WHO report recommends strengthening evidence base to monitor digital health transformation

A WHO report noted that monitoring of digital health programmes is frequently lacking. It advised focusing attention on enhancing current measurements, reducing the variability in digital health monitoring, and addressing the disparities in digital health among the most vulnerable, especially young children.

Despite the positive role digital health has played in improving healthcare access, safety, and quality, a recent WHO report on ‘Monitoring the implementation of digital health‘ points out that digital health programmes and interventions are often not monitored or evaluated. It states that existing metrics for measurement and evaluation tend to be neglected in the rapid evolution of digital health. Making available information more accessible at national and international levels, addressing the variability in digital health monitoring, paying closer attention to monitoring digital health inequalities, and addressing the potential risk of exacerbating inequalities among the most vulnerable, including young children, are all necessary steps in improving monitoring activities.