Highlights from ZIMAM Digital Health Week 2024

MENA HIEs, AI trends, health governance, and opportunities in digital health careers and development were just some of the top topics shaping this year’s ZIMAM Digital Health Week: The 7th GCC eHealth Workforce Development Conference 2024.

Held over two days at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, the conference delivered a packed programme of high-quality discussions covering the most pressing issues in digital health, technology in medicine, and others. As one person running between three parallel sessions, I only wish I had time (or duplicates of me) to catch more!

ZIMAM Digital Health Week also saw the launch of Zimami, a talent agility platform for digital healthcare professionals (QR code in the pic above), as well as the return of the ZIMAM Digital Health Awards (2024 winners here).?

Below is a roundup of what I managed to catch throughout the conference, with highlights on issues that need to be prioritised in 2025 onwards (e.g., public trust was a common theme, as was healthcare professional burnout and the workforce not having the time to train on the many tools being introduced).

HIE TRENDS IN MENA

Dr. Ahmed Balkhair of ZIMAM spoke of how Health Information Exchange (HIE) platforms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region can support population health and care coordination, helping healthcare organisations reduce downstream and insurance costs.

It’s no secret that HIEs in the MENA region offer significant potential to reduce health insurance costs by improving the efficiency, accuracy, and quality of healthcare. This includes reducing duplicate testing, improving care coordination, decreasing administrative costs, facilitating value-based care models, and enhancing population health management.

To me, the question remains: When are insurers in the region going to come on board?

Gaetano Bonifacio, PhD, MBA from Abu Dhabi Health Data Services highlighted how Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) can drive HIE adoption and standardisation by supplying funding, technology, and regulatory support.

Private innovation brings advanced security and interoperability, while public oversight ensures accessibility and safeguards patient data across the healthcare ecosystem, he said.

Therefore, as healthcare data management becomes increasingly complex and essential for quality patient care, PPPs in the region should be encouraged. Advantages include resource pooling, aiding in innovation and technology integration, regulatory and compliance support, establishing cost-effective and sustainable models, and enhancing public trust and accessibility.

Next up was a keynote by Dr. Sanji de Sylva , also from Abu Dhabi Health Data Services, who presented an update on Malaffi (Abu Dhabi Health Information Exchange) , the “region’s first HIE platform”.

Dr. de Sylva highlighted Malaffi's extensive range of real-time clinical data, including radiology images (one of the few HIEs around the world doing this at present), and its facilitation of the exchange of over 4 million images to date.

Malaffi’s mission is to become the primary source of data for public health initiatives, such as disease registries, with future opportunities including enhanced disease screening with AI, using genomics for earlier screening, integrating AI technologies into diagnostic radiology, and employing Natural Language Processing (NLP) for data extraction to support data quantity and standardisation.

FUTURE CAREERS

Focusing on digital health careers, Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi from Dubai Science Park spoke of harnessing a new model for industry-academia collaboration to bridge the digital health skills gap. He highlighted the current “massive gap” between education and applied research and how academia must adapt its curricula to align with industry needs, ensuring that students gain practical, hands-on experience with the latest digital health technologies.

By encouraging closer collaboration between educational institutions and industry leaders, academia can equip the next generation with the skills necessary to drive innovation in digital health and meet the demands of an evolving healthcare landscape.

TECH, AI & ML

It’s little surprise that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) formed a large part of the conference, with one panel focusing on advancing competencies for healthcare AI, ML, and Generative AI. In it, Prof. Ahmad AbuSalah, PhD from King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center stated that stakeholder engagement remains a key challenge. Top stakeholders want to be involved in advancing competencies in healthcare, but there’s simply not enough time to do so alongside juggling everything else.

Healthcare professional burnout – an issue highlighted by many attendees – is something healthcare regulators, providers, and organisations need to address proactively by implementing supportive policies, improving work-life balance, and fostering environments that prioritise mental health and wellbeing.

Dr. Rachida Parks, PhD from Quinnipiac University highlighted the need for greater data literacy, citing how healthcare organisations are missing valuable insights by overlooking basic yet impactful data, such as patient "no-shows".

She explained that understanding patterns in appointment attendance can help healthcare providers optimise scheduling, resource allocation, and patient engagement strategies, ultimately reducing inefficiencies and improving patient outcomes.

The panel agreed that empowering staff with data analysis skills would enable organisations to harness these insights effectively, creating a culture of continuous improvement grounded in data-driven decision-making.

In a separate session discussing patient portals and virtual visits, Dr. Khalid Alyafei from Sidra Medicine echoed Dr. Rachida’s remarks relating to education. He explained that many patients still do not understand what a patient portal is or entails.

“The technology is there. But we need more people to use it [and understand it].”

Dr. Alyafei stressed that while patient portals and virtual visit platforms are designed to provide patients with easy access to their health records, test results, and direct communication with healthcare providers, a lack of awareness and understanding prevents many from using the tools.

He recommended that organisations invest in patient education initiatives to raise awareness of these resources and demonstrate their benefits. Examples include incorporating user-friendly tutorials, community outreach, and multilingual support.

Touching upon the multidisciplinary approach of telemedicine, Ahmad Awada from Mediclinic Group stated that research has shown that patients who use telemedicine are more likely to adhere to their treatment plan. Therefore, why are we not better communicating the benefits of telemedicine to patients?

Back to AI, and “There’s no responsible AI without responsible data,” said Dmitry Etin , emphasising that while AI holds promise in health, it often teeters between “illusion and disillusionment.”

For example, AI has proven effective in areas like image analysis for dermatology and ophthalmology, as well as in processing insurance claims. However, its impact remains limited in fields like rare disease diagnosis, mental health treatment, and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) analysis.?

Etin also highlighted a major challenge: Over 60% of health data remains fragmented across local entities, patient systems, and municipalities, making it inaccessible at regional levels.

For meaningful healthcare insights, this data must be amplified and integrated across systems.

HEALTH GOVERNANCE

Exploring health data governance laws and policies, Prof. Mahmood Adil from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh focused on security and confidentiality when considering a national framework. Trust remains a key issue, particularly in a post-pandemic world.

“The public needs to be on board if utilising a platform with data. And they need to be on board with utilising data.”

Prof. Adil emphasised that building public trust requires transparency and clear communication around how data will be used, protected, and managed within a national framework. He advocated for policies that prioritise patient consent and control over personal information, as well as robust security measures to prevent breaches.

A collaborative approach, one that engages patients, policymakers, and healthcare providers in the governance process, can strengthen public confidence and encourage a more data-driven healthcare system.

HEALTH PLATFORMS

What makes a platform a PLATFORM? Who better to answer than our very own queen of platforms, Pilar Fernandez Hermida from i-Expand ?

Offering a brief overview for those looking to delve into and explore platforms for themselves or their organisation, Hermida outlined that a successful platform is built on three pillars: The core, orchestrators, and complementors. To thrive, a platform must enable connectivity and interaction, cultivating a “network effect.” However, in healthcare, this network effect is often underdeveloped.

Healthcare innovation platforms operate similarly to tech platforms but focus on delivering solutions within specific verticals, while also facilitating broader interactions. Post-pandemic, transactional platforms have become more familiar, but healthcare demands a hybrid model – combining innovation, transactional, internal, supply chain, and commercial elements.

Notably, over 83% of healthcare platforms face a high risk of failing within 4.9 years, she said.

Referencing a specific category of platforms, Dr. Rachida – who appeared in conversation with Hermida – reiterated how platforms grow stronger with usage and data, much like speakers and their audience at a conference (i.e., a conference is more successful if you keep it interactive and "users" are engaged, rather than just “talking at” the audience throughout).

FURTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Other presentations I thoroughly enjoyed included ones by Todd Rogow, CHCIO from Healthix on HIEs in New York; Etin and 西门子医疗 on extending HIEs to omics and imaging (including ethical dilemmas!); HIMSS ’ own Ronan O’Connor on the role of professional health organisations in upskilling and cross-skilling the workforce through micro-credentialing; and Dr. Wail Yar from the Council Of Health Insurance on the future of clinical trial simulation. Apologies to those I missed – it was quite a hectic week, juggling a conference alongside other work commitments.

A well-put-together programme.

Looking ahead... What conference/event are YOU attending next?

(Thank you to Osama Elhassan, Ph.D., FIHASI and Svetlana Efimova for the invitation, as well as to Monica Mojumder Chan , Madré Wilson , and MWAN Events for facilitating).

As usual, all photos via Rachel McArthur / Digital Ink Media. #TeamPixel