Can Digital Transformation of Health Keep the Pace of Technological Innovation?

Can Digital Transformation of Health Keep the Pace of Technological Innovation?

In 2022, the Global Digital Health Forum hosted its first hybrid conference, gathering over 400 attendees in person and more than 1,000 virtually. While balancing catching up with friends and colleagues and attending sessions (the agenda was packed; watch recorded sessions until March here ) was difficult at times, I used the forum, as always, to reflect on the state of digital health and future trends and challenges. What remains constant is that technological innovation is moving quicker than we can implement it. For example, we are grappling with how to use artificial intelligence to improve health outcomes without introducing additional bias into health care. As we progress from digitizing (adapting processes and tools to digital technologies) to digital transformation (the process of revamping the health sector to maximize the benefits of using information and communications technology to improve service quality and efficiency), we need our enabling environments to keep up with the pace of rapidly changing technology. At the forum, equity , governance , and human resources stood out as important elements of ensuring this. You may think, “Has this author been living under a rock? We have been talking about these topics for years.” Indeed, we have. […]

A U.S.-Supported E-Government App Accelerated the Digital Transformation of Ukraine; Now Ukraine is Working to Scale the Solution to More Countries

A U.S.-Supported E-Government App Accelerated the Digital Transformation of Ukraine; Now Ukraine is Working to Scale the Solution to More Countries

An award-winning Ukrainian e-government app and digital platform supported by the United States is accelerating Ukraine’s digital transformation – and it’s about to expand to more countries. At the World Economic Forum today, USAID Administrator Samantha Power met with Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov to discuss the next phase of USAID’s collaboration with Ukraine to advance digital transformation and help partner countries adopt platforms that better connect citizens with their government. Since the establishment of Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation (MDT) in 2019, USAID provided legal, financial, and technical assistance to develop Diia for Ukrainian citizens. Diia is a mobile application and online portal that opened up digital access to 120 government services and enables Ukrainians to engage with their government online in a one-stop-shop – from applying for benefits and government programs to paying taxes, accessing important documents, registering and running businesses, and providing identification and digital signatures. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Diia has also allowed Ukrainians to receive social support with government services closed in areas impacted by war, and has been used by displaced Ukrainians to access aid and other critical services. The app is the gold standard in e-government, […]

Cybersecurity is a key first step in digital transformation

Cybersecurity is a key first step in digital transformation

New research commissioned by Telstra shows 41 percent of UK technology leaders identify cybersecurity as an enabler of innovation within their organization. The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has seen unprecedented levels of digital transformation. At the same time though an ever-evolving threat landscape means that security risks are on the rise, leaving organizations facing the difficult task of balancing rapid digitization with security. The survey, of 301 senior technology decision-makers in the UK, identifies cybersecurity solutions (22 percent) as the most important factor affecting business transformation, ahead of business processes (17 percent), employee commitment (16 percent), leadership focus/buy-in (14 percent) and external investment and funding (13 percent). The findings suggest that security is no longer an afterthought, but actually the first key step in digital transformation journeys. Rob Robinson, head of Telstra Purple EMEA, says: CISOs are continuously adapting to keep pace with the ever-changing threat landscape. Today, the evolution of the role means that CISOs now play a crucial part in shaping the security strategy of their organisation from within the board. The question now is how they can entrench security best practices and behaviours within the workforce in order to facilitate the digitisation that is required […]

In the News: On the Road to Achieving Digital Transformation

In the News: On the Road to Achieving Digital Transformation

Peter Long Peter Long, executive vice president of Strategy and Health Solutions at Blue Shield of California, was recently featured on two episodes of the Xtelligent Healthcare Media’s Healthcare Strategies podcast, discussing healthcare predictions for the year ahead and digital transformation. In one episode, Peter outlines three main barriers on the road to achieving digital transformation, as well as how Blue Shield of California is leveraging integrated health records as a solution to these challenges. One such challenge is a lack of agreement among payers to collect and share patient data in a consistent, meaningful way – and his wish for 2023 is that such alignment becomes a reality. Here are excerpts from the episodes: “If 2020, 2021, and 2022 were the years of virtual care because of the global pandemic, 2023 will be the realization of how we take those access points and build a blended healthcare model for our members as health plans,” Long said. Listen to the full episode here . “The key to thinking about the digital transformation of healthcare and realizing its potential is to anchor it in the human. So, it’s an interest in taking the science of information and technology but making […]

The Future of Publishing: AI, digital transformation and the biggest challenge ahead

The Future of Publishing: AI, digital transformation and the biggest challenge ahead

In thinking about the future of publishing, AI provides many opportunities beyond ChatGPT. Here are some of the best strategies and tactics that are driving growth in audiences, revenue and innovation at media businesses around the world. The attention economy, competition and AI This is a report from a Future of Publishing conference that I’m taking part in. Our panel focused on the future challenges for publishers in terms of technology and revenue. Here is a sampling of the questions and my answers. The opening icebreaker question covered a range of challenges including intense competition in digital publishing both for attention and digital ad revenue, and on top of that of course, we were asked about the digital spectre du jour is ChatGPT and what it might mean for publishers. In terms of competition, the business of digital media has always been governed by paradoxes. The barriers to entry are much lower than print or broadcast media, which has led to intense competition. Some refer to this as the attention economy. The idea that content in the broadest sense is no longer scarce with easy access to an endless supply of music, movies, TV, news updates, long-form journalism, video […]

Digital Transformation in healthcare will accelerate investments in new technologies and R&D

Digital Transformation in healthcare will accelerate investments in new technologies and R&D

Vikram Thaploo The performance of almost all industries is significantly impacted by digital transformation, and healthcare is no exception. Today, it is crucial for the healthcare sector to offer better patient care digitally, irrespective of where the patient is located. Generally speaking, the adoption of cutting-edge technologies targeted at enhancing work efficiency in hospitals and elevating patient care to a whole new level is what digital transformation in the healthcare business is all about. In fact, there are a growing number of opportunities that appear today in the branch of digital transformation in the healthcare industry and in diagnostics. The increased digitization of healthcare in India is being stimulated by government initiatives, cost savings and innovations in technology. It is also being propelled by the need to enhance clinical outcomes and efficiency and improve communications among healthcare providers, patients and payers. Cloud-enabled data management platforms, Telemedicine, artificial intelligence (AI) assisted medical devices and Blockchain for electronic health records are some examples of digital transformation in healthcare. Healthcare Providers Accelerating Digital Investments to Meet Improve Operational Efficiencies and Patient Experience According to a recent analysis by Frost & Sullivan, the healthcare sector’s enhanced focus on meeting the ‘Quadruple Aim’ of […]

BMW Group Chooses RISE with SAP to Drive Business Transformation

BMW Group Chooses RISE with SAP to Drive Business Transformation

WALLDORF & MUNICH — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that BMW Group will expand its strategic partnership with SAP to accelerate its digital transformation. On January 25, 2023, this was sealed by both companies. Using the RISE with SAP solution, BMW Group will move its entire SAP software landscape. The company will merge its cloud strategy with its existing SAP S/4HANA systems, allowing for joint innovation for critical business areas, including finance, parts supply, warehousing, supply chain and production. This will help BMW Group to digitalize faster, more comprehensively and more efficiently in the future. Expanding a Long-Standing Strategic Partnership BMW Group and SAP look back on a long-standing strategic partnership. As part of RISE with SAP, BMW Group will have access to a cloud platform for end-to-end business processes. Alexander Buresch, CIO and Senior Vice President, BMW Group IT, said: “This strategic decision will help us to drive our digitalization leadership even faster forward. We are increasing the flexibility of our infrastructure and creating maximum global scalability. And most importantly, it allows us to bring business innovations to our customers and users much faster than before. That’s why I’m very much looking forward to the next steps […]

AI tools such as ChatGPT to drive digital transformation of insurance, COVU says

AI tools such as ChatGPT to drive digital transformation of insurance, COVU says

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, will play a significant role in the digital transformation of the insurance industry, according to COVU. COVU, an AI-enabled digital platform for insurance agencies, has released an executive forecast on the industry shift toward using generative AI tools to help insurance agencies streamline operation, customer service and cross-selling opportunities. The insurance platform was founded by insurance industry veterans Ali Safavi and Tasos Chatzimichailidis with the goal of helping independent insurance agents and carriers better manage risk and make smarter insurance decisions through AI-driven policy recommendations, business services and sales support. The InsurTech’s team of insurance, finance and technology innovators believe AI tools such as Chat GPT, built by OpenAI, will be a factor in the digital transformation of the insurance industry in the year ahead. According to COVU, these tools have the potential to reduce customer service costs by up to 30%, which could save insurance agencies millions of dollars. When adding in the use of AI tools, agents can reduce the time spent on administrative tasks, boost targeted marketing efforts and uncover more sales opportunities quickly. Powered by AI and machine learning (ML), OpenAI’s platform automates routine tasks such as […]

SAP, PwC partnership driving digital transformation & cloud success in West Africa

SAP, PwC partnership driving digital transformation & cloud success in West Africa

Businesspeople having conversation, while on the way to a meeting, in modern office space With more businesses in West Africa adopting cloud technologies than ever before, the region is set to enhance its competitiveness significantly. Following years of disruption, and hampered by a lack of legacy investment into technology, West African businesses now have an opportunity to leapfrog tech adoption and leverage the cloud for rapid growth and success. Titilayo Adewumi, Managing Director at SAP West Africa, says: “Companies across the region are adopting cloud to achieve greater scalability, improve their data and analytics capabilities, drive innovation and build greater resilience. A huge part of our success in supporting the region’s digital transformation efforts is our close collaboration with expert partners that continuously find new ways to innovate.” Digitalization a huge opportunity The World Bank recently noted that digitalization is one of the most transformational opportunities of our time , highlighting its role in alleviating poverty and boosting shared prosperity in West Africa. In light of this, cloud technologies offer tremendous benefits to organizations in the region. These include lowering the total cost of ownership of technology capabilities, achieving faster deployment cycles, automating manual processes to boost efficiency, enabling […]

Hannover Fair 2023: Motion, drive, automation firms accelerate digital transformation

Hannover Fair 2023: Motion, drive, automation firms accelerate digital transformation

High energy costs, broken supply chains, and rising raw material prices continue to pose new challenges to business. To remain competitive, companies need to take steps to increase their efficiency and contain energy costs, which in turn will lead to a reduction in their carbon footprint. High-tech solutions in this area will be presented at Hannover Fair — the world’s leading industrial trade fair, and the only event to centrally showcase the interaction of leading companies from the mechanical engineering, electrical and digital industries as well as the energy sector. “At the upcoming Hannover Fair, we will be able to witness the new products and substantial innovations with which our exhibitors are tackling several different crises. In April, they will be presenting highly specific solutions for greater efficiency to counter climate change and enable CO²-neutral production. Digitization, artificial intelligence and hydrogen play a prominent role here,” said Dr. Jochen Köckler, Chairman of the Managing Board at Deutsche Messe. “Due to their high level of innovation, companies from the drive and fluid technology sectors have traditionally been among the biggest and most sustainable drivers of innovation at Hannover Fair.” And indeed, the transformation of drive technology and fluid power is […]