On Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at the FUNSALUD facilities, the first Roundtable of the National Circle of Education in Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence convened by Transform Health Mexico was held to discuss the challenges and recommendations to update the academic curriculum of educational institutions and medical schools in Mexico, in order to prepare future health professionals for the digital era.
FUNSALUD's Education Circle held a hybrid meeting where academic transformation in medicine and professional medical education was discussed. Representatives from the National Academy of Medicine, UNAM, AMFEM, FUNSALUD and other institutions participated. Central topics included the integration of digital health and artificial intelligence in medical academic programs, the need for teacher training, and the implementation of micro-credentialing courses to certify specific digital competencies. The challenges of digital medical education in Mexico were analyzed, highlighting the generation gap between students and teachers, the possible obsolescence of the traditional electronic medical record, and the need to develop critical competencies to evaluate information and supervise tools in the digital era.
Dr. Raúl Carrillo-Esper - President of the National Academy of Medicine
Héctor Valle Mesto - Executive President of the Mexican Foundation for Health A.C.
Dr. Alejandro Alayola Sansores - Director of the Department of Digital Health, Faculty of Medicine, UNAM.
Gustavo Ross Quaas - Leader of Transform Health Mexico and Coordinator of the AI Program at FUNSALUD.
Dr. Santiago March Misfut - Coordinator of the Council for the Promotion of New Technologies at FUNSALUD.
Dr. Alfredo Manzano - Academic Director of Universidad Anáhuac Querétaro
Dr. Dora Luz - General Coordinator of Research and Graduate Studies of the Autonomous University of Baja California.
Dr. Sergio Teodoro Vite - UNAM
Alberto Pérez SanPablo- President of the Technological Innovation Commission of the IBC
Ana Laura Martínez Vega - UNAM
Raquel Muñiz Salazar -Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
Dr. Andreas Aluja - Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán
Dr. Lauro Cortés - Autonomous University of Coahuila
Dr. Olga Patricia García - Autonomous University of Querétaro
Erika Perez Noriega - Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Narly Camacho - Transform Health Mexico
Diana Moya - Transform Health Mexico
Work as a team to implement the integration of artificial intelligence and digital health in medical academic programs.
Develop sensitization strategies for medical professors on the importance of implementing new technologies in teaching.
Implement electives related to artificial intelligence to strengthen students' curriculum.
Integrate a serious training program for teachers on digital health and artificial intelligence issues.
Establish collaboration policies for the exchange of data and knowledge between institutions.
Develop metrics and international standards to evaluate progress in the implementation of digital health.
Work on updating curricula with flexibility to adapt quickly to technological advances.
During the meeting, Gustavo Ross of Transform Health Mexico moderated a session on academic transformation in medicine and professional medical education, emphasizing the need to prepare physicians for uncertain future scenarios. Participants included representatives from the National Academy of Medicine, the UNAM School of Medicine, the Mexican Association of Medical Schools and Faculties, the College of Biomedical Engineers, the Mexican Health Foundation and other universities, who gathered to discuss how to adapt educational programs to new technologies and artificial intelligence. It was explained that the session would include short presentations followed by discussion blocks to develop joint recommendations on how to adequately prepare students for the future challenges of medicine.
The group discussed the importance of digital health and personalized medicine, highlighting how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing these areas by processing large amounts of genomic data. It was noted that personalized medicine requires four components: personalized, preventive, participatory and ethical, and emphasized the need to develop key competencies such as digital literacy and ethical handling of digital health and artificial intelligence. Specific areas for future work were identified, including deep integration of AI into the healthcare system, optimizing clinical decisions, and strengthening digital ethics.
The group led a discussion on teaching updates and multidisciplinary projects in digital health and artificial intelligence. Several key obstacles were identified including slow faculty training, the need for curricular flexibility, and the importance of establishing collaborative policies rather than specific technical protocols. It was emphasized that the radical transformation in healthcare will accelerate in the next 5-6 years due to artificial intelligence reasoning, and a framework for discussion was established in three blocks: core competencies, curricular integration, and institutional commitments in the short, medium and long term.
Participants discussed the integration of digital health into medical academic programs, explaining how technology has rapidly evolved and how the World Health Organization has provided frameworks to address ethical and interoperable challenges. Raquel from the Autonomous University of Baja California shared their experiences implementing artificial intelligence in medical education, mentioning that they changed "genetic medicine" to "genomic medicine" in their curriculum and are working on AI electives, although they have faced challenges to implement further changes. It was concluded that AI education should start as early as middle school to prepare students for the change in the traditional medical teaching model.
The group addressed the need to adequately train teachers to teach about digital competencies and digital health, noting that there are currently few teachers prepared to transmit this knowledge. Santiago added that there is a need for a serious teacher training program, to consider the entire digital health ecosystem (beyond artificial intelligence), and to develop critical thinking in students. A four-step approach was proposed that includes training teachers and students, transforming the curriculum, protecting the confidentiality of sensitive data, and evaluating the impact of digital tools on learning.
During the session, the challenges of implementing digital medical education in Mexico were discussed, highlighting the need to adapt educational models to address generational differences between teachers and students. It was noted that young physicians need critical skills to evaluate data and distinguish between valid and invalid information, while more experienced teachers must learn to use new technologies without over-reliance on them. A 16-hour micro-credentialing approach was proposed that would allow programs to be updated more quickly, and prioritizing digital access for students with greater ability to pay was suggested to accelerate overall adoption.