Boonchai Kijsanayotin
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Chair
Asia eHealth Information Network
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Member
WHO Digital Health Technical Advisory Group
Overview
Dr. Boonchai Kijsanayotin is the Chair of the Asian eHealth Information Network (AeHIN). An International Academy of Health Sciences and Informatics (IAHSI) fellow of International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) and a consultant of the Thai Medical Informatics Association (TMI) He is an Informatician and physician from Thailand. He had worked in a rural public general hospital for 15 years as an internal medicine clinician before receiving Master and PhD. in Health Informatics from University of Minnesota, USA. His working areas and research interest are national health information standards and interoperability, health information exchanges, national eHealth strategy and health IT adoption.
Education & Training
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1977-1983 MSc., PhD. (Health Informatics), Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, US
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2001-2007 MD., Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
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2011-present Chair, Asia eHealth Information Network (AeHIN)
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2011-present Thai Health Information Standards Development Center THIS)), Health Systems Research Institute HSRI
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2019-present Lectuler, Faculty of Medicine, Mahidol University
Selected Publications
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Kijsanayotin B, Suwanthaweemeesuk K, Ratchatorn A, Ungsachon T. Digital Health Governance Model: Recommendation for Thailand Health Systems, Journal of Health Systems Research; 2023
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Kijsanayotin B, Pannarunothai P. Seamless Primary Care and the Inconvenient Truth about Health Data Standards, Journal of Health Systems Research; 2021 (Vol15 No2) p. 131-134 [Access 3 August 2023]
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Lee HA, Wu WC, Kung HH, Udayasankaran JG, Wei YC, Kijsanayotin B, et al. Design of a Vaccine Passport Validation System Using Blockchain-based Architecture: Development Study. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. 2022;8(4):e32411
WHO Digital Health Strategy
Abstract
The World Health Assembly’s WHA58.28 on eHealth resolution, in 2005, emphasized the development of long-term strategic plans for eHealth services and the establishment of information and communication technology infrastructure for healthcare, aiming to ensure equitable, affordable, and universal access to these services. Over 120 Member States formulated corresponding strategies. In 2013, WHA adopted Resolution WHA66.24, promoting eHealth standardization and interoperability, advocating for policies and legislative mechanisms tied to national eHealth strategies. Recognizing the need to enhance digital health implementation, the Health Assembly, in May 2018, passed Resolution WHA71.7, calling for the creation of a global digital health strategy. This strategy was developed through extensive consultations, including online forums, technical discussions, and meetings of WHO regional committees. It was subsequently endorsed by the Seventy-third World Health Assembly in 2020. The global strategy on digital health for 2020–2025 draws upon various sources, such as United Nations and World Health Assembly resolutions, WHO reports, regional strategies, ISO Technical Committee reports, ICD-11 resolutions, the National eHealth strategy toolkit, assessments of Member States' digital health status, and recommendations from UN panels on digital and innovation topics. This comprehensive framework aims to guide digital health initiatives while aligning with national health priorities and resources. The development of the global strategy was guided by three principles: 1. acknowledge that institutionalization of digital health in the national health system requires a decision and commitment by countries 2. recognize that successful digital health initiatives require an integrated strategy 3. promote the appropriate use of digital technologies for health and 4. recognize the urgent need to address the major impediments faced by least-developed countries implementing digital health technologies. Four strategic objectives of the global strategy on digital health are 1. promote global collaboration and advance the transfer of knowledge on digital health 2. advance the implementation of national digital health strategies 3. strengthen governance for digital health at global, regional and national levels and 4. advocate people-centred health systems that are enabled by digital health. The Asian eHealth Information Network (AeHIN), a collaboration of digital health advocates from South and South-East Asia committed to promoting interoperability for better health, has been involved and collaborated closely with the WHO. The AeHIN’s “Mind and Fill the GAPS (Governance-Architecture-People & Program management, and Standards & Interoperability) framework” and AeHIN’s digital health “Convergence” methodology including AeHIN’s Community of Standards and Interoperability Lab (COIL) initiatives fully align with the WHO Global Strategy on Digital Health for 2020-2025.
Constructing the Digital Healthcare Industry Chain: From Policy to Practice
Abstract
Recognizing the challenges in the development of eHealth in Thailand and taking into account the recommendations from the 2010 landscape study conducted by the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and WHO Thailand, it was evident that Thailand was lagging in establishing a robust national eHealth foundation. The study's key recommendations included the following:1) Thailand should establish a multi-stakeholder, national-level eHealth governing authority to provide leadership and direction, 2) legislation pertaining to health information security, privacy, and confidentiality should be enacted to safeguard individuals, 3) the development of national health information standards is essential to enable interoperability of eHealth services, and 4) a systematic mechanism for capacity building among individuals involved in designing, implementing, operating, and using eHealth systems must be planned and implemented. Over the years, I have actively participated in numerous projects spanning from policy development to practical implementation, collaborating with various digital health stakeholders in both the public and private sectors to address these challenges. Despite these efforts, the establishment of a multi-stakeholder, national-level eHealth/digital health governing authority to provide leadership and direction remains unrealized. Additionally, the development of a consensus-based eHealth/digital health national blueprint/architecture has been an ongoing endeavor. While progress has been made with the introduction of a few national health data standards, such as the Thai Medicines Terminology (TMT), the Thai Medical Laboratory Terminology (TMLT), HL7 FHIR, and SNOMED CT, the creation of an integrated and effective national digital health and health information system that enables comprehensive healthcare delivery remains elusive. Based on my three-decade-long experience in the digital health industry, a critical lesson learned is the interdependence of three key health system building blocks: health service delivery, health finance, and health information. These components must be designed and developed concurrently, rather than in a linear fashion. I refer to this framework that illustrates the interconnectedness of these health system building blocks, along with leadership/governance, health workforce, and medical products, vaccines, and technologies, as the "Service-Information-Finance, the 3-Legged Stool of Successful UHC Implementation."