Associate Professor and Chief Digital Health Officer Dr. Clair Sullivan said that Queensland’s response to COVID-19 has been multifactorial, grounded upon efficient governance and good delivery.
She added that digitising things would be very helpful in defeating the threats of the virus.
Using good infrastructure, digitising workflows towards the health system would be instrumental in understanding the situation. Moreover, innovation may begin ground up through this digitising approach.
An example of which would be the app used to track airport and port entries. Data analytics such as this could help health authorities to keep track of necessary data, especially during the pandemic.
Acting Deputy Director-General Professor Keith McNeil said that comprehensive links and data sets help the government to find connections amid disparate data. It brings about a deeper understanding of the current impact of the pandemic on the overall situation of the country.
He added that new platforms used by health institutions such as telehealth and virtual care changed the landscape of healthcare delivery. However, the challenge lies in how we can make noble approaches like these as a norm in healthcare.
Alastair Sharman, a healthcare professional at Metro North Hospital said that Queensland’s investment on digitisation of healthcare has been going around for some time. He expressed his confidence towards the program as it reduces the pressure off the hospital system of the state despite the high demand brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gary Moss, Interlad’s VP of Sales observed that new technologies made health services more efficient and convenient for both patients and doctors. He projected that COVID-19 will inevitably lead to new demands in tech-based services.
Priorities for Digital Health Strategic Vision in Queensland
Dr. Sullivan said that COVID-19 made a huge impact on healthcare, leading to new models of care such as digitisation. This will also push governments and societies to adapt to emerging trends.
She added that in order to make people understand the real case, authorities should not fail to address their questions about it.
On the other hand, Prof. McNeil acknowledged patients’ concerns towards digital health. Ensuring transparency in the future will create space for the consumers in their undertaking of data management.
He elaborated that in reducing the potential threats in healthcare within this new platform, data sharing must be done longitudinally. Manifesting it through the use of genomics provides consistency for the project.
He added that helping consumers in understanding their patterns of the disease will be instrumental for healthcare systems to target risk populations and effectively use their resources.
Prof. McNeil agreed with Dr. Sullivan about the benefits of digital health and added that digital inclusion means the provision of appropriate care and how it should be done, catering to who needs it the most.
