Innovating sustainable development: A best practice from Ecuador during covid-19

The improvement in the delivery of health care services in geographically remote and rural areas is one of the most promising and clearly demonstrated applications of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in sustainable development Evidence suggests that improved health outcomes have been achieved through various applications of ICT solutions In particular, ICT is being used in many developing countries and communities to facilitate: (a) remote consultation, diagnosis and treatment through the use of digital cameras to download images onto a computer and transfer them to doctors in nearby towns;(b) collaboration and information exchange among physicians;(c) ICT-based medical research through the use of a network of satellites and ground stations to submit data for clinical trials;(d) medical training through ICT-enabled delivery mechanisms;and (e) access to centralized data repositories connected to ICT networks that enable remote healthcare professionals to keep abreast of medical knowledge Moreover, ICT provides considerable benefits and capabilities when applied to disease prevention and response efforts during epidemics and pandemics ICT is an effective means to disseminate public health messages and disease prevention techniques in developing countries It also enables better monitoring and response mechanisms Also, ICT is helping improve the efficiency of public health systems and medical facilities by, for example, streamlining medical procurement or creating and managing patient records The expansion of the COVID-19 outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, alerted all the countries of the world from the beginning of 2020 and reached Latin America in mid-February 2020 In this paper VERIS, an Ecuadorian successful practice of telemedicine during the COVID-19 times, is presented VERIS allows remote consultation with a certified Doctor, following the WHO protocol, and other relevant services provided also remotely The VERIS experience is particularly relevant during the present COVID-19 pandemic, because it eliminates the risks of contagion deriving from visiting hospitals in person, and could be particularly useful for emerging economies, with practical implications for mature ones © 2020 Academic Conferences Limited All rights reserved