Are we really reducing the Gap? Comments on promises from WHO's Strategic Partners Initiative for Data and Digital Health (SPI-DDH)

In the WHO report on the first meeting of the Strategic Partners' Initiative for Data and Digital Health (SPI-DDH)'s global meeting held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 13 June 2024 some important aspects are outlined, including:

1?? Digital Transformation Goals: The meeting pointed out the role of the health system’s digital transformation throughout the countries of the WHO European Region. This means expanding access to better services, employing AI and Big Data to tailor healthcare to individual patients, and improving integration between different tiers of care.

2?? Barriers and Challenges: Major barriers include well-known gaps such as diluted political will, minimal degree of digital literacy and lack of investment. The report highlights the importance of appropriate governance and ethics together with a focus on the patients.

3?? Interoperability and Standards: It is imperative to set the standards framework for interoperability. The objective is to develop systems that people and health professionals can trust while incorporating ethical principles of data usage, privacy, and confidentiality.

4?? Home-Based Care: The use of technology for home-based care can lead to better health results while reducing the need for triadic care. This entails spending on structures and engaging the patients.

5?? Strategic Discussions: The working groups looked into reducing the gap in healthcare resources through integrating AI into the healthcare system, shifting the healthcare industry towards delivering services at people's doorsteps, and developing frameworks to support interoperability and standards setting. They emphasized multi-source data use for turning crucial patient demands into reality and providing complete care to the patients.

6?? Future Steps: The stakeholder dialogue should be kept open – the task is to reach solutions, which can be implemented, and in practice, to show that the technologies of the digital age solve the problems of the real population and help eliminate health inequalities.

These discussion emphasize the promising prospect of digital health technologies to transform how healthcare is delivered as long as there is appropriate infrastructure, governance, and stakeholder involvement present to help with the support of the technologies. Yet, there some real gaps might need to we really focus on

1?? Inconsistent Political Will: This report viewed as the most significant barrier the lack of stability in the politics of a country and the commitment into resources to be invested into the digital health infrastructure. This inconsistency can impair the strategic designing and rolling out of digital health solutions. Therefore, policymakers should be unified in vision and strong leadership to steer the digital transformation process.

2?? Insufficient Funding: The report states that there are countries where less than 2% of the national health resources are being allocated for the digitalization, this is evident that these countries will not be able to move forward. Classes such as ‘political readiness’, ‘investment’ and increased attention to infrastructure, standards and interoperability are critical for the new modes of healthcare provision to be embraced.

3?? Fragmented Approaches: Most of the countries rely on the external leadership deterring them from scaling national priorities to adopt the national one. In future, all countries must have a constructive policy.

4?? Lack of Digital Literacy: These new technologies are not hands on integral to the routines of many healthcare workers and patients. There therefore appears a need for investment to train educate people so that there is some return later on when the new technology is embraced.

5?? Mistrust of Digital Solutions: Attitudes such as distrust of the digital health solutions are dealt with. They include issues to do with privacy, security and safety of individuals who use digital health solutions. In order for citizens to change their attitudes towards the digital health solutions ethical governance and transparency will need to be embraced.

6?? Interoperability Challenge: This is a lengthy approach as it involves governance, funding and ethical aspects. There is need for countries to be provided with directions on how to establish national inter-operability structures that are both technical and semantics related.

7?? Digital Divide: Usual absence of internet on a global scale hinders the potentialities of using digital artefacts, especially for females, female children and poor populations in rural localities. these efforts should be aimed at fixing this lagging aspect in order to provide health equity.

Through intervention in these important areas, stakeholders can be on the path of narrowing the gaps in health system digital transformation and assist in achieving technology for all.

Source :

World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. (2024). Report on the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Partners’ Initiative for Data and Digital Health: Copenhagen, Denmark, 13 June 2024. World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/379264 .