Description of the system

The Latin-American and Caribbean System on Health Sciences Information aims to cooperate with the development of research, education and attention in health in Latin-America and Caribbean, ensuring that the technical and scientific information produced nationally and internationally and be accessible to the community and to the health professionals.

The System is coordinated by the Pan-American Health Organization through BIREME, a specialized center that was created to develop OPA’s program of information in health sciences.

The Regional System is a product of the national systems integration, whose structure predicts a National Coordinator and a decentralized net of Cooperative Centers composed of health libraries and documentation centers.

The Information Centers of the Pan-American Health Organization’s seat, in Washington, the PAHO’s regional specialized Centers and the Documentation Centers, located in Representations in several countries, also belong to the System.

Using Lilacs Methodology, the countries that integrate the Latin-American and Caribbean System of Health Sciences Information create national and local databases and cooperate with the modernizing of LILACS databases, contributing with the bibliographical control and the dissemination of the technical and scientific literature of the Region, in the technical cooperation model established by the Virtual Health Library.

The following databases integrate the Latin-American and Caribbean System on Health Sciences Information em: LILACS, ADOLEC, BBO, BDENF , DESASTRES, HISA, HOMEOINDEX, LEYES, MEDCARIB, REPIDISCA  and national databases from the Latin American countries.

National structure:
a National Coordinator Center (CCN) from the National Net, BIREME has also this function to Brazil; 
a Technical Group, composed of representative from the Cooperative Centers from all the National Net (CC);
 an Adviser Committee, composed of Health authorities; and,
 a Documentation Center from PAHO/OMS’s Sanitary Shop in the country.

Regional Structure:
 a Regional Coordinator Center (BIREME);
 a Technical Group, composed of representative from the National Coordinator Centers (CCN);
 Regional Centers of specialized Sub-nets in specific themes;
 Specialized Regional Centers from PAHO’s Sanitary Shop; and,
 PAHO’s Headquarter Library in Washington.