Interoperability a key component in digital health

by Patricia B. Mirasol, Producer

Data integration and systems interoperability are key components in the digital transformation of healthcare, according to experts speaking at an international symposium by The Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA) and the National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines (NAST PHL).

Electronic health records (EHRs) exist in the Philippines, but “EHR data is not collected and curated in a way that is optimized for learning health systems (LHS),” said Dr. Iris Isip-Tan, a professor at the University of the Philippines Manila’s College of Medicine.

An LHS creates a feedback loop of ongoing improvement in healthcare by using data from healthcare encounters. A 2021 BMC Health Services Research publication notes that EHRs are important to an LHS because they provide the data needed to drive this improvement.

“There’s acceptance among clinicians in digital systems,” Dr. Tan said at the symposium on October 30. “The barrier is infrastructure in terms of data connectivity in our islands.”

Good outputs need good data, according to Carmencita D. Padilla, a national scientist and a member of the health sciences division of NAST PHL.

“The issue of interoperability is very important if you want to fast-track the issue of integration of data,” she said.

“You have to strategically plan and include budget for it [the digitalization of the healthcare process] in your system,” she added. “The primary source of funding should be the government, with the assistance of the private sector.”

“The cost of digital transformation should of course be done by the government,” also said Dr. Ertugrul Kilic, a member of the Turkish Academy of Sciences.

Turkey’s entire healthcare process has been digitalized, Dr. Kilic shared in the same event.

The e-Nabiz Personal Health System, for one, has enabled the country’s citizens to access their digital health records since 2015. It draws information from – among others – over 1500 hospitals and 9000 medical centers.

Turkey’s digital transformation roadmap – which began in 2004 with its Health Information Systems Action Plan – includes the centralization of health data in 2008, as well as the launch of a communications center in 2016 that provides video translation for those with hearing impairment.

Younger generations need to be aware of the world’s pressing health problems, advised Narinder Mehra, a professor and the vice president of international affairs of India’s National Academy of Sciences.

Among these global issues are air pollution and antimicrobial resistance, of which climate change can act as a catalyst.

“We need to change the narrative: from the threat of climate change, [let’s shift the focus] to a healthier future through climate action,” Mr. Mehra said.