Keynote speech 

Abstract

The future of healthcare is shaping up in front of our very eyes with advances in digital healthcare technologies, ranging from mobile health (mHealth), health information technology (IT), wearable devices, telehealth and telemedicine, through to  artificial intelligence, VR/AR, 3D-printing, robotics or nanotechnology. Together this technology will revolutionise healthcare and create more efficient and sustainable systems, equalize doctor-patient relationships, and find more effective solutions for diseases, ultimately leading to healthier individuals and communities. However, despite the many possible advantages of using digital methods in the service of health, those methods also have potential for harm and can exacerbate existing inequities. Recognized determinants of poor health (poverty, gender discrimination, educational deficiencies, ethnicity) are also likely to affect access to the improvements in health-promoting systems that can be fostered by digital methods. Just as these social determinants influence access to health and therefore outcomes, introduction of new technologies may further influence and exacerbate inequities in access and use of healthcare. These digital determinants of health refer to factors intrinsic to the technology in question that impact sociodemographic disparities, health inequities, and challenges with care accessibility, affordability, and quality outcomes. These include aspects such as ease of use, interactivity, digital literacy, availability, affordability, algorithmic biases, technology personalization, and data poverty and information asymmetry. For individuals and societies to fully harness the benefits of the digital health revolution, effort must be taken to ensure equity by acknowledging and addressing both social and digital determinants of health. ​