EXPERT-LED RESEARCH · COLOMBIA
Access, quality and modernisation for Colombia’s health system.
Led by Dr. Agamenón Quintero Villarreal, we connect clinical practice, critical care and public policy through research designed to inform decisions in Colombia.
RESEARCH THAT SUPPORTS DECISIONS
Our agenda connects clinical practice, critical care, health-system planning and public policy. Each proposed study should identify a real problem, the decision it will inform and the people who could benefit.
Can people reach the care they need in time?
Study service availability, workforce distribution, travel times and referral pathways, including gaps between rural areas and cities.
Decision focus: where to strengthen capacity and referral networks.
Does care deliver safer, better outcomes?
Evaluate clinical outcomes, patient safety, continuity of care and variation in practice, with particular expertise in general and oncologic critical care.
Decision focus: which care processes to improve and how to measure change.
How can the system respond better with its available resources?
Investigate service organisation, information systems, responsible use of AI and technology, and the feasibility and costs of new models of care.
Decision focus: what to implement, where to pilot it and how to assess its value.
Depending on the approved project, outputs may include service-access maps, clinical indicators, implementation evaluations, technical reports and policy briefs, alongside scientific manuscripts. Intended users and indicators of progress are defined before execution.
These are research priorities and possible outputs, not claims of interventions already implemented or impact already demonstrated.
HOSPITALS · TERRITORIES · PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
We welcome conversations with clinical teams, hospitals, health authorities, professional organisations and communities about questions affecting Colombia’s health system. Institutional collaboration is separate from individual admission to the research group.
Dr. Agamenón reviews scientific fit. Before work begins, the parties agree on scope, responsibilities, resources, data governance and required approvals. A proposal does not imply funding, a government mandate or institutional endorsement. Review the collaboration framework
DIRECTOR’S BACKGROUND
A Colombian critical-care physician and Head of the Critical Care Department at IMAT Oncomédica Auna in Montería. His career brings together bedside care, clinical leadership and medical education, including experience as teaching director at IMAT and faculty member at the Universidad del Sinú School of Medicine.
He is a past president of the Colombian Association of Critical Medicine and Intensive Care (AMCI) and past vice-president of the Pan-American and Iberian Federation of Critical Care and Intensive Care Societies (FEPIMCTI). His experience includes leadership in the Colombian Association of Scientific Societies. GSOCC lists him as vice-president, and ONCCC-R-NET as a collaborator in its Colombian chapter.
His work as a government consultant brings a perspective that connects clinical evidence with health-system decisions and public policy. At microscopIA Colombia, he leads an agenda on access, quality and modernisation, supported by microscopIA’s scientific and technical infrastructure.
COLOMBIA HEALTH-SYSTEM PORTFOLIO
Five ongoing studies from the 1 October operational update, alongside planned catalogue projects. Database completion, protocol approval and recruitment are separate milestones.
29 projects shown
Map pediatric cardiovascular surgery and congenital heart disease in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map hepatopancreatobiliary surgery in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map head and neck surgery in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map cardiac electrophysiology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map medical genetics in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map gynecologic oncology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map pediatric hematology and oncology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map pediatric infectious diseases in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map forensic medicine in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map nuclear medicine in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map pediatric nephrology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map pediatric pulmonology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map pediatric neurosurgery in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map neuropathology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map neuroradiology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map ocular oncology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map oncologic orthopedics in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map pediatric radiology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map clinical toxicology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map urogynecology and pelvic-floor reconstructive surgery in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map pediatric urology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map orthopedic, prosthetic and rehabilitation access for conflict-affected populations in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Status date: 2026-10-03Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
View catalogue proposal →Map pediatric endocrinology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Database cleaned and quality-controlled; protocol corrections underway.
Status date: 2026-10-01Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
Request the project brief →Map potential stroke centres in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Database assembled; quality control pending and protocol being drafted.
Status date: 2026-10-01Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
Request the project brief →Map thoracic surgery in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Quality-controlled database; protocol corrections underway. External validation planned; start not yet confirmed.
Status date: 2026-10-01Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
Request the project brief →Map palliative care in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Database development underway, with operational obstacles to resolve.
Status date: 2026-10-01Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
Request the project brief →Map pediatric neurology in Colombia to assess geographic distribution and access for health-system planning.
Last report: database assembled. Team update outstanding; current progress requires confirmation.
Status date: 2026-10-01Scientific home: microscopIA Colombia. Study-specific PI, participating institutions and protocol access are confirmed in the project brief.
Request the project brief →Neurology’s latest team update is outstanding. Planned catalogue deadlines and places require confirmation; a listing is not ethics approval or proof of recruitment.
EVIDENCE & RELATED OBSERVATORIES
This study evaluates graft-specific geographic accessibility to transplant-capable services across Colombia and identifies populations living beyond clinically relevant travel-time thresholds to support transplant-network planning and identify underserved areas.
Springer Nature
Journal-level metric, not a manuscript assessment. Submission or review does not imply acceptance.Portfolio assignment preserves existing manuscript authorship and study-specific investigators.
This study evaluates population-level travel-time access to intensive-care services across Colombia and identifies areas with prolonged geographic access to inform critical-care policy, service planning, and network design.
Springer Nature
Journal-level metric, not a manuscript assessment. Submission or review does not imply acceptance.Portfolio assignment preserves existing manuscript authorship and study-specific investigators.
This study characterizes the distribution of the retinopathy of prematurity workforce in Colombia, evaluates geographic accessibility to care, and examines emerging practice patterns to identify gaps relevant to national service planning.
Nature Portfolio · Springer Nature
Journal-level metric, not a manuscript assessment. Submission or review does not imply acceptance.Portfolio assignment preserves existing manuscript authorship and study-specific investigators.
Every new research project, case report, case series or innovation proposal requires written approval from the corresponding Observatory Executive Director or research group principal investigator. Admission or membership does not replace this approval.
If leadership is vacant, microscopIA coordinates proposal intake and review; execution awaits approval from a formally designated scientific authority.
Protocols and collaboration agreementsOPEN CALL · RESEARCH IN COLOMBIA
An interdisciplinary group focused on access, quality and modernisation in Colombia’s health system. We connect clinical practice, general and oncologic critical care, health-system planning and public policy.
We aim to expand research opportunities nationwide, particularly for people in small and mid-sized cities with limited access to academic research opportunities.
Submit your application using the form. Dr. Agamenón Quintero Villarreal is expected to communicate a decision within 14 calendar days of submission.
quinteroagamenon@microscopiatech.comWork is primarily in Spanish; English requirements depend on the project. Complete the application form and provide the information and supporting documents requested there.
Scientific inquiries: Dr. Agamenón Quintero Villarreal, Research Group Director. Applications must be submitted through the form above. quinteroagamenon@microscopiatech.com
Applying does not require payment. This group call does not automatically grant a paid Observatory membership, employment or a project place. If a project uses Join a Project, its current participation terms must be reviewed before commitment. Do not email patient records or identity documents.
