The president of the entity participated in a virtual debate, promoted by Mevo, and highlighted the importance of joint efforts and parliamentary movement, led by relevant entities in the sector, in advancing the regulation of telemedicine and telehealth in Brazil
Caio Soares, president of Saúde Digital Brasil, participated in the fourth edition of Roda Mevo on the 21st, whose theme was “How civil society can simplify and democratize digital health”. The initiative is promoted by Mevo, a health platform associated with SDB, with solutions ranging from digital prescriptions to home delivery of medications. The main objective of the initiative is to bring together the community of professionals and entrepreneurs in the sector to discuss important topics, solutions and strategies that simplify health.
In this edition, the discussion was moderated by Julia Cestari, head of public policies at Mevo, and also featured the participation of Luis Gustavo Kiatake, president of the Brazilian Society of Health Informatics – SBIS; and Paula Mateus, leader of the Healthtech & Wellness committee of the Digital Innovation Movement. In addition to providing the audience with context about their performance and representation, the entities spoke about the role that each of them plays in favor of the development of the sector and how they are contributing to public discussions about digital health.
During his participation, Soares told his story with medicine and digital health, and, based on his experience, presented how the process of constructing telehealth regulations in the country took place.
The president of the SDB highlighted the importance of the organization in mobilizing the media and raising awareness in society about the importance of telemedicine and telehealth to the Brazilian health system and the importance of discussing such measures as well as the community, with the involvement of all spheres of government. He also addressed the relevance of the SDB in the preparation and processing of the bill, authored by Congresswoman Adriana Ventura, which will regulate telehealth and telemedicine in Brazil, already approved in the Chamber of Deputies and currently in the final stages of processing in the Senate. After all, technology and health are two equally complex subjects, with many connections and nuances. This, according to him, increased the responsibility that Brazilian legislators had to assume in deliberating on the bill.
“Contributing to this regulatory process was a great learning experience for me personally, for Saúde Digital Brasil and for all the associations involved in this context. Because this political process is a collective construction. There is no point in wanting to discuss something that is for the good of the population, if we have no idea how this construction happens. And participating in this construction, with technical contributions and with people who understand this subject, only raises the level of discussion. This is what will help us reach a common goal”, he emphasized.
Soares emphasized initiatives that have been developed by the association. This is the case of Telehealth and Telemedicine Good Practices Manual — recently released — and the sectoral indicators panel, whose working group was recently established at the SDB, which will consolidate and disseminate sector data.
In addition to emphasizing the importance of joint efforts, joint articulation of sector entities and creation of the telehealth parliamentary front, participants highlighted the importance of the health sector looking at experiences from other sectors, especially to adapt to changes in consumer behavior and consolidate new guidelines, based on the digital world.
Training, the need to offer specific training to health professionals, encouraging innovation and the need to guarantee legal security to providers and developers of health technologies were also topics on the agenda.
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About Digital Health Brazil
Saúde Digital Brasil is a non-profit organization created to bring together entities that operate in the telemedicine and telehealth service provision chain or that develop activities related to digital health.
Founded in 2020, the entity's main objective is to represent the interests of telehealth and telemedicine providers and developers of health technologies. In addition, Saúde Digital Brasil works to contribute to the improvement of the healthcare model and encourage technical-scientific development, innovation and qualified and sustainable development of the healthcare sector.
