A Key Year for the Future of Digital Health

Is it time to start a digital transformation project in my health organization? This is one of the questions I receive the most when talking about digital health projects. And although there is never a clear answer, as this depends on many factors within the organization, lately, I can say that external conditions are the most favorable we have had in a decade.

For a lot of people involved in digital transformation in the health sector, changes have been slow over the last decade; however, the COVID pandemic and other factors have increased the speed in which we see these changes. And although there is no certainty that can confirm a true and sustainable change in the digitization of the sector, the first quarter has brought some subtle evidence that 2023 will be key for the industry.

Regulation: NOM024 was the last health regulation to impact the industry more than a decade ago. Since then, there have been no sustained and relevant efforts to update the regulatory framework; however, only last week a transcendental advance was achieved in the Chamber of Deputies when the proposal on digital health and the use of electronic prescriptions in Mexico was voted and approved. It is only the first step of what should become a clear structure for health companies regarding technical and regulatory capacities in the sector, but it sends an excellent signal to the market, which in some cases is still uncertain about positioning resources to start a transformation process.

Information alignment: Mexico does not have a mechanism for standardization of information. The best example is the catalogs of medicines whose responsibility falls on the generator of any type of technology. However, catalogs, such as those of GS1 Syncfonica, which standardize and provide certainty about the quality of the information, are beginning to gain relevance in the market, solving one of the main problems in the sector.

Education: One of the main challenges when developing any type of digital health project is the shortage of trained personnel to adequately face a process of change. Before the pandemic, there were only a handful of training programs in digital health; however,today, it is possible to find all kinds of educational programs offered in person or remotely. These programs have made it easier for more people in the industry to be able to successfully coordinate and implement transformation projects that positively impact their environments and that consider the basic aspects for interoperability.

Available information: Before the pandemic, the data for the analysis of the digital health environment was very limited, so the industry had to make decisions with a high degree of ignorance, generating high uncertainty in the process of change. Thanks to the efforts of private and public institutions, more and better studies are now available on the current situation of doctors, patients and health organizations with respect to their digital maturity index. Just last month, the Mexican Health Foundation announced the strengthening of its digital study programs, with the launch this year of the study of the digital patient, and the census of health companies and state of digitization.

Investment: During the pandemic, health organizations allocated extraordinary budgets to react to the changing environment and the growing needs for remote health and diagnostic tests. On many occasions, these budgets did not have a business vision and were outside the visibility of the CFO, generating mistrust regarding the objectives of the projects, which is why 2022 obtained few budgets for the development of digital health projects.

2023, on the other hand, despite not having budgets as extensive as those that existed during the pandemic, has budgets that are aware of the expected results of the investment, and most of them are multiyear budgets that will allow sustained change.

During the pandemic, there were uncoordinated efforts to digitize health services, but a high percentage of these, because they were not linked to a conscious transformation effort, became isolated initiatives that, although they appeared to represent progress by implementing telemedicine services or an electronic health record, only increased the fragmentation of the market in health services and the inability of the sector to digitally communicate medical needs.

Since then we have managed to have an industry that is more aware, educated and prepared to face the challenges of digital health, and although many lessons from recent years still need to be accounted for and require greater awareness, it is now much more feasible for the private and public sectors in Mexico to carry out the successful completion of digital transformation projects.

How do we keep moving forward? More than ever, the industry requires the collaboration and creativity of multiple teams working toward digital health. Promoting initiatives that are not aligned with collective efforts can jeopardize the achievements made in the sector. Instead, if we combine previous efforts and build on them, we can be sure that we are creating a better  future for  digital health in Mexico.