The WHO renews the UOC's designation as a collaborating centre in Digital Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) as a collaborating centre in digital health for the second time. It was first designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre in eHealth in 2018 until mid-2024. Thanks to its collaboration with the WHO's Copenhagen-based Regional Office for Europe, the UOC recently received a new designation, this time as WHO Collaborating Centre in Digital Health.

Francesc Saigí, the centre's director, said that the renewed designation reflected the UOC's continued and increased commitment to the field of digital health. According to Saigí, this new designation acknowledges the UOC's track record and consolidates its international leadership in the field of digital health.

The collaboration with the WHO involves providing technical support to assess and improve telemedicine and digital health services, as well as developing guides, methodologies and strategies for the effective implementation of these solutions in health systems. Saigí also noted that this renewal reinforces the UOC's institutional position as a "leader in research and innovation" and "enables it to directly influence public policy and the digital transformation of health systems, both in Europe and worldwide".

What have the results of this collaboration been so far?

Over these past seven years of collaboration, the UOC has been actively involved in the advancement of digital health internationally through research, training and technical advice", said Saigí, adding that "the UOC has helped develop conceptual frameworks and tools for the design and evaluation of telemedicine services".

The UOC has also supported the WHO in drawing up recommendations for the improvement of digital health services and worked with a number of countries to identify best practices and tailor digital solutions for their respective health systems. As a result of its collaboration with the WHO, the UOC is now better positioned to train professionals and generate scientific evidence on the impact of the digital transformation on public health. "This sustained effort has helped consolidate the UOC's position as a leader in the field of digital health and laid a strong foundation for the renewal of its appointment," said Saigí.

All the projects initiated between 2018 and 2024

As a WHO Collaborating Centre in eHealth, the UOC led several projects between 2018 and 2024. Highlights include the development of the Support tool to strengthen telemedicine, a practical guide to help health systems with the implementation of telemedicine services. It is already in use in countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The UOC has also contributed through other resources, such as the Framework for the Implementation of a Telemedicine Service and the analysis eHealth in the Region of the Americas: breaking down the barriers to implementation, which have established it as a trusted partner for the WHO in relation to the design and implementation of digital health services worldwide. According to Saigí, "these initiatives reflect the UOC's significant influence on the promotion and development of digital health on an international scale".

New goals

Despite remaining unchanged, the WHO and its collaborating centres' goals have been expanded in recent years to address new global challenges and take advantage of opportunities in the field of digital transformation. Saigí explained that now "greater emphasis is placed on ensuring the quality, equity and sustainability of digital solutions in health systems". He referred to the Regional digital health action plan 2023–2030 and the Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW14), which provide centres with guidance on how to contribute to the application of digital tools and help assess their impact, build national capacities and ensure that digital decisions are aligned with health systems' actual requirements. "This reflects a clear evolution towards a more strategic, structured and results-driven role", he said.

The challenges of this new stage

The UOC faces a wide range of strategic challenges in this new stage of its collaboration with the WHO. One of the most important of these is providing the WHO with technical support to help improve and streamline telemedicine and digital health services. This will entail evaluating current experiences, identifying shortages and drawing up recommendations for the effective integration of these services into national health systems. Saigí believes that publicizing the Support tool to strengthen telemedicine in different countries will "play a key role" in this regard.

He also highlighted that the UOC will be responsible for conducting analytical studies on the implementation of digital solutions aligned with the WHO's strategic priorities, such as digital transformation, universal health coverage and tackling global challenges such as climate change and ageing. "All these activities require a high capacity for analysis and coordination, and the ability to adapt to a wide range of health environments, and they carry a key responsibility in the generation of evidence to inform international digital health policy," he said.