GDHP Summit attracts global digital health leaders

Digital health leaders from around the world have converged on Washington, DC for the Global Digital Health Partnership Summit.

The GDHP is a collaborative of governments, territories, government agencies and the World Health Organisation to support effective implementation of digital health services. It was initiated in February 2018 in Canberra.

Participants at the event discussed approaches to global collaboration in a range of topics related to the delivery of digital health services and associated policy priorities.

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Republic of Belarus, Canada, Hong Kong SAR, India, Republic of Indonesia, Italy, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, the Ukraine, the United Kingdom, United States and the World Health Organization (WHO) are participating in the GDHP.

“Digital technologies can improve the safety, quality and effectiveness of health care, support earlier diagnosis of disease and the development of new medicines and treatments,” said Tim Kelsey, CEO of the Australian Digital Health Agency, which hosts the GDHP secretariat.

“They empower patients, citizens and the care professionals who serve them.”

Summit participants have agreed five topics for collaboration that focus on interoperability, cybersecurity, clinician and consumer engagement, evaluation of the impact of digital health and related policy priorities, including privacy and consent.

“GDHP offers participating countries an opportunity to share their knowledge and learn from international evidence in a range of key areas relevant to digital health policy and service delivery. This can guide the way we develop our local initiatives to improve health and care,” said Australian Digital Health Agency Chief Medical Adviser Clinical Professor Meredith Makeham, who leads the GDHP secretariat.

“The United States is excited to participate in the GDHP. Every nation brings a unique perspective on health IT to the partnership and I’m looking forward to learning from them and bringing back valuable lessons learned to our work here in the US,” said Dr Don Rucker, National Coordinator at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Rucker also chairs the GDHP work stream on Interoperability, one of five programs that are the focus of the international collaboration.

Austrade led a trade mission to the Health Datapalooza event which followed the GDHP summit in Washington, supported by the ADHA. Austrade Senior Trade Commissioner in New York Nicola Watkinson said digital health was one of the fastest-growing sectors in health, both in the US and globally.

“Our Australian Digital Health Mission to the US, the first such mission of its kind, will provide insights into the local market, explore opportunities in digital health hubs in the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic regions, and forge meaningful partnerships across the US. Austrade is delighted to host this delegation,” Watkinson said.

Image caption: Australian Digital Health Agency CEO Tim Kelsey and Chief Medical Adviser Meredith Makeham with participants at the second Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) Summit 2018 in Washington, DC.

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