With the fast-paced adoption of digital technology in the form of myriad applications in life, there lies an unprecedented opportunity for leaders in the health care space to use this technology for bolstering existing health care systems, by increasing access to and quality of care worldwide. The opportunities to effectively reduce inequalities in the provision of health care is contingent upon the availability of accurate, timely and reliable data, triangulated with existing sources of data.
Digital health, in the form of artificial intelligence solutions, is inextricably linked with the need to address the emergence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The integration of technologies like mobile phones, tablets, remote patient monitoring devices and sensors into health systems can enable extensive reach of health care services, thereby saving more lives at lower costs. However, many countries face persistent challenges in implementing and scaling up sustainable digital health solutions.
Milestones in 2018: Banner year for global digital health
In May 2018, the World Health Organisation Resolution on Digital Health was passed, championing those countries that embraced rapid adoption of technology for strengthening health systems and achieving universal health coverage (UHC). For this, the countries must build sustainable local capacities based on appropriately-designed and scalable digital health solutions, supportive policies, regulatory environment and infrastructure as well as increased opportunities for financing. This Resolution was in alignment with the need to facilitate the strategic use of digital health for the acceleration of the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3 i.e. ensuring healthy lives and well-being for all ages.
Other WHO-led efforts complement the Resolution: Classifications for Digital Health Interventions to provide a standard taxonomy and language for digital health; the Digital Health Atlas to enable countries to inventory and track digital health implementations and platforms; and the Digital Health Guidelines to provide evidence base recommendations and insights. In addition, the WHO Declaration on Primary Health Care 2018 highlights technology as an important driver in the achievement of access to health for all.
Other collaborations in the field of digital health include the Global Digital Health Partnership, which facilitates cross-country partnerships and the Health Data Collaborative Digital Health and Interoperability Working Group, with its strategic focus and the development of tools to support countries in the areas of interoperability and continuous improvement for HIS.
Thus, within this context, the Global Digital Health Index has been developed in alignment with the WHO Digital Health Resolution, to serve as a baseline for informing the development and monitoring of national strategies of member states, as well as a global digital health strategy.
The development of the National Digital Health Strategy of Sierra Leone was informed by the GDHI.
The GDHI is a web-based resource that integrates a digital health maturity model to reflect the digital health development trajectory of countries across five phases, allowing them to benchmark themselves against global averages of each of the outlined 19 core indicators. Part 2 of this article discusses the Index in detail.
All information for this article has been sourced from here.
India Outbound
May 22, 2019
source https://indiaoutbound.org/significance-of-global-digital-health/
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