Pan American Health Organization, 525 23rd ST NW, Washington, DC, 20037, United States, 1 7034737961.
Department of Public Health Informatics, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2024 Nov 26;10:e65740. doi: 10.2196/65740.
From our roles within international public health organizations, we have collectively witnessed the global challenges presented by outdated health information systems, platforms, and applications. The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly exposed the limitations of our current paper-based vaccine certification methods and highlighted the deficiencies of outdated technological platforms that lack interoperability standards, a situation that underscores the critical need for a digital transformation in how we manage and verify immunization records. Digital vaccination certificates are understood to be secure, electronically stored, and easily accessible records that provide verifiable proof of a person's immunization status. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) envisions leveraging digital technologies to strengthen health systems, enhance data-driven decision-making, and improve health outcomes. The organization's vision emphasizes the integration of innovative technologies to build resilient and responsive health systems capable of addressing modern public health challenges. In an era of unprecedented technological advancement, our continued reliance on paper-based vaccine certificates is not just anachronistic-it is a significant liability for global public health that impacts the efficiency and effectiveness of our health systems on multiple fronts, limiting our ability to respond to public health crises effectively. With the strategic guidance from its Member States, PAHO has agreed to move toward the digital transformation of the health sector across the entire continent with an initiative that aims to improve health outcomes, ensure equitable access to health services, and enhance the overall efficiency of health systems in the Americas. The roadmap for this digital transformation outlines strategic actions and goals to achieve a connected, efficient, and resilient health sector.
从我们在国际公共卫生组织中的角色出发，我们共同见证了过时的卫生信息系统、平台和应用程序所带来的全球挑战。COVID-19 大流行清楚地暴露了我们当前基于纸质的疫苗认证方法的局限性，并凸显了缺乏互操作性标准的过时技术平台的缺陷，这一情况突显了我们在管理和验证免疫记录方面进行数字化转型的迫切需要。数字疫苗接种证书被理解为安全的、电子存储的、易于访问的记录，提供了可验证的个人免疫状态证明。泛美卫生组织（PAHO）设想利用数字技术来加强卫生系统、增强数据驱动的决策制定并改善健康结果。该组织的愿景强调了整合创新技术，以建立有弹性和响应能力的卫生系统，以应对现代公共卫生挑战。在前所未有的技术进步时代，我们继续依赖纸质疫苗证书不仅是过时的——这对全球公共卫生构成了重大责任，影响了我们卫生系统在多个方面的效率和效果，限制了我们有效应对公共卫生危机的能力。在其成员国的战略指导下，PAHO 已同意在整个美洲大陆推动卫生部门的数字化转型，该倡议旨在改善健康结果、确保公平获得卫生服务并提高美洲卫生系统的整体效率。该数字化转型路线图概述了实现连接、高效和有弹性的卫生部门的战略行动和目标。
