Online Event: Data-driven Healthcare in Latin America and the Caribbean

This event will be held in English with Spanish interpretation available.

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic revealed longstanding deficiencies in how health information is obtained, shared, and utilized, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region that has been disproportionately affected by the outbreak. One of the biggest challenges in the pandemic was the absence of timely and transparent health data. As a result, there has been a lack of surveillance to detect and report outbreaks, delays in mass testing, an overall absence of accurate information to guide policy, and a lack of accountability.

A recent report by the Inter-American Dialogue’s Health Task Force states that the pandemic clearly demonstrated the importance of reliable, comparable, timely, open and disaggregated data and statics to tackle health crises efficiently and effectively. The report goes on to recommend increased sharing of timely data in all public health scenarios, not just emergencies or high-priority threats, while also emphasizing the importance of consumer privacy and government accountability.

But data sharing has not been the norm in Latin America and the Caribbean. Further challenges include differences in the understanding of data ownership, inadequate regulation and standardization of data sharing practices, as well as transparency and data security concerns.  

The Inter-American Dialogue’s corporate program is pleased to convene a panel of experts to explore the challenges and opportunities surrounding data-driven healthcare in the region. The panel will discuss the following questions, among others:  

• What lessons has the pandemic taught about the state of data-driven healthcare in Latin America and the Caribbean, and where is it headed? What are the obstacles and concerns of forming and implementing smart regulations to sharing data within Latin America?
• How can better uses of data prepare health systems in the region for future crises, as well as improving the delivery of care under more typical circumstances?  
• What are the potential costs of transforming the region’s health systems into more data-driven care models, and what benefits can be realistically expected that could offset those investments?  
• What standards and regulations are needed to improve the access, use and sharing of health data, and how can those be adopted across Latin America and the Caribbean most efficiently?  

On September 23, Miguel Coehlo of Oracle, Charles Dalton of the International Finance Corporation, Maria Clara Horsburgh of Roche Pharma and Adrean Scheid of Arnold & Porter will discuss these issues and more.

Watch the event live here. 

Welcome Remarks

Michael Shifter

President, Inter-American Dialogue (@MichaelShifter)

Speakers

Miguel Coelho

Healthcare Business Development Director, Oracle

Charles Dalton

Senior Health Specialist, International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group

Maria Clara Horsburgh

Medical Affairs Director, Roche Central America & Caribbean

Moderator

Adrean Scheid

Principal International Policy Advisor, Arnold & Porter and former SVP for International Relations at UnitedHealth Group