[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":311},["ShallowReactive",2],{"slug-a-promising-hub-for-digital-health-kazakhstan":3},{"post":4,"relatedPosts":187,"relatedBooks":310},{"id":5,"date":6,"date_gmt":7,"guid":8,"modified":10,"modified_gmt":11,"slug":12,"status":13,"type":14,"link":15,"title":16,"content":18,"excerpt":21,"author":23,"featured_media":24,"comment_status":25,"ping_status":25,"sticky":26,"template":27,"format":28,"meta":29,"categories":30,"tags":33,"project_category":38,"contact_email_category":39,"yst_prominent_words":40,"class_list":61,"better_featured_image":74,"acf":123,"yoast_meta":132,"_links":134},26507,"2020-03-12T10:00:00","2020-03-12T08:00:00",{"rendered":9},"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002F?post_id=26507&_wpnonce=c543c92bff&status=auto-draft&type=post","2020-03-12T13:49:27","2020-03-12T11:49:27","a-promising-hub-for-digital-health-kazakhstan","publish","post","https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fa-promising-hub-for-digital-health-kazakhstan",{"rendered":17},"A Promising Hub For Digital Health: Kazakhstan",{"rendered":19,"protected":20},"\n\u003Cp>Sharing borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, you find the world’s largest landlocked country, the Republic of Kazakhstan. Conversely, with its population of over 18 million spanning across an area of 2,724,900 km², the country also has one of the lowest population densities worldwide, at less than 6 people per square kilometre.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Being a relatively new republic and with its widespread inhabitants, Kazakhstan poses as an adequate hub for digital health to expand. Such a young republic’s ministry of health can develop around newer technologies and strategies brought forth with the advent of digital health like telemedicine to connect inhabitants of remote areas, mobile apps to allow patients to self-manage their health and robot-assisted surgeries for minimally invasive operations. In fact, these are already realities sprouting in the transcontinental country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-large\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F02\u002FRural-area-in-Kazakhstan-512x288.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26509\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F02\u002FRural-area-in-Kazakhstan-512x288.jpg 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F02\u002FRural-area-in-Kazakhstan-370x208.jpg 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F02\u002FRural-area-in-Kazakhstan-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F02\u002FRural-area-in-Kazakhstan.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>\u003Cem>A rural area in Kazakhstan. \u003C\u002Fem>Source: http:\u002F\u002Fwww.euro.who.int\u002F\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>While the Kazakhstani healthcare landscape seems to be on the right track to digital health, there are still challenges to be overcome. We interviewed Dr. Olzhas Abishev, Vice Minister of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Mr. Yerbol Spatayev, Public Health and Informatization Specialist at the same ministry, to have a better picture of the adoption of digital health in Kazakhstan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Overcoming struggles\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“In Kazakhstan you get [universal health coverage] only if you are ready to pay for it yourself,” said a pensioner living in the city of Kapchagay, Kazakhstan, to a World Health Organization (WHO) reporter in \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.who.int\u002Fbulletin\u002Fvolumes\u002F97\u002F4\u002F19-020419.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">a 2019 bulletin\u003C\u002Fa>. But this is about to change, according to the same bulletin. The Kazakh government has called to raise the total expenditure on health, education and science, forecasting to raise the overall health-care expenditure to 4.7% of GDP before 2023.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The healthcare system (medical service providers) in the country is mainly state-owned, and the government’s push to provide universal health coverage aims to reduce out-of-pocket expenses. To achieve this, one of the aspects that \u003Cstrong>the Ministry of Healthcare is betting on is the digitization of the healthcare landscape.\u003C\u002Fstrong> In fact, the ministry planned as far back as 2006 a “Unified Health Information System” project which aimed to create software to automate major functions like collecting medical data at the level of health care providers and monitoring the quality of medical services. However, it did not see the light of day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-large\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F02\u002FPeople-outside-of-a-city-polyclinic-in-Uralsk-Kazakhstan.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26511\"\u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>\u003Cem>People outside of a city polyclinic in Uralsk, Kazakhstan. \u003C\u002Fem>Source: http:\u002F\u002Forigin.who.int\u002F\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“The project was delayed beyond the originally planned deadlines and by 2012 it became clear that its implementation and full-scale deployment was almost impossible due to a number of obstacles,” Mr Spatayev told us. He attributes these obstacles as being multifactorial from technological issues (outdated client-server architecture, software quality problems, etc.) to conceptual ones (lack of users involvement into the design and development process, leading to a low level of acceptance of changes and rejection among healthcare professionals; lack of sustainability of the proposed changes; etc.).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In the wake of this project’s demise, the Kazakh government doubled down on its efforts and drafted the eHealth Development Strategy for 2013-2020, planning to develop relevant  institutional structures, regulatory frameworks, e-health systems and stimulate e-health market growth during that time period. When we inquired about the success of this plan given that we’ve arrived at its term, our interviewees told us that all areas of this strategy were fulfilled and that\u003Cstrong> the Ministry is planning to assess the implementation of it and even develop a new strategic document for the next five-year period.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>The key word is data\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Dr. Olzhas Abishev shared with us that this year his ministry launched the “personalized medicine” 2020-2023 program. This ambitious project aims to analyze all possible data inside data centers of the Ministry of Healthcare, amounting to 16 terabytes, as well as over 300 terabytes worth of data from other sources related to disease trends so as to be able to forecast disease prognosis on a national scale. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>While definitely an ambitious and forward-looking project, \u003Cstrong>the challenges it might face is the lack of an integrated network as well as decades worth of data like for example \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fdanish-digital-health-strategy\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">Denmark\u003C\u002Fa>, a leader in digital health, does.\u003C\u002Fstrong> The Danish National Patient Registry has been \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cphhealthtech.com\u002Fabout\" target=\"_blank\">keeping records\u003C\u002Fa> that date 30-40 years back. For example, information on causes of death has been collected since 1875, and cancer incidence has been registered for the whole country since 1943. Such data can provide crucial insights for projects like forecasting disease trends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-large\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"341\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002Fhealthcare-big-data-512x341.jpg\" alt=\"digital biomarkers\" class=\"wp-image-21212\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002Fhealthcare-big-data-512x341.jpg 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002Fhealthcare-big-data-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F07\u002Fhealthcare-big-data.jpg 870w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>Source: www.recode.net\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Nevertheless, Kazakhstan seems to be on the right track, even if its digital health landscape is taking shape slowly. New data used for analytics will also be obtained with the Ministry’s push to encourage the use of health trackers. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>As a matter of fact, Dr. Abishev further noted that\u003Cstrong> the main goal of the 2020-2025 healthcare development plan will focus on a key digital health strategy: shifting from hospital-oriented medical care to patient-oriented medical care.\u003C\u002Fstrong> This will bring in patient involvement through smartphones and wearables which will be able to feed data paramount to projects like the “personalized medicine” 2020-2023.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>What about security?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>While it’s laudable to empower patients and make them more proactive when it comes to their health, we questioned him about the steps that the Ministry of Healthcare of Kazakhstan has taken to ensure that patients can trust their data into their hands. After all, this issue is paramount when dealing with digitization and patient health data.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-large\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"314\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F05\u002Fcybersecurity_privacy-in-digital-health-512x314.jpg\" alt=\"CyberSecurity_Privacy in Digital Health\" class=\"wp-image-15701\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F05\u002Fcybersecurity_privacy-in-digital-health-512x314.jpg 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F05\u002Fcybersecurity_privacy-in-digital-health-768x471.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F05\u002Fcybersecurity_privacy-in-digital-health-408x250.jpg 408w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F05\u002Fcybersecurity_privacy-in-digital-health.jpg 870w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>Source: https:\u002F\u002Fpennyinsuranceagency.com\u002F\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“A lot of work has been done in this direction,” replied Mr. Yerbol Spatayev. “It started with the introduction of legislative norms and standards that define the requirements, rights, and obligations regarding the access and use of personal medical data. All information systems and databases at the national level were transferred to secure data centers. All information systems of the Ministry have been certified for the requirements of national information security standards. Training on information security is constantly conducted.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>It seems like these measures were effective as \u003Cstrong>they prevented 130,724 external attacks in 2019\u003C\u002Fstrong>. Other countries like \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fpwc.blogs.com\u002Fhealth_matters\u002F2017\u002F03\u002Festonia-prescribes-blockchain-for-healthcare-data-security.html\">Estonia\u003C\u002Fa> and \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwam.ae\u002Fen\u002Fdetails\u002F1395302787646\">Dubai\u003C\u002Fa> are investing in blockchain for the security and transparency it offers in order to protect patients’ health records and \u003Cstrong>it could be a technology for the Kazakh healthcare system to consider in the future.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Telemedicine: the promise and the reality\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>A telemedicine network was launched \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.euro.who.int\u002Fen\u002Fhealth-topics\u002FHealth-systems\u002Fe-health\u002Fnews\u002Fnews\u002F2019\u002F2\u002Ftelemedicine-in-kazakhstan-smart-health-services-delivery\" target=\"_blank\">as early as 2004\u003C\u002Fa> in Kazakhstan in order to provide rural populations with access to specialized medical care based on the principle of “doctor-to-doctor”. It allows teleconsultation between healthcare professionals and specialists with extensive experience for diagnosis, treatment of patients, sharing of results and medical images. “In total, about 200,000 consultations were held during the existence of the telemedicine network,” reports Mr. Yerbol Spatayev. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>It’s an effective move to help patients save time and reduce expenses over long trips for specialized care. Additionally, \u003Cstrong>the telemedicine network can prove instrumental in providing medical access to the country’s remote and sparsely populated areas.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-large\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"342\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F02\u002FTelemedicine-in-Kazakhstan-512x342.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26513\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F02\u002FTelemedicine-in-Kazakhstan-512x342.jpg 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F02\u002FTelemedicine-in-Kazakhstan.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>\u003Cem>A doctor in Almaty using the telemedicine service which provides teleconsultations, follow-ups and educational content. \u003C\u002Fem>Source: http:\u002F\u002Fwww.euro.who.int\u002F\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The Ministry of Healthcare also started an initiative for citizens to self-manage their health and take timely action when required. To this end, they partnered with some 40 different vendors offering digital health applications which can help users make a doctor’s appointment, follow a treatment plan, archive prescriptions and view lab tests. Some of them boast \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.euro.who.int\u002Fen\u002Fhealth-topics\u002FHealth-systems\u002Fe-health\u002Fnews\u002Fnews\u002F2019\u002F2\u002Ftelemedicine-in-kazakhstan-smart-health-services-delivery\">around 2 million users\u003C\u002Fa> and over 200,000 patients have enrolled in the self-management program. \u003Cstrong>However, compared to the country’s 18 million inhabitants, there is still progress to be made\u003C\u002Fstrong>. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Another hindrance is digital literacy, as Dr. Olzhas Abishev pointed out. “We can’t implement standard international approaches to make citizens involved only through smartphones,” Dr Abishev added. “We are working with different types of interaction with our citizens via smartphones, SMS notifications, call centers  and passive data analytics.” Nevertheless, \u003Cstrong>the Ministry of Healthcare told us that reaching 2 million users is a definite achievement as this number of users represents 17% of the entire adult population\u003C\u002Fstrong> of the country, including older people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-large\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"342\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F02\u002FDamu-Med-Kazakhstan-512x342.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26515\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F02\u002FDamu-Med-Kazakhstan-512x342.jpg 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F02\u002FDamu-Med-Kazakhstan.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>\u003Cem>A digital health app in use. \u003C\u002Fem>Source: http:\u002F\u002Fwww.euro.who.int\u002F\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Making strides\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Even if the digital health landscape is still taking shape in Kazakhstan, significant strides have been made to propel the vision. On top of the regular hackathons and the Digital Health Astana, an international conference and exhibition held in two consecutive years, we’ve seen practical examples of new technologies emerging from Kazakhstan’s healthcare landscape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In early 2018, the country performed its \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fastanatimes.com\u002F2018\u002F03\u002Fkazakhstans-first-robotic-surgery-performed-in-ust-kamenogorsk\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">first robot-assisted surgery\u003C\u002Fa> to remove the gallbladder of a woman in a precise and minimally invasive way. At the 2019 Digital Health Astana exhibition, scientists demonstrated an exoskeleton that they had developed for post-stroke rehabilitation of patients which they plan for a Kazakh mass-market adoption starting 2021.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nur-Sultan hosted Digital Health Astana exhibition\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FStRxw25ayvc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003C\u002Fiframe>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In addition, the \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.linkedin.com\u002Fposts\u002Fdr-olzhas-abishev-71834894_national-electronic-health-record-for-all-activity-6633714750079541248-t8qB\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">National Electronic Health Record\u003C\u002Fa> set up provides, as from July 2019, paperless reports and records, accessible medical information online and more via its free app.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Room for improvement\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Despite the couple of practical examples and promising plans from the Kazakh Ministry of Healthcare, there is still room for improvement in the country. \u003Cstrong>Progress of the digital health agenda can be sped up not only by the government and its ministry but also by its citizens.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Rather than emphasizing health IT, the Ministry of Healthcare should promote development along the lines of digital health. There are \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Ftop-5-national-examples-in-digital-health\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">excellent examples\u003C\u002Fa> of governments taking the right steps to make digital health a reality in their country. Rwanda with its telemedicine solutions, medical drones deliveries and phone-based health service is \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fdigital-health-in-rwanda\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">comparable to \u003Cem>Black Panther\u003C\u002Fem>‘s Wakanda\u003C\u002Fa>. Estonia, dubbed as the “digital nation”, has plans to bring \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fdigital-healthcare-in-estonia\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">precision medicine to all of its citizens\u003C\u002Fa>. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The neighbouring country Denmark has \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fdanish-digital-health-strategy\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">a robust digital health framework\u003C\u002Fa> focused on data security while empowering patients and healthcare professionals. \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.politico.eu\u002Farticle\u002Fgermany-aims-to-become-eu-leader-in-digital-health-revamp\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">Germany has also invested in similar policies\u003C\u002Fa> with its plan to equip all insured patients with electronic health records by 2021 while focusing on data privacy. \u003Cstrong>These are some of the many cues that the Kazakh government could take and adapt to its country’s setting and position itself among the leaders in digital health.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-large\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F042_worldmap-512x288.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22111\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F042_worldmap-512x288.png 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F042_worldmap-370x208.png 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F042_worldmap-768x432.png 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F042_worldmap.png 870w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Patients themselves should get more proactive in managing their health with the plethora of online resources and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fthe-body-map-of-health-trackers-infographic\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">health trackers\u003C\u002Fa>. \u003C\u002Fstrong>They could join or create their own online communities, just like the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fdiabetes-as-the-trojan-horse-of-digital-health\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">diabetic community\u003C\u002Fa> did to penetrate the ivory tower held by medtech companies and key policymakers and reshaped the diabetes care landscape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Such a cultural transformation involving the empowerment of patients to make them the point of care is essential to the digital health vision. With proper internet access, digital health devices like \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fthreshold-of-a-new-era-in-diagnostics-philips-lumify-portable-ultrasound-review\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">portable ultrasound devices\u003C\u002Fa>, \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fekuore-digital-stethoscope-review\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">digital stethoscopes\u003C\u002Fa> and \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"portable diagnostic devices (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Ffirst-medical-tricorder-viatom-checkme-pro-review\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">portable diagnostic devices\u003C\u002Fa> can provide even areas without the proper infrastructures with state of the art care that can subsequently be analyzed and monitored by experts via the cloud.\u003Cstrong> The Kazakh government itself should embrace this change and promote it to its citizens.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-large\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F12\u002Fdigital-health-superhero-512x288.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25731\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F12\u002Fdigital-health-superhero-512x288.png 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F12\u002Fdigital-health-superhero-370x208.png 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F12\u002Fdigital-health-superhero-768x432.png 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F12\u002Fdigital-health-superhero-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F12\u002Fdigital-health-superhero.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>The key factor is time\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Ultimately, only time will tell if Kazakhstan’s digital health strategy will turn out to be successful and provide all of its citizens with access to universal health coverage and empower their patients, even pensioners like the one from the WHO bulletin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>As the country’s Ministry of Healthcare deploys its plans, we are bound to see more practical examples of digital health from Kazakhstan. It’s an encouraging sign that the government is genuinely interested in developing their healthcare system along the digital health track. As outlined, \u003Cstrong>the country is an adequate fit for digital health strategies to better attend to their patient needs.\u003C\u002Fstrong> We’ll be keeping an eye on the progress over there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",false,{"rendered":22,"protected":20},"\u003Cp>Sharing borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, you find the world’s largest landlocked country, the Republic of Kazakhstan. Conversely, with its population of […]\u003C\u002Fp>\n",16,26771,"closed",true,"","standard",{"_acf_changed":20,"footnotes":27},[31,32],521,800,[34,35,36,37],827,207,824,826,[],[],[41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60],1693,1571,1695,1617,1697,1631,1699,1679,1701,1681,1703,1683,1705,1685,1707,1687,1709,1689,1711,1691,[62,14,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73],"post-26507","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-future-medicine","category-healthcare-policy","tag-health-policy","tag-digital-health","tag-digital-health-strategy","tag-policy",{"id":24,"alt_text":75,"caption":27,"description":27,"media_type":76,"media_details":77,"post":5,"source_url":122},"Kazakhstan","image",{"width":78,"height":79,"file":80,"sizes":81,"image_meta":119},1920,1080,"2020\u002F03\u002FKazakhstan-small.jpg",{"medium":82,"large":88,"thumbnail":93,"medium_large":97,"1536x1536":98,"medium_old_370x208":103,"large_old_512x288":106,"thumbnail_old_150x150":111,"medium_large_old_768x432":113,"1536x1536_old_1536x864":116},{"file":83,"width":84,"height":85,"mime-type":86,"source_url":87},"Kazakhstan-small-370x208.jpg",370,208,"image\u002Fjpeg","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F03\u002FKazakhstan-small-370x208.jpg",{"file":89,"width":90,"height":91,"mime-type":86,"source_url":92},"Kazakhstan-small-768x432.jpg",768,432,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F03\u002FKazakhstan-small-768x432.jpg",{"file":94,"width":95,"height":95,"mime-type":86,"source_url":96},"Kazakhstan-small-150x150.jpg",150,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F03\u002FKazakhstan-small-150x150.jpg",{"file":89,"width":90,"height":91,"mime-type":86,"source_url":92},{"file":99,"width":100,"height":101,"mime-type":86,"source_url":102},"Kazakhstan-small-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F03\u002FKazakhstan-small-1536x864.jpg",{"file":83,"width":104,"height":105,"mime-type":86,"source_url":87},"370","208",{"file":107,"width":108,"height":109,"mime-type":86,"source_url":110},"Kazakhstan-small-512x288.jpg","512","288","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F03\u002FKazakhstan-small-512x288.jpg",{"file":94,"width":112,"height":112,"mime-type":86,"source_url":96},"150",{"file":89,"width":114,"height":115,"mime-type":86,"source_url":92},"768","432",{"file":99,"width":117,"height":118,"mime-type":86,"source_url":102},"1536","864",{"aperture":120,"credit":27,"camera":27,"caption":27,"created_timestamp":120,"copyright":27,"focal_length":120,"iso":120,"shutter_speed":120,"title":27,"orientation":120,"keywords":121},"0",[],"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F03\u002FKazakhstan-small.jpg",{"cta_type":124,"cta_color":27,"subtitle":27,"related_books":125,"related_posts_footer":128,"related_posts":20},"subscribe",[126,127],24765,25985,[129,130,131],23021,21678,17277,{"yoast_wpseo_title":133,"yoast_wpseo_metadesc":27,"yoast_wpseo_canonical":15},"A Promising Hub For Digital Health: Kazakhstan - The Medical Futurist",{"self":135,"collection":141,"about":144,"author":147,"replies":150,"version-history":153,"predecessor-version":157,"wp:featuredmedia":161,"wp:attachment":164,"wp:term":167,"curies":183},[136],{"href":137,"targetHints":138},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F26507",{"allow":139},[140],"GET",[142],{"href":143},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts",[145],{"href":146},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftypes\u002Fpost",[148],{"embeddable":26,"href":149},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fusers\u002F16",[151],{"embeddable":26,"href":152},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcomments?post=26507",[154],{"count":155,"href":156},9,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F26507\u002Frevisions",[158],{"id":159,"href":160},26871,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F26507\u002Frevisions\u002F26871",[162],{"embeddable":26,"href":163},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia\u002F26771",[165],{"href":166},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia?parent=26507",[168,171,174,177,180],{"taxonomy":169,"embeddable":26,"href":170},"category","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcategories?post=26507",{"taxonomy":172,"embeddable":26,"href":173},"post_tag","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftags?post=26507",{"taxonomy":175,"embeddable":26,"href":176},"project_category","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fproject_category?post=26507",{"taxonomy":178,"embeddable":26,"href":179},"contact_email_category","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcontact_email_category?post=26507",{"taxonomy":181,"embeddable":26,"href":182},"yst_prominent_words","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fyst_prominent_words?post=26507",[184],{"name":185,"href":186,"templated":26},"wp","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.w.org\u002F{rel}",[188],{"id":131,"date":189,"date_gmt":190,"guid":191,"modified":193,"modified_gmt":194,"slug":195,"status":13,"type":14,"link":196,"title":197,"content":199,"excerpt":201,"author":203,"featured_media":204,"comment_status":25,"ping_status":25,"sticky":26,"template":27,"format":28,"meta":205,"categories":206,"tags":207,"project_category":215,"contact_email_category":216,"yst_prominent_words":217,"class_list":226,"better_featured_image":235,"acf":255,"yoast_meta":264,"_links":267},"2018-02-22T12:00:27","2018-02-22T10:00:27",{"rendered":192},"http:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002F?p=17277","2022-02-10T14:12:30","2022-02-10T13:12:30","new-zealand-on-the-way-to-digital-health","https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fnew-zealand-on-the-way-to-digital-health",{"rendered":198},"New Zealand On The Way To Digital Health",{"rendered":200,"protected":20},"\n\u003Ctable style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #eee; border-top: 4px solid #444;\" cellpadding=\"5px\">\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd style=\"width: 100%;\">\n\u003Cp style=\"color: #555;font-size: 12px;line-height: 14px\">THIS ARTICLE HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED SINCE 2018. THE INFORMATION SHARED IN THE ARTICLE WAS ACCURATE AT THE TIME OF ITS PUBLICATION, BUT IT MAY BE OUT OF DATE NOW. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fmagazine\">BROWSE OUR LATEST ARTICLES HERE\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Ftbody>\u003C\u002Ftable>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Every stakeholder needs to prepare in time for the waves of technological innovation transforming the medical sector and the pharma industry. Regulators and decision-makers with the right policies could do the most for a swift and smooth transit into the future. New Zealand’s government recognized the challenges and made important steps to facilitate the adoption of digital health.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003C!--more-->\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Responsible governments prepare their citizens for technological changes\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>With the spread of social media and other disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, health sensors, robotics, 3D printing or nanotechnology, healthcare is on the verge of a paradigm shift. Accessibility to information and knowledge, the availability of technological solutions by-passing the medical system lead to a change in the doctor-patient relationship as well as the fall of the “ivory tower” of medicine. The centuries-old notion that the source of ultimate medical knowledge resides in the heads of doctors and professors is disappearing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Transformation is also fuelled by the fact that healthcare systems have more and more problems and the old methods do not bring the expected solutions. The World Health Organization estimates that there is a worldwide shortage of around 4.3 million physicians, nurses, and allied health workers, and care is often unavailable where it is most needed. Worse, with civilizational diseases like diabetes and obesity on the rise, healthcare costs are expected to grow even faster. American health spending will \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.rwjf.org\u002Fen\u002Flibrary\u002Fresearch\u002F2012\u002F09\u002Fwhat-is-driving-u-s--health-care-spending.html\">reach\u003C\u002Fa> nearly $5 trillion, or 20 percent of the GDP by 2021. The current practice of medicine is simply unsustainable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How New Zealand and Canada Adopt Digital Health – The Medical Futurist\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FqSuO2NCV6WA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003C\u002Fiframe>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In such uncertain times, it is the responsibility of regulators and policy-makers to keep all stakeholders in line in order to truly leverage the potential of technologies for healthcare and avoid catastrophic dystopic outcomes. It is a difficult task to undertake. Governments should listen to people, technology companies, drug producers, healthcare providers and shape policy according to real needs while keeping pace with innovation. Luckily, there are already a handful of governments consciously preparing for the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Lately, I’ve been talking to the Government of New Zealand about their digital health strategy underway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Governing with a vision: New Zealand’s health strategy \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In 2016, the Health Ministry of New Zealand realized that \u003Cem>the health sector will need to be adaptable in coming years as developing technology changes how services can be delivered in ways we do not yet understand\u003C\u002Fem>. So, they started to think strategically how they could ensure that all New Zealanders “live well, stay well and get well” in a patient-centered healthcare ecosystem. The government prepared the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.health.govt.nz\u002Fnew-zealand-health-system\u002Fnew-zealand-health-strategy-future-direction\">NZ Health Strategy\u003C\u002Fa> with the aim to transform the existing processes and practices so that they align with 21st-century challenges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>It means they want to have a greater focus on people and their needs while including everyone in shaping healthcare processes together. On the other side, they want to create an integrated healthcare system that provides comprehensive services. They worked out five central elements to define the NZ system: \u003Cstrong>people-powered, closer to home, value and high performance, one team and smart system\u003C\u002Fstrong>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>As they are aware of the impact of technologies on healthcare, the government decided to draw up their digital health strategy to support their overall health strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"581\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fprofessional-doctor-preparing-patient-for-procedure.jpeg\" alt=\"Digital Health Strategy\" class=\"wp-image-17281\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fprofessional-doctor-preparing-patient-for-procedure.jpeg 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fprofessional-doctor-preparing-patient-for-procedure-768x513.jpeg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fprofessional-doctor-preparing-patient-for-procedure-512x342.jpeg 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fprofessional-doctor-preparing-patient-for-procedure-375x250.jpeg 375w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Digital health strategy for the times that are a-changing\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Currently, Auckland is in the process of developing its digital health strategy and it wants to include as many stakeholders, experts, clinicians, innovators as possible. That’s the reason why the government reached out to The Medical Futurist for advice, why they developed a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.digital.health.nz\u002Fcontent\u002Fdigital-health\u002Fen\u002Fhome\u002Ftechnology-vision\u002Foverview.html\">vision for health technology\u003C\u002Fa> in April 2017, and why they invite citizens to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.digital.health.nz\u002Fcontent\u002Fdigital-health\u002Fen\u002Fhome\u002Fdigital-strategy.html\">give feedback on the upcoming strategy\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The mentioned health technology vision has also been developed with engagement from over 70 stakeholders and consumers. The government organized five workshops over four weeks in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch; where the participants created content for the vision, defined the most important themes and developed various narratives for patients and medical professionals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?time_continue=68&v=mJlS4C9LfjY\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The NZ government approaches digital health strategy also in an open and collaborative way throughout the entire healthcare system. Moreover, the strategy itself will rather mean an online content evolving over time than a rigid document. So, there won’t be a “final report”, but the “half-cooked” version will be published under the Creative Commons license meaning that anyone can freely access them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Contentwise, the NZ Ministry of Health told The Medical Futurist that they strongly advocate for an ecosystem approach and want to provide context for the strategy within the \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fcognitive-edge.com\u002F\">Cynefin\u003C\u002Fa> decision-making framework. They also intend to utilize a capability maturity approach to measuring implementation progress; a framework being developed through WHO.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The Medical Futurist is honored to be able to participate in the process and encourages every New Zealander to express their opinions. It is exciting to see such an important and unique policy in the making. Especially, since there are so few governments who are willing to undertake something similar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"254\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-health-strategy.jpg\" alt=\"Digital health strategy\" class=\"wp-image-17282\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-health-strategy.jpg 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-health-strategy-768x224.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-health-strategy-512x149.jpg 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-health-strategy-458x134.jpg 458w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>How many countries have the same?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Only a few governments have realized so far that the future is digital health and they need to prepare for the sweeping changes in time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Canada is an excellent example. The country of the maple syrup recognized how massively technology started to shape healthcare and they want to be in the first row to guide the coming changes. A Canadian Senate Committee invited researchers, ethicists, entrepreneurs, and futurists like me to discuss the way forward. In October 2017, they published a report entitled \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fsencanada.ca\u002Fcontent\u002Fsen\u002Fcommittee\u002F421\u002FSOCI\u002Freports\u002FRoboticsAI3DFinal_Web_e.pdf\">\u003Cem>Challenge Ahead: Integrating Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and 3D Printing Technologies into Canada’s Healthcare Systems\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fa> with actionable recommendations for the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The Senate Committee noted the transformative power of 3D printing, A.I., and robotics, while it also seems to be willing to tackle ethical concerns, legal issues around these new technologies and their consequences on the labor market. The group recommended the government to host a Forum for Health Discovery so entrepreneurs and innovators could present their latest healthcare related work; to convene a National Conference on Robotics, A.I. and 3D Printing in Healthcare and establish various working groups to deal with technological, ethical and regulatory concerns of innovations in the industry. I believe this is the way for every responsible government to bring its healthcare system into the 21st century.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"483\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-transformation.jpg\" alt=\"Digital Health Strategy\" class=\"wp-image-17284\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-transformation.jpg 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-transformation-768x426.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-transformation-512x284.jpg 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-transformation-450x250.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>If your country does not act like this, you have all the reasons to be dissatisfied. Ask your own local representative and your government why they are not preparing for the future! And if they have not even heard of the expression “digital health”, show them what Canada and New Zealand are doing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>But if you are a policy-maker who wants to embrace digital health, please reach out to me. I’m eager to help! Let’s bring healthcare together to the 21st century.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ctable style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #eee; border-top: 4px solid #444;\" cellpadding=\"10px\">\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd style=\"width: 100%;\">\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>At The Medical Futurist, we are building a community for making a bold vision about the future of healthcare reality today.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FFIbMejImnxs\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\">\u003C\u002Fiframe>\n\u003Cp>If you’d like to support this mission, we invite you to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patreon.com\u002Fthemedicalfuturist\">join The Medical Futurist Patreon Community\u003C\u002Fa>. A community of empowered patients, future-oriented healthcare professionals, concerned health policymakers, sensible health tech developers, and enthusiastic medical students. If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our research and sustains our future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patreon.com\u002Fthemedicalfuturist\">\u003Cstrong style=\"background-color: #e71d3299; color: #000;\">Click here to support The Medical Futurist from as little as $3\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fa> – it only takes a minute. Thank you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\n\u003C\u002Ftbody>\n\u003C\u002Ftable>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fthemedicalfuturist.us8.list-manage.com\u002Fsubscribe?u=5b42ebb547c75ff669a6572d3&id=efd6a3cd08\">\u003Cb>Subscribe To The Medical Futurist℠ Newsletter\u003C\u002Fb>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\u003Cli>News shaping the future of healthcare\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Advice on taking charge of your health\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Reviews of the latest health technology\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\n",{"rendered":202,"protected":20},"\u003Cp>Every stakeholder needs to prepare in time for the waves of technological innovation transforming the medical sector and the pharma industry. Regulators and decision-makers with the right policies could do the most for a swift and smooth transit into the future. New Zealand’s government recognized the challenges and made important steps to facilitate the adoption of digital health.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",6,17286,{"_acf_changed":20,"footnotes":27},[32],[208,209,210,211,212,213,36,214,37,35,34],246,275,289,425,547,647,825,[],[],[42,218,44,219,50,220,52,58,55,221,222,223,224,225],2133,3189,4291,1715,1721,1723,1729,1883,[227,14,63,64,65,66,67,69,228,229,230,231,232,233,72,234,73,71,70],"post-17277","tag-future","tag-healthcare","tag-innovation","tag-technology-2","tag-policy-making","tag-regulations","tag-new-zealand",{"id":204,"alt_text":236,"caption":27,"description":27,"media_type":76,"media_details":237,"post":131,"source_url":254},"Digital Health Strategy",{"width":238,"height":239,"file":240,"sizes":241,"image_meta":253},870,581,"2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-health.jpg",{"medium":242,"large":245,"thumbnail":249,"medium_large":252},{"file":243,"width":104,"height":105,"mime-type":86,"source_url":244},"digital-health-370x208.jpg","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-health-370x208.jpg",{"file":246,"width":114,"height":247,"mime-type":86,"source_url":248},"digital-health-768x513.jpg","513","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-health-768x513.jpg",{"file":250,"width":112,"height":112,"mime-type":86,"source_url":251},"digital-health-150x150.jpg","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-health-150x150.jpg",{"file":246,"width":114,"height":247,"mime-type":86,"source_url":248},{"aperture":120,"credit":27,"camera":27,"caption":27,"created_timestamp":120,"copyright":27,"focal_length":120,"iso":120,"shutter_speed":120,"title":27,"orientation":120},"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F02\u002Fdigital-health.jpg",{"related_posts":256,"related_posts_footer":260,"cta_type":27,"cta_color":27,"subtitle":27,"related_books":20},[257,258,259],16626,17293,16392,[261,262,263],17164,20908,17980,{"yoast_wpseo_title":265,"yoast_wpseo_metadesc":266,"yoast_wpseo_canonical":196},"New Zealand On The Way To Digital Health - The Medical Futurist","New Zealand’s government recognized the challenges in healthcare, and their digital health strategy is underway. Kudos to Auckland!",{"self":268,"collection":273,"about":275,"author":277,"replies":280,"version-history":283,"predecessor-version":287,"wp:featuredmedia":291,"wp:attachment":294,"wp:term":297,"curies":308},[269],{"href":270,"targetHints":271},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F17277",{"allow":272},[140],[274],{"href":143},[276],{"href":146},[278],{"embeddable":26,"href":279},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fusers\u002F6",[281],{"embeddable":26,"href":282},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcomments?post=17277",[284],{"count":285,"href":286},17,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F17277\u002Frevisions",[288],{"id":289,"href":290},38717,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F17277\u002Frevisions\u002F38717",[292],{"embeddable":26,"href":293},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia\u002F17286",[295],{"href":296},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia?parent=17277",[298,300,302,304,306],{"taxonomy":169,"embeddable":26,"href":299},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcategories?post=17277",{"taxonomy":172,"embeddable":26,"href":301},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftags?post=17277",{"taxonomy":175,"embeddable":26,"href":303},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fproject_category?post=17277",{"taxonomy":178,"embeddable":26,"href":305},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcontact_email_category?post=17277",{"taxonomy":181,"embeddable":26,"href":307},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fyst_prominent_words?post=17277",[309],{"name":185,"href":186,"templated":26},[],1788949226974]