By: Valiant Jacob, The City Law School, City, University of London

In the era of COVID-19 and the difficult years that the world has endured, the need to develop healthcare policies alongside growing technology has become apparent. When a wide-spread pandemic prevents people from accessing diagnostics or if said pandemic grows too rampant, a digital database becomes invaluable in the fight against infection and disease. The digitalization of healthcare, therefore, becomes a growing piece of healthcare policy in a globalised world. This new terrain is fraught with difficulties such as privacy, data safety and codifying digital healthcare standards across all Member States.

The core aspects of digital healthcare include diagnostics, treatment, and wellbeing. Digital health encompasses several elements within healthcare. It involves healthcare processes which include clinician support software and patient management. It also involves clinical trial management, drug discovery analytics and patient-centric tools. That is to say, digital health does a lot of things and those services can be vital in patient care and preventative medicine.

The official journal of the EU in 2019 outlined the EU’s dedication to improving and developing healthcare digitalization alongside growing technology and maintaining efficiency and sustainability. The EU also recognizes the need...Read more