Identifying and addressing digital health risks associated with emergency pandemic response: Problem identification, scoping review, and directions toward evidence-based evaluation

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2021.104639Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Rapid development of pandemic response e-health systems generates new risks.

  • Risks must be identified and evaluated to reduce perpetuation post-COVID-19.

  • New directions for next-generation informatics evaluation development are required.

  • Public confidence in digital health in all health sectors should be encouraged.

Abstract

Background and objective

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital health applications in multifaceted disease management dimensions. This study aims (1) to identify risk issues relating to the rapid development and redeployment of COVID-19 related e-health systems, in primary care, and in the health ecosystems interacting with it and (2) to suggest evidence-based evaluation directions under emergency response.

Method

After initial brainstorming of digital health risks posed in this pandemic, a scoping review method was adopted to collect evidence across databases of PubMed, CINAHL, and EMBASE. Peer-review publications, reports, news sources, and websites that credibly identified the challenges relating digital health scaled for COVID-19 were scrutinized. Additional supporting materials were obtained through snowball sampling and the authors’ global digital health networks. Studies satisfying the selection criteria were charted based on their study design, primary care focus, and coverage of e-health areas of risk.

Results

Fifty-eight studies were mapped for qualitative synthesis. Five identified digital health risk areas associated with the pandemic were governance, system design and coordination, information access, service provision, and user (professional and public) reception. We observed that rapid digital health responses may embed challenges in health system thinking, the long-term development of digital health ecosystems, and interoperability of health IT infrastructure, with concomitant weaknesses in existing evaluation theories.

Conclusion

Through identifying digital health risks posed during the pandemic, this paper discussed potential directions for next-generation informatics evaluation development, to better prepare for the post-COVID-19 era, a new future epidemic, or other unforeseen global health emergencies. An updated evidence-based approach to health informatics is essential to gain public confidence in digital health across primary and other health sectors.

Keywords

Digital health
COVID-19
Health IT ecosystem
Emergency response
Risk
Evidence-based health informatics

Cited by (0)

View Abstract