On January 31, the World Bank approved a $125 million loan to finance Peru’s Integrated Health Networks (IHR) project. It seeks to benefit 20 million people without medical coverage by promoting greater interconnection between Health Service Provider Institutions (IPRESS) and creating the Unified Health Information System. The program has already begun to be implemented in some regions of the country, with a view to deepening its application during the course of the year. The program follows Argentina’s experience in the implementation of the National Telehealth Plan. It promotes access to health through the use of information technologies.

The Integrated Health Networks (IHR) project seeks to resolve the geographic, administrative and infrastructure dislocation of public health services in Peru. It promotes a “change in the health care paradigm,” according to Alberto Rodríguez, director of the World Bank for Peru. The program improves the interconnection and organization of IPRESS by promoting their integration at the national level. At the same time, it creates the Unified Health Information System that will create the country’s digital bank of medical records, which will result in more efficient and agile care.

The program follows the Argentine experience with its implementation of the National Telehealth Plan. This plan implements an interconnected system at the national level anchored in the use of information technologies to promote access to health. It is also part of the plan to implement the Universal Health Coverage. This was reinforced this week with the creation of the Integrated Management System and Registration of Training of Health Teams, with which they aim to improve the health sector’s human capital in the country.