Let’s take a look at some of the health tech news stories from across the world which have caught our eye over the last few weeks over on our sister site HTN International.
Insights from our international interviews
We’ve been speaking to a range of health tech professionals from across the globe, gaining insights around priorities and progress on digital healthcare in international contexts.
Our most recent interview saw us chat with Kate Renzenbrink, chief clinical informatics officer at The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Kate chatted about her views on innovation and change management, how data is used within her hospital, the wider digital health landscape in Australia, and more.
We spoke with Dr Nojus Saad, president and CEO of the Youth For Women Foundation in France, and digital healthcare researcher and ambassador across the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. Nojus joined us to share his experiences and insights from countries including France, Iraq, and India.
Another interview saw the HTN team chat to Cheryl Fenwick Evans, previous clinical documentation specialist with Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand. Cheryl talked about her experiences helping to launch the Clinical Documentation Programme, which aims to enhance the quality of health information produced by clinical staff. She also highlighted Māori views on data governance, and why she thinks the wider health systems across the world could learn from it.
Interested to read more international insights from health tech professionals? Other HTNI interviews include a chief information officer from New Jersey, a senior vice president and chief digital information officer from Florida, a vice president of innovation and partnerships in Ontario and a digital health economist in Spain. Catch up with all HTNI interviews here.
Strategy and transformation news from around the world
Several of our news stories from the last few weeks have covered the publication of new strategies, progress reports, or objectives for digital transformation in international health. Let’s revisit some of the highlights of our reporting in this space.
In July, the Australian Digital Health Agency shared intentions to source solutions and services in support of the vision to “transform national infrastructure and move to a contemporary, structured data-rich ecosystem capable of connecting systems across settings and supporting real-time access to information for the patient and the broader care team – anywhere, anytime”.
July also saw the government of Nova Scotia announcing the expansion of the YourHealthNS app to allow patients to access more information about X-ray results. Residents of Nova Scotia will now be able to access X-ray reports directly from the app, including any report findings, comparisons with previous X-rays, their medical history, and a summary.
Brazil’s Ministry of Health shared the news that it has begun the process of implementing a unified medical record, expanding its Meu SUS Digital app to facilitate access to health information, clinical history, test results, and more. With more than 50 million downloads to date, the app also features an interface for health professionals, enabling access to the unified electronic medical record.
International health tech funding, partnerships and procurement news
July brought us plenty of news on international health tech funding, partnerships and procurements, including a $20 million donation to the Mayo Clinic in the US, which will support initiatives such as the development of generative AI tools for insight into individual risk of cancer.
Over in Spain, Spanish digital healthcare company Mediktor announced the acquisition of San Franciso-based Sensely, a provider of an “empathy-driven” conversation platform designed to support hospital systems and insurance services with member management. The merger aims to develop “one of the largest global AI-based solution providers in the healthcare ecosystem”, with the newly integrated company set to utilise Sensely’s platform to “help increase efficiencies and reduce costs”.
Staying in Europe, the Ministry of Health in the Netherlands issued a tender for the procurement of a platform, services and infection disease control system worth an estimated €100 million, as part of the Ministry’s aim to find “working pandemic-functional solutions” that can be used for infection and disease control applications.
And in Croatia, the Ministry of Health announced the installation of the first linear accelerator of 21 to be provided for citizens under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, following a pledge from the government to invest €85 million in oncology treatment, and funding from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility, designed to help member states overcome challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other highlights from the world of health tech
That’s not all from HTNI! We also reported on news such as the implementation of endoscopy reporting software in Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital, Zambia, to support auditing and the uploading of information to electronic medical records.
Elsewhere on the African continent, we looked at key findings from a study highlighting gaps in regulation for telemedicine and digital health in Ghana, pointing to an increased potential for malpractice and an “amplified” risk to patient privacy and data protection. Noting the “increasing reliance” on electronic health records and AI-based systems in healthcare, the study cites challenges including ensuring the standard of care and liability for health professionals utilising telemedicine and associated technologies.
And for our final news highlight, we reported on the the entry into force of the European AI Act, a legal framework which seeks to address the risks of AI and place Europe “to play a leading role globally” by setting out clear requirements and obligations in support of “trustworthy AI”.
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