‘Fire hose’ of health innovation risks going down the drain

Innovations such as test and trace apps raise questions, such as who gets access to the information they harvest? © Charles McQuillan/Getty Images Technologists around the world are developing digital tools to help distribute a hoped-for Covid-19 vaccine, while innovators are devising ingenious data platforms to help us better respond to the next pandemic. Unfortunately, much of that work may be wasted.

As a digital health adviser to global health organisations, I have seen countless dazzling ideas since the pandemic broke out. These include electronic sanitising wands, AI-driven mental health platforms and online dashboards that allow medical researchers to track outbreaks. Steve Davis © Stuart Isett Yet I often leave pitch sessions more worried than encouraged because we lack adequate means for scaling the best of these tools to reach millions of people rather than just thousands. We also devote little effort to serving people who will need these innovations the most — the elderly and those on low incomes.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed deep challenges within our nascent digital health sector. For one, we are drinking from a fire hose of innovation, with many governments and health systems overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tools and ideas. […]

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