The digitisation of health records is a clear path to increased quality of life, and programs in Abu Dhabi and Estonia are showing the way.

By Xische Editorial, February 3, 2020

We live in an age of unprecedented data. Virtually all aspects of our lives are codified in data that is shared, stored, and analysed online. The sheer amount of data we create on a daily basis is staggering. This includes everything from where we last ate lunch to the amount of sleep we are averaging in a week. For the most part, this valuable and personal data is held in the hands of private companies. 

In exchange for services that streamline life, we hand over our details. While some trade-offs make us squeamish, responsibly shared data can dramatically improve our quality of life, and nowhere is that more clear than in the realm of medical records and data. A new smartphone application that makes medical information available for residents and patients in Abu Dhabi highlights the ultimate promise of this age and should be a model for other developments in the sector. 

The application will provide a summary of medical records in Abu Dhabi including history, test results, and medications. The app, which will be available later this year, is the latest part of a wider program to digitise medical records in the Emirate through an online portal called Malaffi. The Malaffi system is currently available to 15,000 medical provides and includes the records of more than 3mn people. 

Using the internet to secure and safely share vital medical information was first pioneered by Estonia. No other country in the world has developed as advanced a system of online medical access. The statistics are impressive: 99 percent of health data is digitized, 99 percent of prescriptions are digital, 100 percent of billing in healthcare is electronic, and there are 2.3mn queries by doctors every month using the digital information. 

Each person in Estonia that has visited a doctor automatically has an online e-Health record that can be easily tracked since it is linked to the country’s extensive electronic ID-card system. The information is also highly secure because it is stored on Estonia’s KSI blockchain, which actively mitigates internal threats to the data and ensures total data integrity. According to the Estonian government, the KSI medical blockchain also “compiles data for national statistics, so the health ministry can measure health trends, track epidemics, and make sure that health resources are being spent wisely.”

Put simply, Estonia’s approach to technology and governance is an example to follow. Through the smart deployment of technology, Estonia has streamlined government services in such a matter that residents are able to save incredible amounts of time while receiving the highest quality services possible. By moving medical records online including prescriptions, residents can be assured that their information is safe and accessible at any point. They don’t have to worry about the privacy implications of handing over personal medical information to private companies. At the same time, they are able to use the latest tech innovations when it comes to their data and overall well-being. 

The UAE is in the midst of replicating the Estonian model in health care and beyond. Since both countries have small local populations and are major knowledge economies competing in the global market, they are able to experiment with the best procedures and practices when it comes to government services such as the e-health system. Atif Al Braiki, chief executive of Malaffi, echoed this sentiment in a recent interview with The National. "We believe that the way to overcome today’s considerable healthcare challenges – particularly in this brave new, digital world – is to develop more advanced and accessible approaches to healthcare delivery,” he told the Abu Dhabi daily. 

The general conversation around data and the internet these days tends to reach the level of techno panic. People around the world are rightly concerned that their data is being mishandled and that reliance on the internet means there is nothing anyone can do to curtail the growth of the so-called data industry. Some scholars, such as Havard professor Shoshana Zuboff, say this shift amounts to the emergence of a new type of capitalism in which surveillance feeds the creation of prediction-based modelling. Tech companies learn so much about us from our data that they can predict our needs, wants, and desires. Health information is a critical component of this new field, which we have outlined before in Xische Reports. 

But there is another way. Estonia’s relationship with technology and especially its use of tech with health information is a positive model to emulate. That is why the UAE is building its own version of digital platforms including Abu Dhabi’s new medical records application. The end result will be happier, healthier people that can rest assured that their data is being used for their benefit alone. The model is clear, now more countries need to follow it.