eGovernment and its importance to eHealth will be discussed by Miguel Porrúa, senior eGovernment specialist at the Organization of American States (OAS), during an virtual eHealth seminar to be held on 16 January 2013. The second in a series organized by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the virtual seminar is open to the public free of charge.

eGovernment is the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to operations in the public sector to increase efficiency, transparency, and citizen participation, according to the OAS. Both eGovernment and eHealth facilitate access to services by using ICTs to accelerate national development.

“Many of the factors needed for progress in e-Health are linked to the digital agenda or the eGovernment strategies of countries,” said Porrúa in an interview with PAHO/WHO. “Digital literacy is important for advancing eHealth and also to government efforts in other areas such as education and entrepreneurial development,” added Porrúa.

The PAHO/WHO online eHealth seminar series helps to develop and strengthen the competencies of health workers, both individually and collectively, as well as their institutions and to improve the health of people in general. Part of the PAHO/WHO Digital Literacy Program, the seminar series is being offered with the e-Health Strategy for the Americas.
 

Agenda

Miguel Porrúa: Biography

Miguel Porrúa is a senior eGovernment specialist in the Department for Effective Public Management of the Secretariat for Political Affairs at the Organization of American States.

Before that, he was Director of Government Relations for Latin America at the e-Government company govWorks in New York, overseeing various eGovernment projects in the region. Before coming to the United States, he lived in Montevideo, Uruguay, managing projects related to entrepreneurial development and the modernization of the public sector for the Government of Spain through the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development and the United Nations.

Since 1996, Porrúa has lived in the U.S., holding a variety of management positions until joining the OAS in 2002. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business and economics from the University of Oviedo (Spain) and an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona.

Miguel Porrúa speaks about eHealth and eGovernment

Miguel Porrúa at CRICS9

During the panel presentation "eHealth and Public Policy Strategy” at the Ninth Regional Congress on Health Sciences Information (CRICS9), Miguel Porrúa talked about e-Government in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Video: Miguel Porrúa, Second Part
Slideshow presentation: Situación de eGobierno en América Latina y el Caribe
News: eHealth experts say technology can help solve health problems
 

LINKS

• Webpage: eGovernment OAS
• OEA Newsletter: eGovernment Forum "eGobierno y eSalud"
• PAHO/WHO eHealth Newsletter
• eHealth Strategy and Plan of Action (2012-2017)

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