Why Support Digital Health?
The stark number of health projects where ICT is failing to make a difference should not have health professionals, policy makers and public health specialists abandon digital health as an essential tool for improved health systems and outcomes. Just imagine if we had abandoned internet banking with the first system failures and online fraud. Similarly we cannot give in to the failures, but instead seek knowledge from them in order to address shortcomings. SPIDER positions the organisation to be a resource for knowledge and a web creator for the essential expertise to be pooled, in order to avoid the hype of ICT being a fix-it-all-miracle and instead refocus on the people using the technology.
Funder synergies
In the past year, SPIDER has engaged in and organised many events and initiatives, from ICT4Social Innovation Conference in Nairobi to #SIF17 and everything between. While not all of the events have had a focus on #DigitalHealth, they certainly have an impact on how ICTs are used to improve health. What strikes me, as the lead for our Health programme, is how little the different spheres and funders speak to one another. I have therefore set myself the target of trying to involve as many different funders, implementers and key groups as I believe is necessary for our ICT for health programme to have a sustainable impact, while offering funders a better overview and results.
Often when faced with empty comments like “its proven that ICT for health doesn’t work”, I ask the person if their behaviour would change if a tablet or laptop was placed in a room
Often when faced with empty comments like “its proven that ICT for health doesn’t work”, I ask the person if their behaviour would change if a tablet or laptop was placed in a room, or indeed, would we solve a problem sitting around a super-computer – of course not! Technology is merely a tool – but a tool that can enable the valuable time of medical specialists to be better spent on patient consultations, enable sharing of professional development tools to offer incentives for health workers, diagnose more accurately malaria, cervical cancer or simply prompt expectant families to access life-saving care at an existing community health clinic.
The stark number of health projects where ICT is failing to make a difference should not have health professionals, policy makers and public health specialists abandon digital health as an essential tool for improved health systems and outcomes. Just imagine if we had abandoned internet banking with the first system failures and online fraud. We didn’t and today fintech and digital banking systems allow more and more people to make financial transfers essential for their businesses and every day banking. Similarly we cannot give in to the failures, but instead seek knowledge from them in order to address shortcomings. SPIDER positions the organisation to be a resource for knowledge and a web creator for the essential expertise to be pooled, in order to avoid the hype of ICT being a fix-it-all-miracle and instead refocus on the people using the technology.
The ICT tools that can make health systems more efficient and effective are many, from a small hand-held device to robust national eHealth systems. The problem largely remains that many of these technologies are designed and developed as stand-alone systems that do not speak to one another. That in turn is often the result of the funding engines failing to speak to one another.
Design: SPIDER/Freepik
Interoperability rather than stand-alone systems
The ICT tools that can make health systems more efficient and effective are many, from a small hand-held device to robust national eHealth systems. The problem largely remains that many of these technologies are designed and developed as stand-alone systems that do not speak to one another. That in turn is often the result of the funding engines failing to speak to one another.
Imagine a family who do not communicate, what would the chances be of the weekly shopping being done by three individuals instead of one, leading to plenty of wasted food and money? The same way, funders are swayed to appear ground breaking and innovative, when many times an open source system, with recorded success and failures is gathering dust in the ether. SPIDER therefore creates networks of multi-disciplinary actors and attract funders that wish to communicate and coordinate more efficient and effective, people focused technology. We want to save time by using what has already been developed and let the technical experts tweak it to fit, with the end users defining the need. Innovation for us is not only development of new technology, but the smart use of what is available today.
SPIDER encourages the development of interoperable ICT tools. What this means in real terms is that we strongly believe that a system that records births should provide the information to programmes that handle vaccinations and that the information supplied can inform better planning for education and early childhood development initiatives, etc.
You may ask yourself how safe that is, given the personal data being used. Try instead asking how secure the data would be if developed only by a small team of people who may lack thorough understanding of digital security, doctor patient relationship and national care guidelines. We think that linking this small team to a bigger network of specialists and experienced organisations will, if done right, lead to far greater results. And the most important step, we require that there needs are mapped, people are consulted and knowledge is gathered at all stages of the project. All the projects we coordinate and support get the added bonus of research/M&E, skilled researchers in our partner countries that know the context and speak the languages. Giving funders the security of verified insights at all levels.
Given that our organisation is an independent centre on ICT for Development (ICT4D) we are unique in a number of ways:
SPIDER is an independent centre that coordinates programmes for various funders investing in ICT as a tool for development.
SPIDER follows up on project results and rely both on traditional indicators as well as progress markers that will give a fuller overview of what works in ICT for Health.
SPIDER works with organisations local to the countries where the health project is to be rolled out.
Being housed at a public institution in Sweden, SPIDER is fully transparent and our local partners adhere to the same standards of budget planning and financial audits.
SPIDER connects people and projects to arrive at greater outcomes and for more cost-effective implementation
SPIDER implements people focused technology by bringing a) community members, b) frontline health workers, c)decision makers, d)public health specialists, e)investors, f)technical competence and g) researchers to the round table
I will not fail to mention the networks we operate and contribute to. The SPIDER webs are our most valued assets. In 2015 we co-founded the ICT 4 Social Innovation Network which is a Pan-African network focusing on health, education and rights, aiming to highlight African ICT solutions for common challenges in Africa and beyond. The SPIDER Health & Wellbeing Network convened in April 2017 and has already produced interoperable solutions being introduced to countries seeking to turn eHealth strategies to practical tools. SPIDER is proudly a member of the Digital Health Interoperability Working Group coordinated by PATH international and led by WHO and USAID. The working group engages high level support to realising digital health provision across countries.
In short we think our strongest contribution as an organisation is that of making SDG17 our every day mission, and as Programme Manager for Health it is my responsibility to offer health funders the best partners and ICT solutions to make your vision materialise under the SDG3 banner.
What is interoperability?
Interoperability is the ability of different information technology systems and software applications to communicate, exchange data, and use the information that has been exchanged.
Interoperability means the ability of health information systems to work together within and across organizational boundaries in order to advance the effective delivery of healthcare for individuals and communities.
There are three levels of health information technology interoperability:
- Foundational;
- Structural; and
- Semantic.
(Source: HIMSS, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society)