Health technology group Philips has released a new Future Health Index report highlighting the potential of certain digital health tools to enable data to be used more effectively.

The company’s 'Moving data to the heart of health systems: Increasing vital technology adoption to make value-based healthcare a reality’, report focuses on how technology can help advance integration and enable data to be used more effectively across healthcare settings.

For instance, the report mentions that digital identity tools, such as Electronic Health Records (EHRs), that have standardised data and are easily accessible, can make the collection and exchange of healthcare data much easier.

Data analytics and AI are also emphasised for their potential potential to mine data for connections and insights that could benefit healthcare professionals and patients. This ranges from the identification of health trends at the level of an entire population, to more precise diagnosis, treatment and after care for individual patients.

In particular the latest FHI report identifies the following key recommendations into the way health data is collected, shared and used, to help countries meet goals of driving better value in healthcare.

• Strike the right balance in data protection and (de)regulation.
• Foster adoption through education – only 47% of healthcare professionals surveyed and 24% of the general population felt knowledgeable about connected care technologies.
• Secure buy-in through co-creation of solutions together with healthcare professionals and the general population.
• Harmonise data collection and use practices – countries with universal EHRs have a higher Value Measure than countries without universal EHRs (47.29 on average vs 39.67), as well as higher average levels of trust (67.79 vs. 62.99).

“The Future Health Index’s latest report shows that the smooth exchange of health information is central to delivering better value in healthcare,” said Jan Kimpen, chief medical officer for Philips. “By connecting people, data and systems we can create a network that allows information to flow seamlessly across care providers, locations and systems. It is through data that the outcomes that define value are tracked, measured and improved. Yet, health systems around the world are still struggling to collect, organise, analyse and use health data in a meaningful way. The recommendations made in the FHI are designed to address these very challenges and provide actionable next steps that healthcare leaders can take to optimise the value provided by the digital tools they are investing in.”