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The need to build on recent progress

With the aim of improving the reach,

efficiency and continuity of cancer services,

the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades

Neoplásicas (INEN) developed a telehealth

platform offering services for cancer

protection, promotion, prevention and

rehabilitation in three regions of Peru.

INEN’s telehealth programme began in 2015

with the creation of a satellite chemotherapy

centre in the region of San Martín.^76 To d a y,

the national cancer institute based in Lima

reports that the network currently operates

through seven hospitals, five in Lima and

two in the regions of San Martín and Cusco.

For Dr Sarria, “a priority is taking advantage

of innovative approaches to reach more

Peruvians through technology”.

The initiative was developed following

one of the lines of action in the “Plan

Esperanza”, on technological renovation,

and it complements the already well-

established capacity of Peru in telehealth.

Operated by the Ministry of Health, Peru

has the largest telehealth network (Red

Nacional de Telesalud) in the region, with

1,003 health centres connected, including

primary, secondary and community

mental health services.^77 The network has

already facilitated the expansion of breast-

cancer screening services, such as tele-

mammography that has served more than

11,000 women to date.^78

INEN’s telehealth system is based on

an original approach developed by the

institution. The first step is a consultation

in person in INEN (Lima) for a diagnosis.

The following consultations and checks are

done remotely. Through videoconference,

INEN reviews clinical history and supervises

chemotherapy treatments. Clinical

discussions (tumour boards) are also held

over the platform between the satellite

centre and INEN.^79

The institute currently offers the services of

consultations, diagnosis, oncology, pain and

palliative care, chemotherapy, monitoring,

emergency, pathology, and radiology.

Consultations may be in the form of

electronic file-sharing for clinical advice, or

live conference, involving medical staff, but

they can also involve the patient.^80

In operation since 2018, the service is set to

facilitate treatment and case resolution in

remote regions and to support knowledge

transfer across the country. The educational

component is an important one, as the

network offers training services to the

medical community, and managerial

support, with significant impact so far.

In 2018, 5,500 health professionals were

served with tele-education in prevention,

diagnosis, treatment and research. The

target for 2019 is 8,000.^81 There is interest

in exploring more technological solutions

to address Peru’s cancer needs at INEN:

“We are exploring geolocation as a tool

to enhance monitoring of cancer,” says Dr

Sarria.

Enabling cancer care through telehealth in Peru

(^76) Ministerio de Salud, “Principales resultados del INEN para la prevención y el control del cáncer en el marco del Plan Esperanza”, 2016.
(^77) Gob.pe, “Red Nacional de Telesalud superó los mil establecimientos de salud interconectados en todo el país”, 2018.
(^78) América Economía, “Perú: Más de 11 mil mujeres accedieron al sistema de telemamografía”, 2019.
(^79) Carlos Santos-Ortiz and Tatiana Vidaurre, “Acelerando la innovación en el control del cáncer en el Perú”, Revista Peruana de Medicina Experimental y
Salud Pública, 2016.
(^80) Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas, Telesalud y telemedicina.
(^81) Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas, “Cerca de 8 mil profesionales de la salud serán capacitados este año a través del programa de
telesalud del INEN”, 2019.