‘Envisioning Jamaica’s Health Futures’
UWI Round Table Forum advances discussion on the future of healthcare
The future of healthcare in Jamaica took the spotlight on Monday, as policymakers in public health gathered for knowledge and experience sharing with international development partners and other stakeholders.
The occasion was the Round-Table Policy Discussion of the University of the West Indies Mona-Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) and the Ministry of Health and Wellness, hosted under the theme ‘Envisioning Jamaica’s Health Futures’.
The discussion, which gave primacy to the potential of collaboration between academia, policy and government leadership to generate tangible policy impacts towards better health outcomes in line with Vision for Health 2030 Strategic Plan, saw representation from the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), together with the Ministry of Finance and Public Service, amongst other health and government stakeholders.
Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton, while delivering the keynote address, highlighted the fundamental need for research.
“There is a far greater intersection between clinical and behavioural sciences with regards to health outcomes and the quality of life that people live than we are currently accounting for,” the minister said.
“Health cannot be viewed in a singular sphere, and the question I want us to answer here today is how we can, through research, develop a set of policies and guidelines to improve health outcomes for all Jamaicans.”
He added, “There is also a need for collaboration with their being many factors that we as a nation need to not only improve, but implement, such as the Health Information Management Systems, Telehealth Initiatives, Shared Healthcare Records, Equipment Maintenance Policy and many more. Each of us in this room has a role to play in change management and it is important that as we build out patient-centric and provider-approved digital solutions, we are enabling resilience in the health system – resilience that should serve us well as we face down climate change impacts and overcome pandemics and other health crises to secure the future of our world.”
The day-long forum featured policy and academic presentations as well as discussions on various topics, including climate change and health, health financing and health technology.