ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL HEALTH ON TRANSFORMING HEALTHCARE SERVICES DURING COVID-19

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 has changed how healthcare will deliver services. Faced with a shortage of medical staff and appropriate infrastructure, health services face an enormous challenge in managing COVID-19 patients while continuing to care for patients with other pathologies. The development of robust health information systems and digital health solutions is essential in the provision of healthcare services across Ireland now and in the future (1). The purpose of this report is to collate information from articles, government publications and grey literature in order to assess the impact of digital health on transforming healthcare services during COVID-19 internationally and to compare these interventions to the Irish digital health experience. A comprehensive search was undertaken using PubMed and Google Scholar (2019-present). The review covers three countries;Ireland, Scotland and Denmark. These countries were chosen as they have a similar population and demographics to Ireland. Health services and government agencies implemented digital health solutions in order to allow both routine care to continue and COVID-19 testing, tracing and treatment to be optimised. Digital health solutions include;electronic prescribing, electronic referrals, electronic health records, individual health identifiers, telemedicine and mobile applications. These innovations strengthened the Irish, Danish and Scottish response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study highlights the importance of robust digital health systems during a time of emergency. The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for the rapid introduction of digital health solutions in Ireland. The high uptake of these technologies shows the appetite for such digital technologies in health systems across the globe.