Economist Impact report, Advancing the Frontier of Health and Technology Integration: The 2023 Digital Health Barometer highlights opportunities in digitalisation of healthcare

• The report shows digital health technologies demonstrate value, yet integrating them into care systems remains challenging. Involving healthcare professionals and patients in technology design and development is also critical for patient-centred care.¹
• The report surveyed 10 countries, all of which have some foundations in place to use digital health technologies, such as regulatory frameworks and interoperability standards.
• The report illustrates additional challenges, such as fragmented national-level electronic health record systems and a lack of established health technology assessment (HTA) mechanisms for digital tools in some countries.²

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) – The Economist Impact report, Advancing the Frontier of Health and Technology Integration: The 2023 Digital Health Barometer, commissioned by Roche Diagnostics, examines the digital health environment in and across ten diverse countries from advanced economies to emerging markets: Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, the UK and the US.

The report reveals that despite continuing challenges to integrate new technologies into healthcare organisations and systems, all countries have some foundations in place to use digital health technologies, such as regulatory frameworks and interoperability standards. Only half of the countries surveyed had integrated electronic health records in place at the national level, which could support healthcare systems in improving patient care and productivity.³ The report emphasises that ongoing education and support around digital health topics for healthcare professionals and patients is essential for building trust and driving adoption.

“We are confident that these insights will stimulate robust discussions about how to best integrate innovative digital technologies into healthcare systems,” said Moritz Hartmann, Global Head, Roche Information Solutions at Roche Diagnostics. “We work with labs and hospitals around the world to bring them the latest digital health technologies and we know the importance of inclusive stakeholder collaboration and designing with healthcare professionals and patient needs in mind.”

The report also included a survey of 1,000 healthcare consumers across the 10 countries, and highlighted that two thirds indicated they would be ‘somewhat comfortable’ or ‘very comfortable’ about their health providers using their data for preventive treatment in the future. Data privacy remains a top concern, especially in Australia, France, Mexico and Spain where 48%, 45%, 45% and 54%, respectively, of the surveyed population considered it to be the most important factor in their decision to use a new health technology. Respondents in South Korea and Japan are the most sceptical about the ability of health technology to safeguard patient data.

According to the report, the future of digital health technology relies on collaboration in four areas: 1) equity and fairness, 2) financing and reimbursement, 3) patient centricity, and 4) adoption and acceptance. The report emphasised that stakeholder collaboration across these areas is critical for integrating digital health technologies into systems successfully.

Roche commissioned the report as part of its ongoing commitment to bring innovative solutions to health systems that support in the effort to improve access, experience and delivery of care, including its navify digital solution portfolio.

Founded in 1896 in Basel, Switzerland, as one of the first industrial manufacturers of branded medicines, Roche has grown into the world’s largest biotechnology company and the global leader in in-vitro diagnostics. The company pursues scientific excellence to discover and develop medicines and diagnostics for improving and saving the lives of people around the world. We are a pioneer in personalised healthcare and want to further transform how healthcare is delivered to have an even greater impact. To provide the best care for each person we partner with many stakeholders and combine our strengths in Diagnostics and Pharma with data insights from the clinical practice.

In recognising our endeavour to pursue a long-term perspective in all we do, Roche has been named one of the most sustainable companies in the pharmaceuticals industry by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the thirteenth consecutive year. This distinction also reflects our efforts to improve access to healthcare together with local partners in every country we work.

Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.

For more information, please visit www.roche.com.