A cardiologist from Stanford, California, Sanjiv M. Narayan, MD, completed research toward a Ph.D. degree at the University of California, Los Angeles campus. He became director of the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Program at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Sanjiv Narayan, a professor at Stanford Medical School, has research interests in digital health.
Digital health is essential in achieving health equity. Digital health refers to a wide range of technologies involved with delivering healthcare. Some of the most common technologies are wearable devices, like smartwatches, software medical devices, and telehealth/telemedicine, among other technologies.
Proponents of digital health establish that it can decrease healthcare costs for providers and patients, and when accompanied with personalized patient care plans, it can improve healthcare outcomes. Among its other benefits for healthcare organizations and patients, it offers positive impacts for health equity or making healthcare accessible to everyone, especially people who live in historically marginalized communities.
More than any of the above reasons, achieving health equity is one of the reasons why digital health matters. For one, digital tools serve as a bridge in closing gaps in equal access to services. For one, these technological platforms can simplify getting to the doctor. With the implementation of telemedicine, for instance, many residents in rural areas now have access to care, which was not available for many who lived in rural and sometimes remote locations.
Digital health can also be a tool for addressing historical barriers preventing some communities from seeking care. In the past, many African Americans who knew of the Tuskegee study involving the sexually transmitted disease syphilis were hesitant, even distrustful, of healthcare institutions. Digital health platforms can bridge this distrust between marginalized communities and healthcare organizations through education and support channels that speak to community members.
Sanjiv Narayan (Abbott) 