Innovating eHealth: Issues for Globalisation and Culture

Digital health innovations hold great promise for improving lives of citizens and patients, and are attracting substantial investment in Europe. The narrative surrounding this investment is dominated by a focus on wealthy countries with strong markets and infrastructures, and preoccupied with conditions of the elderly and overweight. However, if we wish to understand the full power of digital health innovations we need to think globally, including other parts of the world where the challenges for human health and the implications for technology are very different, and we need to think differently about what we mean by ‘innovation’.  This presentation considers these challenges and uncertainties with reference to projects in which the Global Health Academy and our collaborators are involved, as well as examples of ‘frugal’ and ‘reverse’ innovation that illustrate how creative and cost-effective solutions from low income countries are beginning to influence policymakers and health organisations Europe. It also considers information-intensive initiatives with potential to address health and societal challenges in lower-income countries.