The Pan-American Digital Health Route (PH4H) is an initiative that aims to enable connected health for all people in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Led by the Inter-American Development Bank IDB, the Pan-American Health Organization PAHO and the countries of the region, this initiative aims to facilitate the exchange of health data in a secure, efficient and interoperable manner, both within and between countries, allowing people in the region to share and access their health information. PH4H promotes regional synergies by maximizing national investments for the exchange of health information. In addition, PH4H facilitates continuous coordination with regional organizations and networks in digital health, thus strengthening integration and efficiency in the health sector.
The main goal of PH4H is to deliver better health services to patients regardless of their location. The project seeks to improve the health care of those who temporarily move for work or other reasons. For migrants populations, it will enable sharing medical histories, which may improve their opportunities for better employment and education. In addition, the PH4H will strengthen public health surveillance, optimize access to limited human resources, and foster research and innovation, resulting in more efficient public health policies and improved regional economies. As a result, countries will be better prepared for future pandemics and other health threats. Cross-border use cases that can be implemented within PH4H are included in this repository.
Unlike a physical route, a PH4H transcends borders, allowing universal access without leaving anyone behind. The initiative, which will be officially launched at the end of 2024, is supported by the Government of Japan's Fund for Quality Infrastructure, Disaster Resilience and Health. We look forward to more partners joining us on this transformative journey.
Within the PH4H trust framework, participating countries agree on a range of use cases, underpinned by a pre-established governance mechanism subject to ongoing discussion. These use cases, while varying in their level of applicability, collectively reflect the needs and priorities of the participating nations. A preliminary set of use cases is presented below for consideration and discussion among participating countries, with the aim of reaching consensus. For this purpose, the following taxonomy has been defined to group the use cases and to classify them.
| Use Case Group | Specific usecases |
|---|---|
| Digital Vaccine Certification | COVID-19 (or global emergent vaccine required for travel/work) IHR: Yellow Fever/Polio Routine Child Immunizations Routine Adult Immunizations |
| Digital Certification of Health Documents | Prescriptions Lab Results Medical Certificates Birth Certificates Death Certificate |
| International Patient Summary | Migrant Tourist Student |
| Digital Certification of Professional or Education Credentials | Health Care Worker credentials (e.g. professional registration) Education credentials |
| Cross-border Telehealth | Provider-to-provider (e-consult/2nd opinion) Remote digital diagnostic interpretation (imaging, etc) Patient-to-provider |
| Public Health | Surveillance Research |
| Digital Certification of Supply Chain Integrity of Medications and Supplies | Medication supply chain validation |
| Digital Health Knowledge Exchange | Knowledge hub |
The Pan-American Highway for Digital Health Flyer
This framework is published under a Creative Commons - IGO license.
Feedback and issues about this empty framework can be submitted via the issues page, and will be incorporated into subsequent releases.