Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) and Globesight convened a regional technical working session to examine digital health experiences from across South Asia and Southeast Asia as Pakistan develops its Digital Health Sectoral Plan. The session, titled “Sharing Regional Experiences on the Digital Health Pathway,” brought together government and private sector stakeholders from Pakistan with healthcare experts and representatives from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. The discussion focused on lessons that Pakistan can draw from countries that have already implemented digital health programmes at national scale and examined the foundations required to develop a more connected and effective healthcare system.
The session explored three key questions related to the development and expansion of digital health systems: what foundations are required to achieve meaningful interoperability, what challenges countries should anticipate when scaling digital health programmes, and how digital systems can deliver tangible improvements in healthcare. Representatives from Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka presented their respective national approaches and shared practical experiences from implementing digital health initiatives. The discussions provided an opportunity for Pakistani stakeholders to examine the decisions, infrastructure requirements, and implementation challenges encountered by countries that have progressed further along the digital health pathway.
Indonesia provided a notable example of how interoperability can support the expansion of healthcare models beyond pilot programmes. According to the discussion, interoperable digital systems helped Indonesia expand its Integrated Primary Healthcare model from nine pilot sites to approximately 86 percent national coverage. The example highlighted the importance of systems being able to communicate and exchange information effectively when digital health programmes move from limited trials toward nationwide implementation. The session also returned to several common foundations identified across the participating countries, including interoperability, digital public infrastructure, health data, and primary care delivery. These areas are also among the foundations being considered as Pakistan develops its own approach to digital health transformation.
The discussion emphasized that countries cannot simply replicate another nation’s digital health system because healthcare structures, institutional arrangements, infrastructure, and requirements differ from one country to another. Instead, regional experience can provide practical knowledge about how digital health programmes were developed, which foundations needed to be established first, and what challenges emerged during implementation and expansion. PDA and Globesight said the exchange demonstrated the value of learning from countries that have already implemented digital health initiatives at scale. As Pakistan works on its Digital Health Sectoral Plan, the regional insights can help stakeholders understand the importance of interoperability, digital infrastructure, health data management, and primary healthcare delivery while developing systems suited to the country’s own healthcare environment.
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