Isabelle Ugochukwu
Isabelle Ugochukwu

The primary goal of clinical care is to benefit the patient. This principle holds true whether care is delivered in a traditional hospital or clinic setting or via a digital health platform.

As the Founder and CEO of MedTech Solutions, I often ask myself, “In this era where patient-health professional interactions are increasingly digital, how do we ensure we continue to meet this fundamental goal?”

After much deliberation, I have come to several conclusions.

1. This goal cannot be fully achieved without some means of data collection, analysis, and use.

2. Setting up systems to anonymize collected data and making use of that data systematically is crucial, as it benefits patients and creates opportunities to learn and improve.

3. Ethical data collection is not just a responsibility but a necessity. This means that as we continue to innovate, we must never lose sight of the trust patients place in us.

4. Ethics and healthcare innovation can either collide or synchronize. It is our mandate to ensure the latter.

The concept of a learning health system challenges the traditional line between clinical practice and research. A learning healthcare system requires a feedback loop between clinical practice and new knowledge, and another loop between that knowledge and improving patient care. Care creates new evidence that leads to improved care, which in turn creates new evidence. To achieve this, clinical practice must be set up to allow for the creation of knowledge and for emerging evidence to alter care. Given exponential advances in data analytics driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the large and diverse nature of the data needed to achieve a learning health system, AI will play a critical role in both the learning process from the data and the development of methods to translate new knowledge into practical application.

This understanding guides every aspect of our work, especially regarding the ethical collection and use of patient data. Our commitment is deeply rooted in the principles of ‘The Belmont Report’:

Respect for Persons: Ensuring patients understand how their data is used and the benefits it brings to healthcare advancements is paramount. We therefore prioritize informed consent, making sure patients voluntarily participate with full knowledge of the implications.

Beneficence:We safeguard patient data with robust security measures to protect their personal information. Our goal is to maximize benefits and minimize potential harms through accurate and effective data use.

Justice: Ensuring diverse representation in data to benefit all patient demographics equally is crucial. We strive for fairness in the distribution of the benefits and burdens of research, ensuring no group is disproportionately affected.

We also adhere to these critical principles:

  • Respecting the Rights and Dignity of Patients:
    This forms the foundation of our ethical framework, ensuring every patient is treated with the utmost respect and care throughout every interaction with medical professionals in our ecosystem.
  • Providing Optimal Care:
    Our ecosystem is designed to enhance the quality of care provided for each patient within our ecosystem, tailored to meet the unique needs of each individual.
  • Avoiding Non-clinical Risks:
    We avoid imposing non-clinical risks and burdens on patients that do not directly contribute to their clinical care.
  • Commitment to Improvement:
    Continuous improvement of clinical care through learning is at the heart of our mission, using data to drive advancements in patient care.
  • Addressing Disparities:
    We actively work to address and reduce disparities in healthcare, ensuring equitable treatment for all patients.
  • Valuing Healthcare Professionals:
    We respect, value, and uphold the expertise and clinical judgment of our partner healthcare professionals, integrating their insights into our data-driven approaches.

From speaking with patients in our ecosystem, we know they want to contribute to the collective knowledge that can drive further advancements and improvements in healthcare, especially in situations where there is little to no risk to them.

So, what does this mean for our obligations to them?

By integrating these principles into our product development and adhering to these ethical standards, we uphold a framework and create a healthcare system that not only enhances patient care while learning and improving, but also respects, honors, and maintain the trust of every individual we serve.

Our vision at MedTech Solutions is to empower patients, reduce the administrative burden for health professionals, and advance global health with real-time, data-driven, AI-leveraged insights. This can only realistically be achieved through our commitment to building a learning health system that relies on the ethical collection and utilization of patient data. However, with this commitment comes a profound moral imperative, of which we are reminded by a wise superhero who once said, “With great power comes great responsibility!”

As Professor Derick Wade concludes in his article ‘Ethics of collecting and using healthcare data’ , “the ethical responsibility of systematic collection and analysis of patient data for any purpose is the responsibility of the people and organizations involved.”

At MedTech Solutions, we embrace this mandate wholeheartedly, working to ensure that our practices not only meet, but exceed ethical standards in digital health.

Our journey is just beginning, and we invite you to be part of it. If you are interested in learning more or collaborating with us, please get in touch. Whether you are a patient, healthcare professional, or potential partner, your contribution is invaluable.

We would love for you to join us in making healthcare more efficient, equitable, and effective; and in improving the way that millions of people experience healthcare delivery.

Together for a healthier future for all.

Isabelle