–Financial optimization. Streamlining processes and reducing inefficiencies can lower unnecessary medical procedures, improve diagnosis accuracy, decrease readmissions and cut overall costs. –Enhanced efficiency for healthcare providers. Streamlined data access reduces administrative burdens, freeing up time for healthcare providers to focus on patient care. –Enhanced patient safety. Access to comprehensive and up-to-date patient data reduces the risk of medical errors. Real-time health data allows for faster identification of adverse drug interactions, allergy alerts and potential complications, ensuring that healthcare providers can make safer decisions. These efficiencies are amplified within a network economy, where the more stakeholders adopt data-sharing practices, the more streamlined healthcare delivery becomes across the system. Enhanced public health monitoring and prevention Increased collaboration enables real-time public health surveillance and more agile responses to health crises. With data-sharing networks, stakeholders can see benefits such as: –Real-time monitoring. Timely access to data from health records, wearables and other digital sources provides current insights into disease outbreaks and health trends, facilitating rapid detection and response to emerging threats. –Predictive analytics. By integrating clinical, laboratory and social data, a comprehensive view of population health emerges, allowing predictive models to identify potential disease hotspots and forecast health trends, improving preparedness. –Evidence-based health policies. Comprehensive health data access informs policies tailored to specific regional and population needs, enabling more effective and locally relevant public health strategies. –Improved resource allocation. Health data networks help prioritize resources in low-resource settings by directing essential supplies and personnel to areas of greatest need. Also, during health crises, real-time data enables the timely allocation of medical supplies and resources to hotspots. –Improved communication and public awareness. Health data networks can enhance communication between public health officials and the public. Through data-driven alerts and information dissemination, citizens can be better informed about emerging health risks, increasing public engagement and making it possible for people to take proactive health measures. A well-developed health data network empowers public health systems to better anticipate, prevent and manage crises, delivering widespread benefits to society. However, achieving equity within these networks requires prioritizing data collection in underserved areas to ensure they are not left behind. While data-rich regions can already make use of extensive datasets to advance healthcare innovation, underserved regions must first focus on establishing foundational systems. This dual approach ensures that health data networks are inclusive, enabling impactful outcomes for all populations and promoting global health equity. Better Together: Building a Global Health Network Economy through Data Collaboration 8

Better Together 2025