mobile health clinics for rural and peripheral communities. Technology cannot be the only solution and human interaction plays a crucial role, especially when we talk about isolated populations or those with little contact with healthcare professionals. Taking advantage of health promotion strategies, such as Yellow September, Pink October or Blue November, it is possible to create routines with the populations themselves and establish health awareness.
Distribution, access and sustainability: Just look at the example of Mark Cuban, who managed to drastically lower the cost and price of medicines in the US (and remains a billionaire), guaranteeing access to a larger portion of the population. But, through technology and AI tools, it is possible to ensure that the distribution of medicines is carried out in an organized and sustainable way, understanding the needs of a given area, over time, ensuring a strategy that optimizes the number of transports, without prejudice to deliveries. Even through the use of drones. It’s not fiction, it’s something very real that happened during the pandemic. And it doesn’t just apply to medication, it can be used with exams and samples.
Innovation is not just developing APPs or creating a technological or digital tool, it is creating ways to increase access and effectiveness of these tools or new tools that are being created or will be created.

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