To achieve the benefits of digital health, the following factors have been identified and they must be addressed at different stages of the strategy to ensure successful implementation.
Planning:
These factors must be addressed while planning programs and initiatives in line with the strategy roadmap for clarity of direction and action plan.
1.Clarity of strategy and roadmap:
It is necessary to disseminate this strategy with stakeholders and target audiences to ensure general agreement and awareness on the strategic direction and implementation roadmap with all relevant stakeholders to assess the level of clarity and level of alignment with the framework and strategy roadmap.
2.Leadership using strategy management:
Establish a strategy management office that will be responsible for planning the collaborative implementation of initiatives and programs across business units and entities by communicating strategy across organizations. The performance of the initiatives will be continually reviewed and evaluated to evaluate the effectiveness of the initiatives using appropriate tools.
3.Create a well-defined Enterprise Architecture (EA).
The institutional architecture will consider different aspects of defining, motivating and achieving the strategy, especially during the transition phases of the Ministry of Health. Develop the enterprise architecture to guide healthcare and other entities through necessary changes in business, information, processes, and technology to implement strategies.
4.Forming committees for digital health transformation
Develop plans to establish official committees responsible for comprehensive strategic planning and supervision of digital health for the Ministry of Health and its affiliated entities. These committees will ensure that all national strategies are aligned with the digital health framework and roadmap.
5.Effective change management
Plans to ensure that all stakeholders and employees welcome the required changes in the way they work by equipping and supporting them, especially those whose job role will change according to the Ministry of Health’s transformation plans.
Implementation
These factors must be addressed throughout the implementation of programs/initiatives to ensure successful completion in accordance with the strategic direction and roadmap.
1.Commitment to collaborative implementation
A national approach must be taken to avoid duplication of activities, such as overlapping of initiatives. All entities must support strategic objectives, work together and leverage assets and capabilities. Effective partnerships, including partnerships with the private sector, are essential to improving overall quality while achieving efficiencies.
2.Infrastructure readiness
Infrastructure readiness can be a major obstacle to realizing initiatives, especially regarding implementing digital health solutions as planned. Dependencies should be clearly identified in the planning stages to avoid delaying the implementation of initiatives. A detailed vendor assessment should identify all prerequisites for solution implementation.
3.Effective governance and leadership
No one entity can achieve the desired results from digital health alone. There is a need for a strong and effective governance structure with clear accountability and responsibilities based on entity mandates in order to achieve objectives.
4.Budget management
Many initiatives may require significant initial expenditure for implementation, avoiding budget shortfalls as one of the key challenges of implementing a digital health strategy and alternative funding models should be explored in the early stages, especially when planning initiatives.
5.An appropriate regulatory framework
Environmental scanning systems implemented must accommodate advances in advanced healthcare technologies. As the focus shifts from healthcare delivery to a regulatory role, such a framework is essential to achieve digital health goals. This may require development of capabilities that are not currently available in the health sector.
Care and responsibility:
These factors must be addressed throughout the implementation and post-implementation phases to ensure the achievement of the expected results.
1.Participation of residents and healthcare providers
The system has no value except to the extent that its ultimate beneficiaries adopt and use it. Responsible bodies must work with individuals, healthcare providers and solution providers to ensure joint, collaborative, person-centred solutions that provide the details and information needed to empower and support individuals in actively participating in the management of their health.
2.Workforce readiness
To drive adoption of digital health solutions, you must first and foremost earn the trust of healthcare providers by demonstrating clinical effectiveness and ease of use. Poor trust, a major barrier to adoption, must be addressed through increased education and awareness, and discussions about how to best leverage technology to support patient care.
3.Ensuring information security and privacy
Population trust, including individuals and providers, in digital health is critical to successful adoption of solutions. Sensitive health information must be protected with robust privacy and security frameworks to drive adoption.