A New Era for Digital Health 2026

Categories of waste across the healthcare ecosystem FIGURE 1 Source: OECD. (2017). Tackling wasteful spending on health. https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2017/01/tackling-wasteful- spending-on-health_g1g72f29/9789264266414-en.pdf If innovation represents the tools, intelligence represents the system that connects them, turning data into actionable insights, and insights into measurable impact. An intelligent health system provides this connection. It integrates data from across the ecosystem – clinical, genomic, behavioural, social, environmental and financial – to create a real-time, 360-degree view of population health and achievable insights.This closed-loop system mirrors a “learning health system”, where each action generates new data, feeding insights back into policy, care and prevention. Over time, the system becomes more intelligent, equitable and efficient. In this intelligent system, data becomes a strategic asset – the “fuel”, not a by-product. The result is a system capable of continuous improvement, where every dataset, decision and dollar invested strengthens the next cycle of innovation.1.3 The intelligence connection In this intelligent system, data becomes a strategic asset – the ‘fuel’, not a by-product. Definition: Intelligent health system BOX 1 An intelligent health system is a connected, learning ecosystem that transforms data into real- time insight and coordinated action. By integrating clinical, financial, genomic, behavioural and environmental data, it creates shared intelligence that can be applied across government and society. Ultimately, it enables prevention, resilience and personalized health at scale.It is not another digital platform, but rather a unifying architecture. It is the infrastructure that links people, providers and policy-makers around shared insight. When intelligence is embedded into daily operations, decisions become proactive rather than reactive, and resources can be directed where they create the most value and better outcomes. A New Era for Digital Health: Abu Dhabi’s Leap to Health Intelligence 9— Ineffective administrative expenditur eGover nance-r elated waste— Paying an excessive price — Discar ding unused inputs — Overusing high cost inputsOperational waste Poor incentivesPatient Manager RegulatorActor Drivers etarebileD lanoitnetninUClinician— Ineffective and inappr opriate (low-value) car e — Preventable adverse events — Duplication of servicesWasteful clinical car e Errors and suboptimal decisionsPoor organization and coor dinationIntentional deception