Improving the national health system through innovation (+ audio)

Every week, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and the President of the Republic, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez, receives at the Palace of the Revolution the group of experts and scientists who are leading in Cuba the confrontation with the epidemic, but this Tuesday’s exchange had a special significance, because it happens when this scientific group and the Innovation Committee work Two years ago to deal with COVID-19.

At that time, in the middle of the presentation, as is customary with interesting topics, the anniversary of the avant-garde group, which had in its strength the integration of knowledge from various disciplines and the main findings, did not go unnoticed, having reached a Cuban model of health response to COVID-19 , on a scientific basis, to a unique Cuban protocol for action for COVID-19; Having developed the Cuban vaccination strategy against COVID-19.

I think the Innovation Committee should be congratulated for all the work it has done in this time – the Chair noted – and emphasized that it was an example of how to work on these innovation issues with complex problems. “They have been a force for everything that has been achieved in COVID-19.”

Benefiting, in terms of actions, from the experiences gained in the face of COVID-19, in the meeting with experts and scientists, Dr. Eliana Morales Suárez, Director of Science and Technological Innovation at the Ministry of Public Health (MNSAP), made a proposal to improve the national health system, based on innovation, which means It is, in his words, not doing more of the same, but about influencing with shifts in the capacity of sector leaders, in improving primary care, managing hospitals, in emergency medical services, implementing digital transformation, introducing high-tech companies into the sector, promoting the health communication model , Comprehensive data management and marketing of health services, all of the above have the following as the starting point for the main challenges of the Cuban health system.

Morales Suárez explained that there was consensus that the main challenges are recovering from the consequences of the epidemic and promoting the development of the health sector, taking care of the health of an increasingly aging population, permanently increasing the scientific and technical level of a large number of workers, improving the use of resources and the ability of the system to generate resources new, in addition to preparing for the risks of new epidemics.

In concluding the presentation of the proposal to improve the national health system, based on innovation, several experts intervened, including Dr. Pasteur Castel Floret, Director of the National School of Public Health, who emphasized that these projects do not interfere, on the contrary, they enhance the work that is being done Its implementation in programs, programs and overall projects. The President of the Scientific Societies for Health emphasized that any action we take at the level of practice to confront the problem of innovative solutions means practicing science.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rolando Pérez Rodríguez, BioCubaFarma’s Director of Science and Innovation, commented that the proposals were designed with a discontinuity approach and called for a prioritization of transformative actions in primary care.

To take an urgent look, in the midst of this process of improvement, at the health institutions that have gone beyond their founding mission, Dr. Rolando Pérez Rodriguez also pointed out.

At the same meeting, the first text bringing together Cuban science production and its visibility to the country’s leadership was presented, the book paving the way for the open access platform of the INFOMED network, which in the words of its Director, Dr. Eliana Alfonso Sanchez is distinguished by the collaboration between authors and institutions published during the period from March 2020 to June 2021, in 56 Cuban medical journals and 62 foreign medical journals.

As is usual in this type of encounter, Dr. Raul Genovart Diaz. The dean of the University of Havana’s School of Mathematics and Computing presented COVID-19 forecast models for the coming weeks, which indicate that nearly all provinces are moving toward more favorable situations, with a tendency to decline, except for Sancti Spiritus.

In line with expectations revealed in other meetings, Cuba maintains a decrease in transmission, Dr. José Angel Portal Miranda, Minister of Public Health, commented at the meeting of the temporary working group to counter COVID-19, which took place this Tuesday at the Palace. Chaired by First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez and under the guidance of Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz.

The Minister of Health reported that 47.2% of the diagnosed cases in the country during February were concentrated in Holguín (172 cases/day), Ciego de Avila (139), Matanzas (135), Sancti Spiritos (119) and the provinces. at the highest levels of transmission.

Miranda Portal detailed in the meeting, where Cuban Vice President, Salvador Valdes Mesa, participated, that on February 14, the first day of the digital vaccination certificate service, 65,818 people requested the service, 91, 5% of whom received their certificate while 9.29% could not not Complete the data.

In this sense, the President of the Republic, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez, urged the authorities of each province, present via video, to promote progress in the digitization of vaccination data, including the booster dose, so that there is no doubt in the population in the digital platform created.