Digital Square at PATH

The digital version of the Global Goods Guidebook was released in February 2024, which marked the transition of the resource from a PDF publication to an online platform. The guidebook acts as a compendium of Digital Square–approved global goods, describing the product attributes of each global good and offering insights for supporting ​digital ​health projects across the globe. Users can filter global goods by type and explore the complete list of global goods within selected categories​. ​The platform also has an advanced search filter ​according to​ WHO's classification of digital interventions, services and applications, country presence, OpenHIE architecture components, and ​interoperability ​standards. The Guidebook empowers decision-makers by supplying them with the information needed to make informed choices about ​software ​products, tools, ​and digital health content ​​​applicable to their context, enabling improved​ digital systems for better​​​​​ healthcare.

Digital Square’s Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Tool is an Excel-based, interactive budgetary and benchmarking resource to help stakeholders in countries with lower digital health market maturities understand and develop more realistic budgets for digital health interventions. The TCO is based on the implementation of a DPG or global good and can be used across a range of interventions, including both those used by a large number of last-mile users and those more narrowly tailored for national-level health system management. It breaks down costs into development, deployment, and operations phases of implementation.  In 2024, Digital Square is preparing to expand the tool to add cost considerations for security into the TCO Tool, across the three phases of DHI implementation: development, deployment, and operations. Including security costs within the TCO Tool would encourage users to identify and quantify these costs when budgeting for the implementation of a new DHI.

Digital Square is collaborating on the topic of DPG maturity models with UNICEF to align the global goods and UNICEF djenga models with a focus on increasing the use and adoption of maturity models among DPG product owners, for example through the promotion of existing models, organizing knowledge-sharing sessions, etc. We will focus on aligning existing DPG maturity models, especially terminology and rating systems, and identify opportunities to align assessment processes so that product owners can reuse information for both assessments.  With the growing number of models, it will be important to communicate differences in existing models clearly, as well as how they relate to each other, as well as work to develop thought leadership around DPG maturity and sustainability (e.g., insights on which areas are least mature, insights into good practice examples, etc.).

Digital Square is engaging with Brazil’s G20 Presidency’s Health Working Group in 2024 through a series of Co-Branded events promoting the localization of Digital Public Goods and Digital Public Infrastructure. The events will convene representatives of governments, academic and research organizations, multilateral and bilateral agencies, international organizations, and private sector companies both in-person and virtually to build consensus around key topics related to DPI and DPGs for health.

Digital Square is committed to transforming digital ecosystems to advance health equity and is, therefore, very active in the standards space. Investing in standards development, adoption, and dissemination is key to having interoperable systems—and, in turn, is a key element of a thriving DPG ecosystem. We take a multipronged approach to supporting adherence to standards by focusing on advocacy, leadership on standards committees, knowledge sharing, support for global goods partners, solving for country and partner needs, and collaboration with global leaders. We also consider ways to improve these tools and advocate for consistent ways to standardize software to address common problems implementers face. In 2024, we will continue to advocate for the appropriate adoption of HL7 FHIR and support tools as they use this to share information and will continue to advance the SMART guidelines and support countries to be better aligned to understand how to leverage and use the guidelines.