Applications of digital health for public health responses to COVID-19: a systematic scoping review of artificial intelligence, telehealth and related technologies

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has overwhelmed healthcare services, faced with the twin challenges in acutely meeting the medical needs of patients with COVID-19 while continuing essential services for non-COVID-19 illnesses. The need to re-invent, re-organize and transform healthcare and co-ordinate clinical services at a population level is urgent as countries that controlled initial outbreaks start to experience resurgences. A wide range of digital health solutions have been proposed, although the extent of successful real-world applications of these technologies is unclear. This study aims to review applications of artificial intelligence (AI), telehealth, and other relevant digital health solutions for public health responses in the healthcare operating environment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic scoping review was performed to identify potentially relevant reports. Key findings include a large body of evidence for various clinical and operational applications of telehealth (40.1%, n = 99/247). Although a large quantity of reports investigated applications of artificial intelligence (AI) (44.9%, n = 111/247) and big data analytics (36.0%, n = 89/247), weaknesses in study design limit generalizability and translation, highlighting the need for more pragmatic real-world investigations. There were also few descriptions of applications for the internet of things (IoT) (2.0%, n = 5/247), digital platforms for communication (DC) (10.9%, 27/247), digital solutions for data management (DM) (1.6%, n = 4/247), and digital structural screening (DS) (8.9%, n = 22/247); representing gaps and opportunities for digital public health. Finally, the performance of digital health technology for operational applications related to population surveillance and points of entry have not been adequately evaluated.

COVID-19 awareness, knowledge and perception towards digital health in an urban multi-ethnic Asian population

“…On the other hand, digital health services have gradually played bigger roles in minimizing face-to-face contact between physicians and patients and thus reducing non-essential commuting in the community 17 . However, to date the perception and acceptance of digital health services have not been well-documented among Asian elderly population as well.…”

“…As we move into a new normal post COVID-19, the shift of trend towards digital health services (e.g. teleconsultation with doctor; medical chatbot, or using artificial intelligence (AI) to review medical report) will gradually become more common 17 .…”

Strategies for Improving the Sustainability of Data Centers via Energy Mix, Energy Conservation, and Circular Energy

“…A blockchain is an open-source distributed database, based on state-of-the-art cryptography, via a distributed ledger [19]. The first application of blockchains has been to support bitcoin transactions; today, they are regarded as disruptive in many applications [20,21], including climate change [22], energy [23], and health [24]. A recent application of blockchains is in smart mobility, supporting Internet-of-Vehicles [25].…”

Strategies for Improving the Sustainability of Data Centers via Practical and Effective Measures Such as Changing Energy Mix, Enhancing Energy Efficiency, Reducing Energy Use, and Circular Energy or Recycling Energy

“…Blockchains were invented to serve bitcoin transactions, but today they are regarded as disruptive in many applications [19], including climate change [20], energy [21], and health [22]. The energy and environmental impact of blockchains is investigated [17,23].…”