Health informatics in the Middle East and North Africa

This chapter provides a background on the Middle East and North Africa as a diverse region from economic, social, political, and infrastructure points of view. This diversity has resulted into adoption of digital health in the countries of the Region based on health system’s structure and resources available. It provides highlights of the application of digital health in MENA countries ranging from the very simple appointment taking, to fully operational electronic health records systems, telemedicine services, and artificial intelligence. It provides an 8-point ‘Digital Health Innovations and Future Directions’ for a country, including commitment to develop and implement a national strategy and plan of digital health, ICT infrastructure, human resources development, funding, interoperability, priority setting, legal framework, and partnerships.