Argentina Advances a Modern, Digital Health System with IDB Support

WASHINGTON — The Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved an $85 million program to deepen the digital transformation of the health system in Mendoza province.

The operation will benefit over 1.2 million people, more than two-thirds of whom rely exclusively on public health coverage. The other third use the province's public health services each year, despite having private, prepaid health insurance or employment-based insurance.

The project will enhance health facilities’  technological infrastructure to enable them to expand remote services, digitalize diagnostic imaging, and improve the medication management process in hospitals. It will also strengthen patient interaction portals for better remote care.

The digitalization process in Mendoza will include a program to train and manage healthcare workers. The project will also fund services and equipment for developing platforms, analytical models, and institutional capacities for a safe and connected digital ecosystem that makes smart use of data.

The program for Mendoza province is the first operation of a $700 million Conditional Credit Line for Investment Projects (CCLIP) to spur the digital transformation of health in Argentina.

The credit line aims to reduce premature deaths from chronic diseases, as well as their impact on people’s quality of life, by using digital tools to quickly generate and share information between health services of different types and levels of complexity, and, ultimately, between the provinces and the central government. This capability will streamline diagnoses and treatments and better equip healthcare teams to track patient care.