Health informatics: Connecting the dots in global health systems

What is health informatics?

Health informatics is at the heart of a new era in healthcare, where information and communication technology meets human wellbeing in powerful ways. It brings together a broad range of digital technologies that collect, manage and distribute health data and services, bridging the gap between formal healthcare settings and everyday users. Importantly, health informatics isn’t limited to hospitals or clinics. It encompasses all aspects of health, whether it’s the wellness choices we make, or the healthcare delivered to individuals with long-term chronic conditions. 

As we move rapidly into this new tech-enabled future focused on patient-centred care and global health, the challenge is clear: health data and digital systems must work together seamlessly. They can’t exist as isolated silos if we are to truly empower patients and improve outcomes. This is where International Standards come in. They provide the foundation for secure and accessible health systems, enabling digital health tools to reach their full potential in improving patient care. 

Unlocking global health

As the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly concludes in Geneva, Switzerland, its theme – One World for Health – serves as a timely reminder of our shared responsibility to harness digital health innovations. These technologies can streamline workflows, reduce errors and improve access to care, ultimately leading to better health outcomes for all.

This shift isn’t just about convenience; it’s about making healthcare available to all. For example, AI-powered tools can predict disease outbreaks, design personalized treatment plans and support remote consultations, bringing top-tier care to underserved regions. With electronic health records, patient information can move seamlessly between healthcare providers – even across borders – and telemedicine/virtual care platforms, ensuring continuous, coordinated doctor-patient communication. 

Health informatics is transformative, especially in low- and middle-income countries, which often lack the resources to “reinvent the wheel”. By leveraging health informatics tools, these regions can deliver remote consultations, mobile diagnostics and reliable health information to bridge critical gaps in access. Local health workers can connect to a global network of resources, empowering individuals to manage their own care and prevent disease. 

Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 on “Good Health and Well-Being” relies on this type of innovation and collaboration to build stronger, more resilient health systems worldwide. But health informatics supports more than just SDG 3; it is the driving force behind SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and others, creating a world reliant on health systems that are resilient, inclusive and sustainable. 

Standards for quality healthcare

With each new connected device, the volume of health data grows, amplifying the need for secure and standardized systems. Health informatics makes this possible. It enables systems to work together, ensuring that patient data is not only accessible but also safe and accurate. This interoperability helps health providers make better, more informed decisions, and that means better care for patients. 

Developing standards in health informatics isn’t easy. It’s a complex, collaborative effort where ISO’s dedicated technical committee (ISO/TC 215) works together with other standardization bodies to ensure cross-area coordination. The result? Technical standards cutting across multiple areas, from guidelines on the secure use of AI in healthcare to frameworks for the application of genomics and other large-scale biological data in research and clinical care. In health informatics, standards like ISO 27799 ensure the safe exchange of health data, balancing the need for data sharing with privacy and security.

An exciting era of innovation

With International Standards guiding us, we’re not just meeting today’s healthcare demands, we’re creating a pathway for tomorrow’s breakthroughs. These standards enable us to harness the incredible potential of genomics and personalized medicine in ways that are both innovative and safe. Knowledge sharing and AI “Health” Agents are increasingly being used to transform care. Together, they are paving the way for a “hospitals without walls” system that ensures continuity of care from the home to hospital and back. This new model supports the emergence of “5P” medicine: personalized, predictive, preventive, participatory and population-based care. 

As healthcare becomes increasingly connected and inclusive, standards for health informatics are more essential than ever. They don’t just support a more tech-enabled approach to health – they make it possible. But to truly deliver on the promise of digital health, we need stronger global collaboration and a shared commitment to developing and adopting International Standards.

The 2025 World Health Assembly, with its theme “One World for Health”, reminds us that achieving better health outcomes is a global effort. By aligning around common standards, we can ensure that digital health innovations serve everyone – regardless of geography or resources. Let’s work together to turn today’s innovations into tomorrow’s inclusive, resilient and sustainable health systems.