Re-visiting National eHealth Strategies in the IoT and Big Data Era

IoT and big data technologies are redefining a new era of information and communication technology (ICT) applications and innovations in multiple industries including in healthcare. To provide a policy framework that anchors the introduction and integration of health information technologies, a majority of World Health Organisation (WHO) member countries – both advanced and emerging economies - have developed national eHealth strategies over the last decade. However, it is not clear whether these policy frameworks take cognisance of a changing technology landscape set to be dominated by IoT, big data and other fourth industrial revolution technologies. This research examines the scope of key policy issues and the concept of eHealth as interpreted in national eHealth strategies of five countries in subSaharan Africa. To harness the potential of IoT and big data analytics in healthcare, the results demonstrate the need to re-examine the applications that define how eHealth is understood as well as a review of the strategic priorities in national eHealth strategies.