Health in the 21st Century

Abstract

A digital transformation can help meet the changing needs of patients and the public. It can serve as a catalyst for a team-based approach to deliver quality and co-ordinated health services. This is particularly important with ageing populations, a growing chronic disease burden and rising expenditure. People want to take greater control of their health. In 2017, 3.7 billion health-related smartphone apps were downloaded globally, up from 1.7 billion in 2013. The proportion of adults seeking health information online more than doubled between 2007 and 2017. But while the majority of OECD countries (70%) say they are implementing ways for people to access their heath data electronically, fewer than half (43%) include the ability for patients to interact with their own health records. In addition, such facilities are under-used by those who stand to benefit the most from them. Intelligent use of data and digital technology improves the safety and quality of care, helps address unmet health need and makes accessing services easier. It supports more informed health system stewardship and policy making. It also assists researchers to develop safer and better treatments, and enables more effective disease prevention and public health, resulting in healthier and more productive populations. Health systems are plagued by a significant waste of resources. Unnecessary practices, duplication and other inefficiencies mean that around a fifth of health care expenditure in OECD countries (around USD 1.3 trillion annually) is not used to generate better health, and sometimes even harms health. A digital transformation also offers ways to reduce this waste, improving health, saving money and freeing up resources towards more productive ends.