Unleashing the Potential of Digital Health in Africa: A Path to Digital Transformation

The rapid rise of digital health solutions and technologies globally presents a unique opportunity for healthcare systems in Africa to undergo a transformative digital revolution. By seizing the current momentum and embracing digital health, African healthcare systems can overcome challenges, improve healthcare access and quality, and drive sustainable development.

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The transformative potential of digital health in Africa is vast, and by embracing this digital revolution, African countries can position themselves at the forefront of innovative healthcare delivery models and drive significant improvements in the well-being of their populations.

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A compelling and very insightful report by the Mckinsey group (access here) was published that looked into how digital tools can be used to boost efficiency in healthcare systems in Africa. Although the focus of the evidenced based report was limited to Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. The recommendations proposed apply to countries across the continent and probably most LMICs (Low Middle-Income Countries).

Embracing digitisation in healthcare presents a compelling business case, as it brings substantial benefits across various aspects of healthcare operations. From enhanced efficiency and improved patient care to cost savings, data analytics and collaboration. This results into a more cohesive, efficiency and scalable digital health ecosystem.

Adopting a Digital 1st approach policy

The starting point for any organisation is to conduct a Digital Maturity Assessment (DMA). This assessment will determine the level of digital maturity your organization is at based on the processes you have in place, the type of IT systems and technology, your workforce and other resources. This in effect is a Gap analysis of your organisation in terms of where you currently are and where you ought to be based on industry best practice.

In my speaking engagements and written articles, I have advocated for a digital 1st approach in the healthcare sector across Africa. This is particularly important with the rapid rise of AI and the need for data that is relevant and curated on the continent.

Adopting a digital 1st approach policy is the bedrock of leveraging emerging technologies, especially AI and data analytics. In addition to this, there are several strategic opportunities that become available to the healthcare sector, such as: Collaborative healthcare delivery – using digital health technologies to collaborate among healthcare professionals on the continent and the Diaspora.

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This breaks down geographical barriers, but more importantly creates that cohesive synergy between healthcare professionals that are knowledgeable about cutting edge medical solutions and those that are in need of these solutions to apply readily on the ground in Africa. Telemedicine is obviously a starting point and should be a staple in a technology solution suite in an organisation.

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It is important to conduct a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis and evaluate the specific needs and challenges of your organisation before implementing digitisation. This analysis will help in quantifying the potential return on investment (ROI) and building a strong business case for digitisation in healthcare.

Strategic Prioritisation of your digital initiatives

Depending on the type of healthcare organisation you are, you will need to look at deploying digital health solutions based on the key problems your organisation addresses. For instance, an outpatient clinic can introduce a Remote Patient Monitoring solution. This solution consists of a few digital tools such as health devices (Medical IoT devices that are connected to mobile apps), AI-powered chatbots that drive patient engagement and analytics that advises both patients and healthcare providers based on the relevant metrics collated to improve the system.

Improvements in this case will revolve around better personalised treatment outcomes, better diagnostic accuracies, and also an insight into Social Determinants for Health (SDOH) for that population health demographic.

From a leadership perspective, the 1st broad question to be addressed is “What steps can be taken to digitise our healthcare organisation right now?” By exploring this question in depth with your team, you delve further into the tactical details such as:

Do we go 100% Paperless and how do we migrate from a paper-based system in 6 months or a year?

This problem statement leads to a series of follow-up questions that need to be analysed in detail before procuring IT infrastructure solutions.

In the case of going paperless, further questions arise. Such as; Which digital tools do we provide for our health consumers and patients? It is important that the selection of digital solutions is relevant to the digital profile level of your healthcare population.

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Which digital tools do we provide for our healthcare staff? In improving our processes and efficiency, which manual processes do we automate? You need to Prioritise the workflows to enhance and automate based on valuer-add and benefit to the organization in terms of man hours saved through automation and costs.

What training is needed to bridge this gap? Digital platforms can streamline the collection of health data, leading to better disease surveillance, early detection of outbreaks, improved resource allocation, and evidence-based decision-making.

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The foundation of your digitisation initiatives

Just as in building a sky scrapper, the foundation is of utmost importance and top priority, the same applies to Digital transformation planning. There are many aspects to building this robust foundation, but the top 3 that must be addressed and done correctly are:

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1.??????Health Information Systems and IT infrastructure

2.??????People – Building a skilled workforce

3.??????Processes, Security and Compliance

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Let’s take a look into each aspect in a bit more detail:

1 - Health Information Systems and IT infrastructure

Establish a robust and scalable IT infrastructure to support your digital initiatives. This may involve upgrading hardware, implementing electronic health records (EHR) systems, and ensuring secure and efficient data storage and connectivity. Consider cloud-based solutions for flexibility and scalability.

Implementing robust health information systems can enhance data collection, management, and analysis of information. The health information systems are foundational to building the digital health ecosystem and, in the design, implementation and deployment of these systems, it is important to address the following:

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·??????Migration from Paper-based systems

·??????Migration from legacy systems

·??????Implementation of EHR/EMR Systems

·??????Implementation of IT Systems and applications

·??????Training of staff on these Health IT systems

·??????Maintenance and support of the IT systems

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2 - People – Building a skilled workforce.

?Having a skilled workforce and the right culture in an organisation is key to the successful adoption of your digital transformation initiatives. The need to have the right training policies in place and investment in training and upskilling your workforce cannot be over emphasized.

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Provide training on new technologies, data management, cybersecurity, and digital workflows. Foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation to support the ongoing development of digital skills within your organisation. This ensures that your people always have the necessary digital health competencies to deliver on their roles and responsibilities in your organization.

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In building your skilled workforce you need to address the following:

Identify skill gaps - Assess the current skills and competencies of your workforce and identify areas where there are gaps or deficiencies. Consider the specific digital health technologies, tools, and solutions that your organization plans to implement and determine the skills needed to effectively utilize them.

Develop a training plan - Based on the identified skill gaps, create a comprehensive training plan that addresses the specific needs of your workforce. This may involve a combination of internal training programs, external courses or certifications, workshops, conferences, and online resources. Consider partnering with reputable training providers or academic institutions specializing in digital health education.

Continuous education and development - Recognise that digital health is a rapidly evolving field, and continuous education is essential. Offer regular training sessions, webinars, or lunch-and-learn sessions to keep your workforce up to date with the latest advancements in digital health. Encourage employees to pursue further education and professional development opportunities.

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3 – Processes, Security and Compliance

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Processes ?- Are the backbone of an organisation's operations. They enable efficient and consistent execution, mitigate risks, foster collaboration, ensure compliance, and support continuous improvement. By investing time and effort in designing, implementing, and refining processes, healthcare organisations can enhance their overall performance, patient satisfaction, healthcare worker satisfaction and efficient delivery of healthcare services.

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Processes establish standardised procedures, ensuring consistency in the execution of tasks and delivering consistent outcomes. By following established processes, organisations can maintain a high level of quality in their products or services. Consistency also enables easier monitoring, evaluation, and improvement of processes to enhance overall performance.

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Compliance and Governance - Processes ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and internal policies. By incorporating compliance considerations into processes, organisations can minimize legal and regulatory risks, avoid penalties, and maintain the trust of stakeholders. This is crucial in the healthcare sector, where data privacy and security is of utmost importance.

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In addition, to ensure that processes are being adhered to, you need to implement monitoring mechanisms. Implement mechanisms to monitor compliance with processes, security protocols, and regulatory requirements. Conduct regular audits to assess adherence and identify areas for improvement. Use audit findings to inform targeted training efforts and address any gaps or non-compliance issues.

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Security and Privacy - Are paramount in today's digital landscape. Implementing effective security systems, processes, and applications is essential to safeguarding sensitive information and protecting your organisation from cyber threats. This involves a multi-faceted approach:

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Choosing the Right Security Solutions: Selecting and implementing the appropriate security applications and tools is crucial. This may include firewalls, intrusion detection systems, encryption technologies, and antivirus software. Each organisation should assess its specific needs and deploy the most relevant and up-to-date security measures.

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Training the Workforce: Your employees play a critical role in maintaining security. They interact with your systems and can inadvertently become entry points for cyber-attacks. It is crucial to provide comprehensive training on security processes, best practices, and how to identify and respond to potential threats. By raising awareness and promoting a culture of security, you empower your workforce to be active participants in protecting sensitive information.

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Access Controls and Authentication: Implementing robust access controls ensures that only authorised individuals can access sensitive data or systems. This includes strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and role-based access privileges. Regularly reviewing and updating access controls helps prevent unauthorized access and strengthens overall security.

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Educate employees on the importance of maintaining data security and patient privacy in the digital healthcare environment. Train them on best practices for data protection, secure handling of sensitive information, and adherence to relevant regulations such as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) or GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

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