Managing Pandemic Responses with Health Informatics – Challenges for Assessing Digital Health Technologies

Abstract

Objectives: To highlight the role of technology assessment in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: An overview of existing research and evaluation approaches along with expert perspectives drawn from the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Working Group on Technology Assessment and Quality Development in Health Informatics and the European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI) Working Group for Assessment of Health Information Systems. Results: Evaluation of digital health technologies for COVID-19 should be based on their technical maturity as well as the scale of implementation. For mature technologies like telehealth whose efficacy has been previously demonstrated, pragmatic, rapid evaluation using the complex systems paradigm which accounts for multiple sociotechnical factors, might be more suitable to examine their effectiveness and emerging safety concerns in new settings. New technologies, particularly those intended for use on a large scale such as digital contract tracing, will require assessment of their usability as well as performance prior to deployment, after which evaluation should shift to using a complex systems paradigm to examine the value of information provided. The success of a digital health technology is dependent on the value of information it provides relative to the sociotechnical context of the setting where it is implemented. Conclusion: Commitment to evaluation using the evidence-based medicine and complex systems paradigms will be critical to ensuring safe and effective use of digital health technologies for COVID-19 and future pandemics. There is an inherent tension between evaluation and the imperative to urgently deploy solutions that needs to be negotiated.

Digital health literacy and health technology in health systems and beyond: The importance of measurement, planned action, and policy for readiness and sustainability1

“…Several recent studies add how the COVID-19 pandemic advanced the importance of digital health literacy and created ensuing needs for public and professional training and education [1]. Several barriers to digital health literacy were identified, including limited access to digital technologies, limited health literacy skills, and language barriers [1].…”

“…The reasons for this are many, including cost-effectiveness, information management challenges, increasing concern for risk management, and the need to reach more vulnerable populations -particularly those with less access to health services. The latter trend was accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the need to provide services during periods of lockdown, while encouraging and even regulating the need for physical distancing [1].…”

Bibliometric Analysis of Health Technology Research: 1990~2020

“…Aminullah studied the impact of policy innovation on the scale and speed of COVID-19 transmission by building a system dynamics model, and also studied the impact of the emergence of innovative health technologies, including medical devices, devices, drug development, and vaccines, on the health system in their research [ 48 ]. Magrabi reviewed existing health technology assessment methods and evaluated three digital health technologies for COVID-19 response, namely mature technologies, new technologies deployed on a large scale, and new technologies deployed on a small scale, based on their technology maturity and scale of implementation [ 49 ]. COVID-19 is a disaster, but it also presents an opportunity to adapt and use the HTA process creatively and constructively, as a tool for transforming entire health systems and creating value for society in the post-COVID-19 era [ 50 ].…”

Current challenges and potential solutions to the use of digital health technologies in evidence generation: a narrative review

“…A randomized controlled trial (RCT) discovered that a web-based exercise intervention led to significant improvements in overall health status and reductions in pain intensity compared to control groups ( 10 ). Magrabi et al ( 11 ) have highlighted the importance of evaluating digital health solutions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. They suggest that technologies should be evaluated based on their technological maturity and the size of their deployment and should use the complex systems model to assess the value of data provided by the technology ( 11 ).…”

“…Magrabi et al ( 11 ) have highlighted the importance of evaluating digital health solutions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. They suggest that technologies should be evaluated based on their technological maturity and the size of their deployment and should use the complex systems model to assess the value of data provided by the technology ( 11 ).…”