CASALUD, 100% Mexican digital health model, is recognized at the United Nations Assembly
As part of the activities carried out around the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Broadband Commission —created in 2010 by the United Nations (UN) through the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)— presented a specific report on how Digital Health favors and enhances the prevention and care of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
In its Plenary Session, the Broadband Commission announced the advances that have been made in terms of technological infrastructure and internet connectivity in the world for the benefit of the most marginalized populations.
The report presented on Digital Health provides examples, findings and recommendations for the implementation, operation and sustainability of policies that strengthen this area. One of the international cases presented was CASALUD, 100% Mexican model developed by Carlos Slim Foundation. It has been implemented in partnership with the federal government and state governments throughout the country to bring, through innovative solutions in digital health, proactive prevention and quality care for people.
This Commission recognizes CASALUD as an international reference on how the governments of the countries play a key role in integrating digital health solutions into health policies, especially for to chronic diseases that require long-term treatment and imply high costs that impoverish families.
In this sense, the Broadband Commission highlights the success that CASALUD has represented in its incorporation as public policy into the National Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Overweight, Obesity and Diabetes of the Federal Government since 2013, specifically with three innovative solutions in digital health:
- Integrated Measurement for Timely Detection (Medición Integrada para la Detección Oportuna, MIDO®): operates in primary care centers in 27 states to detect chronic diseases with special emphasis in pre-obesity, pre-hypertension and prediabetes. MIDO® operates within health centers and in public spaces and in remote communities, because thanks to the technology used, it is possible to go directly and proactively to people.
- Chronic Information System (SIC): a system that operates in more than 12,000 primary care centers, which allows consulting precise indicators of the evolution of health care.
- Online training: for more than 17,000 health professionals to provide continuous medical education and generate quality care.
Through CASALUD and its digital solutions for proactive prevention and quality of care, 1.8 million people have been benefited, who have been timely diagnosed with chronic diseases —such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, kidney damage, among others— in order to change the direction of their health.
Other success stories from countries in Africa, Canada, Brazil, among others, were also presented at the session. With the presentation of this report, Mexico is positioned as a leader in the field of Digital Health and strengthens the commitment of Carlos Slim Foundation to continue working in various alliances to reduce chronic diseases in Mexico and thus achieve a healthier country.