TEHRAN – Modern communication technologies have fundamentally changed people’s lifestyles, social interactions, and access to information, with the health sector going through digital transformation, being no exception.

The emergence of tools such as health applications, telemedicine, electronic health records, online health platforms has made the digital health an important part of the health system. Digital health provides advantages, but it also brings challenges.

Digital health refers to the use of information and communication technologies to promote health, improve access to health services, and enhance the quality of health care. Bridging the distance between the patient and the service provider, digital health makes it easier for different groups in society to receive health services.

It plays a pivotal role in raising public awareness, preventing diseases, and improving health-oriented behaviours. 

Despite these benefits, digital health faces some challenges. The main important one is the digital gap which refers to inequality in accessing andusing communication technologies. The gap can be caused by different reasons such as income, place of residence, age, and literacy level. 

Researchers at Tehran’s Allameh Tabatabaei University have studied digital health in the country to identify its strengths, shortages, opportunities, and threats, ISNA reported.

The research findings show that digital health in Iran has significant strengths including national healthcare platforms, the growing use of artificial intelligence tools in healthcare services, and online healthcare services.

Meanwhile, a lack of a comprehensive legal framework for health data protection, integration among digital platforms, digital literacy, and communication infrastructure, as well as structural resistance to technological change are among the main weaknesses, which highlights digital health need both new technologies and reforms in structures and laws. 

To realize the healthcare system transformation goal, the health ministry has developed eight projects with a focus on smart e-health using artificial intelligence.

The projects include improving health literacy and self-care, designing a smart referral system, launching national health observatory, changing health data into operational knowledge, managing healthcare supply chain of subsidized medicines using AI, establishing a diagnosis-related groups (DRG) payment system, designing a productive smart hospital, and integrating online insurance processes.

MT/MG