WHO report recommends to strengthen the evidence base to monitor digital health transformation

WHO report suggests improving monitoring of digital health initiatives due to the rapid evolution of digital health, emphasizing the need to measure and evaluate them accurately. Specific recommendations include integrating health data measurement into healthcare systems, enhancing accessibility of information, addressing monitoring variability and inequalities, and mitigating risks for vulnerable populations like young children.

Despite the positive role that digital health has played in improving healthcare access, safety, and quality, a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) points out that digital health programmes and interventions are often not monitored or evaluated.

Titled Monitoring the implementation of digital health, the report argues that existing metrics for measurement and evaluation tend to be left behind by the rapid evolution of digital health. It then calls for the incorporation of health data measurement and governance into healthcare systems. Making available information more accessible at the 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 to improve monitoring activities.