Eck Visitors Center – Auditorium

Reception to follow

Dr. Patricia (Patty) Mechael is principal and policy lead at HealthEnabled, a South African based non-profit focused on nationally scaled integrated digital health systems. With over 20 years working in more than 30 countries primarily in Africa and Asia, Patty is celebrated for her roles as thought leader, writer, researcher, professor, and executive director of the mHealth Alliance. She is a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Fellow, Johns Hopkins University Knowledge for the World Distinguished Alumnus Award Recipient, British Council UK Education Social Impact Award Recipient, editorial board member of the Journal of Medical Internet Research, and co-editor of mHealth in Practice: Mobile technology for health promotion in the developing world. Dr. Mechael holds a PhD in Public Health and Policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Masters in Health Science in International Health from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Over the course of the past 20 years, technological advancements have supported a trajectory from technology for development and health initiatives that started with computers, the digital divide, the mobile revolution, and now the personalization of everything, including health.  During this lecture, Dr. Patty Mechael will provide a brief look back at the historical progression of technology for development and health initiatives in low and middle income countries, present current trends and major initiatives, and reflect on the emerging opportunities that are enabling new possibilities for a more tailored and personalized approach to life and health.  Everything from the use of wearables, remote monitoring devices, telehealth, sensors, artificial intelligence, genomics, Virtual and Augmented Reality, and increased price transparency are creating the perfect storm for enabling universal health coverage and personal health in some of the hardest to serve settings throughout the world. As digital health programs and services reach scale in countries like India, Uganda, South Africa, and Peru, ensuring a supportive enabling policy environment for the transition of technology interventions into standard of care, protection of human rights and to inform future investments is becoming even more critical.