News

On November 27, the Latin American University Telemedicine Network (RUTE-AL), under the coordination of RedCLARA, held the event "Digital Health in Latin America: The Vision of International Organizations," in collaboration with RECAINSA.

This closing session brought together regional experts, with Ms. Joseline Carias from the Central American Health Informatics Network (RECAINSA) as moderator and panelists such as engineer Navile León from the Ministry of Health of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Leonardo Rojas from the Ministry of Health of Peru, and Dr. Gianluca Cafagna from the World Bank. The discussion focused on the key role of international organizations in strengthening digital health in the region, highlighting strategies to address challenges and how digital transformation is reshaping health systems, creating opportunities to improve access, equity, and sustainability in care.

Five academic networks in Latin America signed an agreement with RedCLARA to form the RUTE-AL initiative in 2020. These include CEDIA (Ecuador), CUDI (Mexico), RENATA (Colombia), REUNA (Chile), and RNP (Brazil). Currently, RUTE-AL has national chapters in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador, consolidating its reach and representation across the region.

During its 2024 cycle, RUTE-AL organized 14 webinars, attracting over 1,200 participants. Topics addressed included telehealth, interoperability, data governance, public policies, and social challenges such as the coexistence of obesity and hunger. These themes reflected both global trends and the specific needs of the region, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to tackle current health and technology challenges.

One of the most popular webinars was "Health Data Governance in Latin America and the Caribbean" (July 31), which stood out for its focus on data management in the development of efficient public policies, a key issue for the region.

Tania Altamirano, Academic Relations Manager at RedCLARA, highlighted that one of the greatest lessons learned was the importance of regional collaboration: "Shared problems require integrated solutions based on the exchange of knowledge and experiences. This strengthens local capacities and promotes a supportive and collective vision for regional progress."

Paulo Lopes from RNP emphasized the significance of establishing two regional Special Interest Groups (SIGs). These groups enabled National Research Networks (NRNs) to implement a comprehensive collaboration model that included defining regional topics, scheduling, task assignment, speaker selection, panel formation, communication planning, and organizing sessions with a structured script. "This approach covered everything from introducing RUTE-AL and its SIGs to moderating discussions and closing sessions, fostering an atmosphere of trust and cooperation to address academic and regional challenges," he explained.

For 2025, RUTE-AL plans to expand its interest groups, integrate decision-makers and additional academic sectors, and strengthen the strategic planning of its activities, according to the organizing team.