IGF 2020 WS #252 Connected Health in the Post-Covid-19 Era

Information

Session

Thematic Track:

Topic(s):

Artificial Intelligence
Inclusivity
Privacy

Organizer 1: Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Organizer 2: Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Speaker 1: Sveatoslav Vizitiu , Private Sector, Eastern European Group
Speaker 2: Jelena Malinina , Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 3: Subbarao Kambhampati, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)
Speaker 4: Analia Baum, Government, Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)
Speaker 5: Ben Wallis, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Format:

Round Table - U-shape - 90 Min

Description:

The COVID-19 crisis has acted as a catalyzing agent for rapid change in a number of sectors worldwide, not least of which is the connected healthcare industry. As much of the world has moved to severely curtail travel and caution against non-essential healthcare visits, providers have adopted telehealth and remote patient monitoring solutions to handle a greater load of cases in a manner protective of social-distancing policies and public health. These technologies can provide patients with greater control and personalization in their treatment and could become even more beneficial with the continued advancement of certain promising AI technologies. However, this change comes with no shortage of challenges. Often, those most in need of connected healthcare are the ones who are least able to access it. Impediments include lack of smartphone access and internet coverage in rural areas, as well as regulatory barriers stemming from legacy approaches to healthcare. Greater provision of healthcare over the internet also enhances the opportunity for cyberattacks and can create new privacy risks. This panel will explore the newfound prominence of connected healthcare, including a discussion of whether this development will be a lasting one that can improve public wellbeing beyond the crisis, or if it will recede in as the crisis inevitably wanes. The panel will also weigh the benefits of the move to telehealth and remote patient monitoring against some of the drawbacks, including strains on existing privacy architectures, the ethics of layering-on certain AI applications and the accessibility challenges mentioned above.

Issues:

i. The inclusivity challenges that threaten to make digital healthcare more available for those with certain advantages, such as smartphone access, strong internet connectivity, and social capital that helps them tap into to such resources. ii. Legislative and regulatory decisions regarding whether teleahealth is a solution that can or should enjoy greater consideration after the pandemic subsides. iii. The privacy and security threats that multiply when the provision of certain health services normally transacted in an in-person setting now flow over networks. iv. The opportunities to make healthcare easier and cheaper to access, and to layer on applications that allow for greater personalization of healthcare than was available in the past.

Policy Question(s):

i. Is connected health the right solution to improve healthcare outcomes even after the exigencies of the COVID-19 crisis subside? ii. What is the best way to bridge the digital divide that not only separates rural areas from urban, but the global south and developing nations from the rest of the world in terms of access to digital health? iii. How can policymakers ensure that patients retain strong privacy and security assurances as the provision of some healthcare moves from in-person to online? iv. What are the opportunities and risks of supplementing traditional healthcare with AI-powered analytics tools.

Expected Outcomes:

1. Understand the spectrum of opportunities and challenges that telehealth will bring to bear on communities during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and how those opportunities and challenges are mediated by socio-economic factors. 2. Learn about what the IGF community can do to further action and cross-sector collaboration to realize the potential and work through challenges surfaced in the conversation. 3. Share diverse perspectives regarding the discrete priorities and/or changes needed from the IGF community to combat these challenges and harness opportunities.

Relevance to Internet Governance: Internet governance is, and must continue to be, a leading force in advancing appropriate safeguards and standards when it comes to connected health. Meaningfully advancing such safeguards will not be possible without using the open and inclusive multi-stakeholder Internet governance process to develop norms, incentives and rules for digital health.

Relevance to Theme: Finding a viable, responsible path toward the provision of digital health via smartphones and other connected devices after the COVID-19 crisis in a way that respects the privacy of individuals and does not exacerbate existing access imbalances hinges on appropriate data governance.

Discussion Facilitation:

For each of the areas of interest, introductory short presentations/remarks by experts will provide basic knowledge and discuss important trade-offs from their perspective. The moderator will ensure the active participation of the audience, who will be able to intervene and ask questions to the experts. Sufficient time will be given to online participants to ask questions, by the online moderator. Following these initial interventions, the roundtable will get to the heart of the debate, guided by the moderator who will begin by giving an opportunity to online and in-person participants to pose questions and discuss views on the perspectives presented. The moderator will guide the debate with the goal of finding common ground between views brought forward. In addition to the background documents and papers that will be prepared ahed of the IGF< additional articles of itnerest, reference materials and social media conversations will be published and distributed ahead of the workshop. The moderator and organizing team will work with speakers in advance as to ensure the quality and content of the discussion.

Online Participation:

Usage of IGF Official Tool. Additional Tools proposed: The online moderator will encourage remote participation through various social networking platforms in addition to the platform provided by the IGF Secretariat. After the first round of interventions, the discussion section of the roundtable will open up an invitation to online participants to weigh in on strategies discussed and pose questions to the speakers. The organizing team will work to promote the activity on social media, and will specially invite relevant stakeholders to join the session and share questions ahead of the debate. Online participants will be given priority to speak, and their participation will be encouraged by the online and in-person moderators.

SDGs:

GOAL 1: No Poverty
GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-Being
GOAL 5: Gender Equality
GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequalities
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
GOAL 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
GOAL 17: Partnerships for the Goals