Increased adoption of digital health technologies are expected to unlock an estimated $10 billion in the Middle East and $230 billion globally over the next five years, a new report said.
The report, prepared by World Government Summit (WGS) in collaboration with McKinsey, suggested few options in innovation for governments to consider, including adopting algorithm-based approvals systems, combining urban planning with public health and creating global digital health bonds.
According to Mohamed Yousef AlSharhan, deputy managing director of WGS, healthcare would play a significant role in building and empowering the new generation of governments.
“Proactive research on the global transformations and trends globally will support in developing future strategies, exploring opportunities and challenges, and developing effective solutions for the betterment of society,” he said.
A recent McKinsey study found that the healthcare industry was in the bottom three of 20 sectors in digital advancement globally.
This is due in part to nonexistent digital health laws, ambiguous existing laws, limited reimbursement terms, and a lack of regulations governing what may occur online related to digital health.
However, improving technologies and the need to rethink systems during the pandemic are creating momentum for systems to embrace digital modalities.
According to Dr. Panco Georgiev, senior partner at McKinsey & Company, digital health could unlock tremendous value for governments in enhancing health systems’ operational efficiency, patient experience and patient outcomes.
“It can also address some of the key challenges in the healthcare sector, like increasing access to care and mitigating rising healthcare costs,” he added.
The report suggested six options in innovation for governments to consider: adopting algorithm-based approvals systems to ensure that robust regulations are in place, combining urban planning with public health for an integrated approach for creation of smarter cities and more healthful environments, and creating a lifetime digital twin for every resident – a virtual version of an individual that enables simulations of his or her health over time through modelling of complex physical and biochemical processes.
The suggestions also included governments sponsoring global and intelligent patient passports – a unified ‘patient passport’, supporting next-generation learning powered by analytics, and creating digital health bonds.
“Government healthcare authorities could issue bonds for building digital health infrastructures to attract investment and improve digital adoption,” the report said.
The bonds could be linked to specific patient outcome targets, such as the digitisation of medical records or a reduction in prescription errors and patient adverse events.
Reimbursement could depend on how quickly results are realised, the report suggested.
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