Gandhinagar: The health system the world over may be using less than five percent of available health data to improve patient outcomes, indicating that clinical or policy decisions are not based on data, a new World Bank report launched Saturday has claimed.
The report, titled Digital-In-Health: Unlocking the Value for Everyone, was launched in Gandhinagar during the G20 Health Ministers’ Meet under India’s presidency.
The report also noted that digital technology and data are especially helpful in preventing and managing chronic diseases, in caring for both young and aging populations, and in preparing for future health emergencies and health risks triggered by climate change.
It also underlined that improving health is getting harder, not easier and health systems face serious and growing challenges and policy decisions are too often not based on reliable data.
“India has shown the way in digital health and system where they have integrated the difference and made it work for a large population. Ayushman Bharat is an example that the world is looking at,” Marelize Gorgens Prestidge, lead author of the study, told the media on the sidelines of the report launch.
She added that within challenging fiscal environments, people-centered and evidence-based digital investments can help governments save up to 15 percent of health system costs and reach the underserved.
“In India, we have shown that digital innovations such as tele-consultations have reached more than 140 million people and provided accessible, affordable and efficient healthcare for everyone,” said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in a statement.
He added that India believes that a digital-in-health approach can unlock the value of digital technologies and data and has the potential to prevent disease and lower healthcare costs while helping patients monitor and manage chronic conditions.
Also read: India crucial partner for drug supply but needs to maintain standards: US secretary for health
Embracing ‘digital-in-health’ approach
The World Bank in its statement said that it’s committed to helping low-and middle-income countries to make digital-in-health a reality to improve health for everyone.
It also said that over the past decade, the World Bank has invested almost $4 billion in digital health including in health information systems, digital governance, identification systems, and infrastructure.
Now to help countries embrace a digital-in-health approach, the report proposes three essential areas to guide investments.
These include prioritising evidence-based digital investments that tackle the biggest problems and focus on the needs of patients and providers, connecting regulatory, governance, information, and infrastructure dots, so that patients know that data is safe and health workers can use digital solutions transparently, and scaling digital health for the long run, based on trust with sustainable financing, and improved capacity and skills for digital solutions, it said.
The report also suggests that there should be strong country leaderships involving all relevant sectors and stakeholders, including civil society.
“Digital technology and data improvements will involve investments beyond the health sector and new partnerships with the private sector. A digital-in-health mindset needs to be a routine aspect of annual health system planning, budgeting, and implementation,” the report added.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: Global initiatives on digital health will bring world on common platform, Modi tells G20 meet