Professor Vajira HW Dissanayake, President of the Commonwealth Medical Association and Chairman of the Commonwealth Centre for Digital Health, looks at health systems strengthening in the digital era through developing capacity for leadership and frugal innovation in digital health.
“We have committed to making sure that the power of digital technologies is harnessed and made to work for the poorest and the most vulnerable, not just the rich.
In the digital world in which we live today, healthcare workforces are increasingly called upon to deliver care through new clinical pathways that use digital technologies. They are expected to engage positively with and take leadership in directing the future of digital technologies in healthcare, and use these tools effectively in the delivery of people-centred, quality services. To empower healthcare workforces to do this, it is essential to invest in their capacity development.
Capacity development of the healthcare workforce on digital technologies should not be confined to training them on using these technologies. It must also extend to developing core competencies in biomedical and health informatics. This enables the more competent, innovative and entrepreneurial among them to play a leadership role with teams comprising all categories of healthcare workers collaborating with information and communication technology engineers to design, develop and deploy appropriate digital health solutions…
Professor Vajira HW Dissanayake
President, Commonwealth Medical Association and Chairman, Commonwealth Centre for Digital Health
