Dr.%20Guillermo%20J.%20Padr

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Scientific electronic publishing in Cuba A
challenge that turned into a win
ICSEP, Valparaíso, Chile, October, 2002

• Dr. Guillermo J. Padrón
• Infomed, Cuba
• guipad_at_infomed.sld.cu

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What Is Infomed?

• Infomed is the national telematic network of the
  Public Health System in Cuba
• It was created in 1992 as an answer to a crisis,
  but with a vision of future
• It is the base for a human knowledge network for
  health improvement

Infomed is a tech-based human network
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Why Infomed?

• A serious financial and economical crisis
• Lack of possibilities to provide all hospitals
  and clinics with expensive international
  specialty journals
• The need for integration of the Cuban Public
  Health System to the global network of health
  information

The Infomed network was created as a way of
distributing the few available issues to many
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Infomed Mission

• To create a telematic network with the best
  available technologies in order to promote the
  quality of the medical services, education,
  research and health management in Cuba.

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The Goal

• To create an organizational framework to manage
  more effectively the knowledge on health , and to
  provide for a system of comprehensive and
  convenient information access. Particular
  emphasis is placed on providing easy one-stop
  information shopping for the user.

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Action plan

• To set up of an integrated network of accessible
  health information in Cuba, based on new
  information technologies
• To interconnect the most important Cuban health
  institutions and to connect them with Internet
• To develop added value services in public health.
  From library systems to telemedicine
• To integrate the Cuban public health experiences
  and results with global electronic networks

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INFOMEDs development

• Infomed was developed under harsh economic
  conditions, which made the acquisition of new
  information technology very difficult
• Serious financial restrictions on investing in
  new technologies

Even under these conditions, the Ministry of
Public Health has strongly endorsed the efforts
and the vision of Infomed
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On the other hand ...

• Cuba receives solidarity from many people and
  organizations in the world, and has secured
  important information technology resources
  through different projects and donations
• Infomed developed important national projects in
  coordination with PAHO and UNDP

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Strategic Components

• Virtual library
• Virtual University
• Telemedicine
• Health Surveillance Network
• Health Management Network

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What has been achieved ?

• A nationwide network with regional and provincial
  nodes to expand the services throughout the
  country and connection to the most important
  networks in Cuba and to the Internet
• A network with important information services
  available to any health care worker and
  institution with access to a computer and an
  account
• Cuban Health Institutions are developing their
  own information resources with Infomed facilities

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What else has been achieved ?

• The set up of national capacity to manage the
  new information technologies and to expand them
  among health professionals and population
• The set up of a network of ICT professionals that
  are working in different national and
  international projects
• An active participation in the Cuban ICT strategy

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Regional Provincial Nodes

• Nodes are located at provincial schools of
  medicine. It has promoted and facilitated network
  access to many users, giving preferences to
  institutional accounts.
• In each node there is a person (supervisor) for
  guiding others through the initial steps and who
  works with the health workers. There are often
  workshops and short curses.

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INFOMED The nationwide network
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Resources

• All services are available via WWW, e-mail. All
  Cuban health journals are on line.
• List processor (hundreds of discussion groups and
  bulletins), forums and chats
• Classic Internet tools applied to specific health
  information services, e.g. daily news, weekly
  bulletins, foreign Cuban journals, Cuban health
  statistics, natural and traditional medicine and
  current news on cancer.
• Internet resources available nationwide.

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Users access conditions

• Subscribers are not charged for the services
  provided through Infomed.
• The services available through the WWW do not
  require registration nor password.
• All users have access to NLM (Medline), and to
  other important web sites.

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How?

• Political support and resources mobilization
• Strategic planning, conceptual framework
• Policies and procedures
• Information Resource Inventories and cooperation
• Human centric not tech
• Learning by experience

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What is going on?

• Virtual Health Library with all Cuban journals on
  line, text books and a digitalization project
• Virtual University with courses and a human
  network working on it
• A Nationwide Surveillance Network to prevent
  diseases
• A telemedicine network with projects in
  teleradiology, telepatology, telegenetics and new
  projects coming

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Services model

• WWW as the integrator system for all
  applications.
• TCP-IP networks
• Development of applications to solve specific
  problems using standards
• National Capacity in order to apply ICT to
  development

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Discussion

• Infomed has emerged under conditions which are
  not uncommon in the developing world
• Infomed has been a concrete application to solve
  a real problem with new technologies
• Infomed is part of a national strategy in order
  to promote health as an essential investment for
  development

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Conclusions

• A tight economic situation is not a barrier, but
  an incentive to develop electronic information
  networks in developing countries
• It is not only possible, but also imperative, to
  create health information networks in the
  developing world.
• Infomed constitutes an absolute evidence that it
  can be done.

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For more information about Infomed contact us
at 27 110 e/ M y N, Vedado Ciudad de la
Habana Código Postal 10400, CUBA Telf (53-7)
832 4519 Fax [phone] Email guipad_at_inf
omed.sld.cu URL http//www.sld.cu/