Monthly Archives

August 2019

8 Ways to Hack Healthcare Ethically

By | Hack4Health

According to a recent World Economic Forum Mental Health and Tech Report, mental health disorders are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide and could cost the global economy around $16 trillion by 2030. That’s TRILLION.

Globally, death by suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people – and was one of the core topics that we investigated in our Hack4MentalHealth in 2018. And while some great solutions were developed, it’s clear that we are a long way from stemming this challenging tide.

One of the great surprises – and delights of the Hack4MentalHealth was the development of powerful tech solutions. Built in close consultation with mental health experts and individuals with lived experience, we saw artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions, cloud-based deep learning platforms that connected chatbot engines to mental health experts, and data-driven prototypes with ambitions to change the face of mental health for young people.

As we prepare for our upcoming Hack4Health, we know that mental health is top of the priority list for young people. We also know that our community of hackers, hipsters, hustlers and humanitarians are keen to apply their expertise to these massive challenges.

With this in mind, this recent World Economic Forum report on Mental Health and Technology provides a great framework for the development of ethical technology. They outline eight actions – many of which are fundamental to our Hacks4Impact approach:

  1. Create a governance structure – build ethics into the heart of your data collection, analysis and distribution architecture
  2. Develop regulation – balance human rights and innovation
  3. Responsible practices – incorporate lived experience into the development process
  4. Test and then learn – continually test and learn from your users
  5. Consent at scale – work with communities and obtain their consent
  6. Measure impact – connect your test and learn approach to a measurement framework
  7. Build sustainably – don’t build a walled garden – leverage open tech and platforms where possible
  8. Be generous – prioritise low income and disadvantaged communities.

You can read the full report here.

You can put your ideas into action by joining us for Hack4Health in September. It’s your chance to impact the future of health.

If your organisation is interested in sponsoring a challenge area at the Hack4Health, please leave a comment below.