This open access book provides a framework to describe why digitalization of the medical provision services is needed and which level of digitalization is possible in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). These countries have traditionally been economically and technologically not ready for digitalization, but with recent progress in digitized data acquisition, machine learning and computing infrastructure, healthcare applications are expanding into areas that were previously thought to be the exclusive domain of human experts. It is increasingly accepted that the transformation in healthcare would not be possible if it is not associated with technological innovations in communication, computing, and analytical processing of biological samples.
However, this need and development is quite different to what has been experienced in high-income countries, as by definition resource-restricted settings have to navigate through a greater number of competing interests and needs, and as such the context into which digital health needs to be adopted and operate varies greatly. For instance, LMIC healthcare finds itself under a twin pressure of traditional healthcare pressures (such as infectious diseases outbreaks) and a growing elderly population with complex comorbidities, and both these aspects needs to be addressed simultaneously.
Digitalization of Medicine in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Paradigm Changes in Healthcare and Biomedical Research provides in-depth understanding of the root causes for the observed differences in digital healthcare implementation in LMICs. Creating a strong foundation of the current trends and perspectives of digital healthcare in general, readers of this book are able to gain an informative account of how digital healthcare has been adapted to the different LMIC contexts in order to create demonstrable and impactful success stories.
Table of contents (28 chapters)
Pages i-vii
Digitalization of Healthcare in Low-and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs): An Overview
Zisis Kozlakidis, Karine Sargsyan
Pages 1-4
Digital Health: Needs, Trends, Applications
Zisis Kozlakidis, Tracy Wootton, Karine Sargsyan
Pages 5-12
The Emergence and Growth of Digital Health in Saudi Arabia: A Success Story
Noof AlWatban, Fatmah Othman, Nadin Almosnid, Khulud AlKadi, Mai Alajaji, Dalal Aldeghaither
Pages 13-34
The Digital Divide Based on Development and Availability: The Polish Perspective
Matera-Witkiewicz Agnieszka, Marciniak Błażej, Błaziak Mikołaj, Urban Szymon, Kornowska Ligia, Zymliński Robert et al.
Pages 35-50
Potential of Digital Health Solutions in Facing Shifting Disease Burden and Double Burden in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Hanh Vu, Kishore Kumar François, Nguyen Xuan Hung, Nguyen Vu Trung, Nguyen Lan Hieu
Pages 51-68
Health Inequalities and Availability: Needs and Applications
Georgia Charalambidou, Stella Antoniou, Gregory Papagregoriou, Maria Kyratzi, Apostolos Malatras, Charalambos Stefanou et al.
Pages 69-76
Needs of Healthcare and Medical Research Digitization in Developing Countries: Digital Health Infrastructure
Olivier Vandenberg, Zisis Kozlakidis
Pages 77-82
Digitization of Healthcare in LMICs: Challenges and Opportunities in Data Governance and Data Infrastructure
Zisis Kozlakidis, Jennifer Kealy, Marianne K. Henderson
Pages 83-90
Long-Term Digital Storage and Usage of Research Data: Data Pooling
Svetlana Gramatiuk, Karine Sargsyan
Possible Process Optimization: Innovative Digital Health Implementation Models
Anna Avagyan, Elya Minasyan, Hamlet Khachatryan, Smbat Gevorgyan
Pages 103-123
Digitalization in Preclinical Research: Advancements and Implications
Anna Michalska-Falkowska, Karine Sargsyan
Pages 125-140
Digitization of Clinical Pathways in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Denis Marino, Anna Harutyunyan, Karine Sargsyan
Pages 141-148
Digitalization in Pediatrics in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Rationale and Directions
Sergey Sargsyan
Pages 149-155
Digitization in Genetics and Diagnostics Laboratories in Armenia
Davit Babikyan, Tamara Sarkisian
Pages 157-160
Digitization in Dentistry and Dental Implantology in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Hrach Mikayelyan
Pages 161-169
Patient Facing Applications
Karine Sargsyan, Armen Muradyan
Pages 171-175
Digital Healthcare: Population-Level Applications
Io Hong Cheong, Ju-Fang Huang, Si Man Lei, Hui Wang
Pages 177-183
Digitalization of Healthcare in LMICs: Digital Health and the Digital Divide Based on Technological Availability and Development
Ruzica Biga, Sven Nottebaum, Zisis Kozlakidis, Symeon Psomiadis
Pages 185-193
Biobank Digitization in Low-Middle Income Countries (LMICs): Current and Future Technological Developments
Fayek Elkhwsky, Amani Kazem, Waleed Arafat, Nancy Diaa, Amira Nabil, Rasha El-Tahan et al.
Pages 195-205
Digital Healthcare: Technologies, Technical and Design Challenges
Eduardo Mascarenhas, Anis Abboute, Rachel Wayne, Zisis Kozlakidis
Pages 207-217
Digitization of Physical Health Data in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Arpine Muradyan, Karine Sargsyan
Pages 219-225
Governance and Regulation Specifics
Nicolas Ferry, Paul Hofman
Pages 227-230
Future Developments of Digital Health and Considerations on Sustainability
Noa Zamstein, Sandra Nanyonga, Estelle Morel, Rachel Wayne, Sven Nottebaum, Zisis Kozlakidis
Pages 231-238
Universal Internet Access Supporting Healthcare Provision: The Example of Indonesia
Dewi Nur Aisyah, Maryan Naman, Wiku Adisasmito, Zisis Kozlakidis
Pages 239-244
Proliferation, Ingestion, and Interpretation of Health Data in Low-and Middle-Income Countries (LMICS)
Sandra Nanyonga, Plebeian B. Medina, Zisis Kozlakidis, Debra Leiolani Garcia, Desislava Ivanova, Panagiotis Katsaounis
Pages 245-253
Ubiquitous and Powerful Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Amalya Sargsyan, Shushan Hovsepyan, Armen Muradyan
Pages 255-271
Non-digital Health Trends in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Karine Sargsyan
Pages 273-276
Recommendations for Digitization of Healthcare in LMICs: A Wider Outlook
Zisis Kozlakidis, Mat Clum, Karine Sargsyan
Pages 277-281
