Industry View: New York, the United Nations, and Digital Health

VIEW - Digital Health Association chief executive, Ryl Jensen

Ryl Jensen, chief executive of the Digital Health Association, travelled to New York to speak on her research at the Digital Health Symposium for the United Nations General Assembly 77 Science Summit.

The United Nations Manhattan Manifesto was born from a digital health steering committee from the UNGA 77 event. Developed at a pivotal time, its intent is to steer the global direction of digital health which sets out 12 principles for improving global healthcare in the face of rising costs, declining outcomes, and worsening inequalities, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing.

Currently vast inequities in healthcare delivery are a reality and overburdened health systems are struggling with the pressures of demand. Technology has come of age and, like it has in other sectors, can now help shift the dial in the access and delivery of healthcare through connecting health providers and enabling people to take more control of their health and wellbeing. The Covid-19 pandemic catapulted the importance of connected healthcare systems through technology, and it showed that by embracing the development and uptake of technology solutions and remote patient monitoring across health systems, it can make a palpable difference to health outcomes across the world.

The principles that carefully guide the manifesto put a stake in the ground and provide a proper focus for governments where the use of technology will significantly increase access to otherwise scarce health services, help relieve the burden on an over stretched health workforce and enable continuity of care for patients.

• People at the centre. Empower people, their families, and communities to achieve health and wellness.
• Health is "Whealth" - Healthcare is an essential contributor to economic wellbeing and growth.
• Recognise and address the unique challenge faced by women and girls in accessing health care.
• Seek Government commitment to allocate 6% of public healthcare spending to digital health.
• Provide leadership through a national digital health body that is outcomes-orientated.
• Embrace the Health Data Governance Principles as a step towards global standards.
• Be agile. Be rapid. Drive the step change.
• Align funding instruments supporting value-based healthcare for people, communities, and population.
• Improve access to globally available data to provide evidence for personalised healthcare.
• Utilise digital technology and data to improve the quality of acute care and reduce harm.
• Drive towards eliminating disparities in healthcare delivery and inequity in outcomes.
• Embrace justice.

Digital technology now touches every corner of a health system and strong leadership to execute national strategies must be prioritised. Principles 4 and 5, attributed to my research, recognise that creating independent government agencies to lead and govern digital health and to ensure enduring policies are created, is essential for success. A digital health agency needs to have the ability to enter into its own contracts and push forward with innovation and connectivity that will enable real-world advances in health outcomes.

Governments must realise that no patient is ever treated in isolation and that the lack of investment and nationally co-ordinated strategies in digital health is costing time, money, and lives. The development, promotion, and leadership of agile digital solutions in health systems must be made a priority. Technology is now much more than an enabler, it is critical key infrastructure and, if implemented properly, will improve the lives and health of everyone across the globe.

For me I have been truly honoured to meet incredible champions of digital health who believe in its enormous possibilities. Brave, fearless evangelists who are change-makers and stand for what we know will make a difference. But now we need governments across the world to listen, to make digital health a priority, to fund its development properly and earnestly, and to believe it can and will work. Without government buy-in and strong leadership, digital health will remain one of those things that is always nearly there but also just out of reach. We cannot and should not let this happen so, quite simply, let’s not.

Picture: Digital Health Association chief executive, Ryl Jensen

If you want to contact eHealthNews.nz regarding this View, please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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