Digital Health: From Assumptions to Implementations

This extensively updated second edition describes the increasing use of digital health technologies. It reflects and describes the scenario that healthcare consumers and providers have realized the potential of digital health technologies in light of the recent global healthcare issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Smartphones have become a medical hub through which patients can connect with their medical practitioners and share their vital signs collected through wearables. Concurrently, consumer mobile health apps have shifted from providing generic functionalities to supporting specific diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cancer. Advancements in digital healthcare have also assisted clinicians, who have relied on artificial intelligence-based applications to support their decision-making. The extent to which digital health has advanced, and is being used by medical professionals and patients, is at the core of this book.

Digital Health: From Assumptions toImplementations addresses the emerging trends and enabling tools contributing to technological advances in 21st Century healthcare practice. These areas include generic topics such as mobile health and telemedicine, as well as specific concepts such as social media for health, wearables and quantified-self trends. Also covered are the psychological models leveraged in the design of solutions to persuade us to follow some recommended actions, the design and educational facets of the proposed innovations, as well as ethics, privacy, security and liability aspects influencing its acceptance. Furthermore, sections on economic aspects of the proposed innovations are included, analyzing the potential business models and entrepreneurship opportunities in the domain.

Homero Rivas, MD, MBA, FACS, FASMBS is a Professor of Surgery, and Associate Dean of Innovation and the Future at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Dubai, UAE. Prior to this, he was Associate Professor and the Director of Innovative Surgery at Stanford University. He has been involved in Digital Health for many years and has founded and advised many Digital Health startups. As a thought leader in Digital Health, he often collaborates with entrepreneurs and innovators from the Silicon Valley, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America. He is strong proponent of novel technologies in healthcare such as wearables, augmented and virtual reality, telemedicine, 3D printing, drones, artificial intelligence, etc. He is a proponent of implementing design thinking in medical education. He is the author of multiple peer-reviewed journals and book chapters. He is the Co-Editor of the book “Digital Health, Scaling Healthcare to the World”.

Thomas Boillat, PhD, MSc is an assistant professor in healthcare innovation and technologies. He is also the co-founder of the Design Lab, an initiative of the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences. He designs and evaluates digital health solutions in view of increasing patient satisfaction, experience, and safety. He is also a Human-centered approach advocate and teaches Design Thinking to undergraduates, postgraduates and medical professionals. He also facilitates Design Thinking workshops and projects with medical professionals, designers, and engineers to equip them with skills that make them actors of change. In addition to his current role, he advises different startups in the field of digital health and innovation in the UAE, Switzerland and South America. Prior to his current position, he was a visiting scholar at Stanford School of Medicine and a senior researcher in computer science at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. He also worked for different multinationals as well as for the scientific Swiss consulate (swissnex) in Boston.