Professor Pinedo-Villanueva contributed to the symposium in two capacities: as opening keynote speaker, and as moderator of a panel discussion on interoperability and data standards in health research.
A distinctive contribution, not just an adopted one
In his keynote, Professor Pinedo-Villanueva argued that Latin America should not be seen simply as a region that adopts methods and infrastructure developed elsewhere. Instead, he made the case that the region has something genuinely distinctive to contribute to global health data science: a demographically and ethnically diverse population, combined with a disease burden that makes equity-focused real-world evidence both urgent and more broadly generalisable than evidence drawn from more homogeneous settings.
The talk drew together several threads familiar to the Health Economics team's own work — the OMOP Common Data Model and federated analysis — and connected them to questions of health equity and health technology assessment (HTA) decision-making across Latin America.
Panel: what standardisation can and cannot solve
Professor Pinedo-Villanueva also moderated a panel on interoperability and data standards, bringing together representatives from a range of institutions across the region:
- Diego Daltro, Bahia's state health secretariat (SESAB)
- Rodrigo Gaete, Brazil's Ministry of Health digital health infrastructure team
- Cristian David Osorio Figueroa, Guatemala's Ministry of Health
- Daniel Luna, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires
- Juan Carlo Santos e Silva, ITpS
- Josy Maria de Pinho da Silva, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
The discussion was candid and wide-ranging, addressing both what data standardisation can achieve and its limits, as well as the challenges that remain for the region going forward.
Conversations on the sidelines
Beyond the formal programme, Professor Pinedo-Villanueva held further discussions with symposium participants, including PAHO's Hugo Vásquez Vera on the potential to incorporate social determinants of health into OMOP-based analyses, and with Ever Augusto Torres Silva on the challenges of interoperability amid evolving regulatory frameworks across Latin American countries.
Looking ahead
Reflecting on the symposium, Professor Pinedo-Villanueva expressed optimism about the region's role in health data science going forward, describing Latin America's opportunity to lead — rather than simply follow — in this space.