Current challenges and potential solutions to the use of digital health technologies in evidence generation: a narrative review

Abstract

Digital health is a field that aims to improve patient care through the use of technology, such as telemedicine, mobile health, electronic health records, and artificial intelligence. The aim of this review is to examine the challenges and potential solutions for the implementation and evaluation of digital health technologies. Digital tools are used across the world in different settings. In Australia, the Digital Health Translation and Implementation Program (DHTI) emphasizes the importance of involving stakeholders and addressing infrastructure and training issues for healthcare workers. The WHO's Global Task Force on Digital Health for TB aims to address tuberculosis through digital health innovations. Digital tools are also used in mental health care, but their effectiveness must be evaluated during development. Oncology supportive care uses digital tools for cancer patient intervention and surveillance, but evaluating their effectiveness can be challenging. In the COVID and post-COVID era, digital health solutions must be evaluated based on their technological maturity and size of deployment, as well as the quality of data they provide. To safely and effectively use digital healthcare technology, it is essential to prioritize evaluation using complex systems and evidence-based medical frameworks. To address the challenges of digital health implementation, it is important to prioritize ethical research addressing issues of user consent and addressing socioeconomic disparities in access and effectiveness. It is also important to consider the impact of digital health on health outcomes and the cost-effectiveness of service delivery.

Keywords: artificial intelligence; humans; pandemics; privacy; socioeconomic disparities in health; telemedicine.

Figure 1

The changing needs of care teams of the future; adopted and published with permission from Dr. Rizvi T.H. (see Rizvi TH, University of Oxford, The changing needs of care teams of the future [Infographic-Internet], 2022, Available from [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/drtazeenrizvi_healthcare-health-wellbeing-activity-7014261135415648256-ouWU?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop]).

Figure 2

(A) accelerating digital health with consumer focus; (B) augmenting healthcare delivery models with digital technology; adopted and published with permission from Dr. Rizvi T.H. (see Rizvi TH, University of Oxford, Accelerating digital health with consumer focus [Infographic-Internet], 2022, Available from [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/drtazeenrizvi_digitalising-healthrecords-digitalhealth-activity-7009510993365999617-lxEC?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop]; Augmenting healthcare delivery models with digital technology [Infographic-Internet], 2022, Available from [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/drtazeenrizvi_accessibility-healthservices-digitalhealth-activity-7004120405506465792-7JdT?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop]).