Is Digital Health a Bridge to Health Equity and Representation?
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Systemic health-care inequities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic included minority under-representation in research and disparities in care. The surge in digital health technologies carries a potential for leveraging health data to influence biomedical research, engage patients in data collection, and promote equity. Digital health technologies can eliminate historic barriers to access and expand types of data obtained directly from patients. Use of such technologies could encourage patients to engage in research, promoting diversity in clinical trials to ensure that trial data will influence health outcomes. How can digital technologies be designed with twin goals of equity and partnership with patient communities? Experts will explore how digital health technologies might bridge the data divide by enabling equitable data collection and addressing under-representation in biomedical research. They will review means of expanding patient engagement in the use and application of health data.