Revolution

BIOMARKERS HAVE long been used in healthcare as a diagnostic and treatment aid. In addition, biomarkers such as those used to determine the probability of disease presence or development based on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) have been used as a means of taking preventive action, by predicting disease progression and possible response to treatment. In this way, a treatment model can be developed for the patient even before symptoms begin.

JAMAICA IS on the cusp of a digital data revolution in healthcare. I was recently at The University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) where my company is implementing the Health Information Management System (HIMS). I was heartened by the enthusiasm of the health workers there when Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton and his team toured the facility to see the progress of digitisation. I was even more pleased to learn that he, too, was excited by what he saw and had plans to fully digitise public health facilities – both hospitals and health centres.