Digital Transformation in Health and the Sustainable Development Goals
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- The United Nations (UN) Resolution "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" set out a strategic vision for a new era of global development.
Dr Alejandro Cambiaso says that among the proposed goals are those linked to the health sector, where digital transformation can add great value.
To be specific, the family and community medicine expert notes that the third sustainable development goal, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), relates to healthy lives and promoting wellbeing, as well as reducing maternal and child mortality and ending tuberculosis, malaria, tropical diseases and waterborne diseases, among others.
Likewise, in view of the proposed targets, it is key to reduce deaths and injuries caused by road accidents and to guarantee universal access to medicines and health services, where promoting healthy lifestyles and primary care is paramount as a strategy for coordinating the integration of levels of care throughout people’s lives.
To support these goals, it is essential to use electronic records and digital technologies that make it possible to have data and provide personalised follow-up of patients right across the health system, creating an interface between providers, insurers and regulators that protects the privacy of information and makes better use of the system and its resources.
Dr Cambiaso says that digital transformation in health can also be linked to SDG nine on industry, innovation and infrastructure, since the use of drones to transport blood samples, medicines and vaccines to remote locations, the use of artificial intelligence, big data, 3D printing and integrated hospital software, among other advances, is already a reality.
In contrast, however, it is worth noting that more than 4 billion people still have no access to the internet, and 90 per cent of them are in the developing world. Closing this digital divide is crucial to guarantee equal access to information and knowledge and to promote innovation and entrepreneurship.
Today the health-technology pairing makes it possible to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases more efficiently, as well as to design strategies and measure their impact in real time in order to have a positive effect on public health, which is why the doctor concludes that digital transformation is not a luxury but a priority aligned with the sustainable development goals.