Innovating experiences and Challenges for Health Surveillance
Health Technology: Insertion Assessment and SurveillanceVIII Catherine Ausqui; Salomé Fernandez; Susana Novaro
IntroducTIOn The use of health technology requires scientific evidence to reduce the uncertainty associated with its use. They also need to incorporate the cultural, social, economic and family contexts of both patients and institutions where these technologies are applied. There’s no doubt that medical science and health technologies have introduced significant changes in the provision of services, plus they have contributed significantly to increase life expectancy, improve the population’s health and build a better way of life in societies12. Also the growing importance of non-communicable diseases is reflected in the continuous incorporation of technology into medical practices and health care since it allows greater diagnostic capacities, plus it allows more complex and effective therapeutic interventions13. Commonly, there are five stages that can be distinguished in the life cycle of technology: innovation, diffusion, incorporation, technosurveillance and abandonment. We will focus on incorporation and technovigilance14,15. Since 2005, Uruguay started a structural reform in the health sector that was consolidated in 2007 with the approval of the National Integrated Health System (SNIS). Among its main objectives we can mention the following: improve equity in terms of population’s access to health services, respond more effectively to health needs, provide quality services and achieve efficacy of the system by ensuring the accessibility, quality, equity and universality of health services. The reform has three main areas in which to work: changing the service model, changing the funding model, and changing the management model. The reform introduced new policies for promoting a rational use of health resources by strengthening the health technology assessment, and evaluating all clinical, epidemiological and cost aspects as well the social impact caused by health interventions, technology incorporation and health interventions in general (services, drugs)16,17. In this way, the Public Health Ministry becomes more demanding and communicates to all public and private health institutions the need of focusing on quality, effectiveness and efficiency of health interventions. Therefore, the challenge has been to find ways so that either the new or already existing health technologies could fall within the premises of the health system’s reform, following and adapting the health technology assessment models that are being imposed worldwide.
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