An Overview of Digital Health Transformation in the GCC and Associated Ethical and Regulatory Challenges

Digital health transformation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is key to improving the provision of healthcare services, especially in light of recent global health challenges. Digital health technologies, including telemedicine, mobile health applications, and wearable devices, bring great benefits and are revolutionising healthcare delivery. Advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and big data continue to contribute to major advancements in health technologies. However, the digital transformation of healthcare has raised many challenges with ethical concerns, regulatory settings, patient privacy, as well as data sharing and ownership. This chapter will consider digital health developments in the GCC and draw on Australian experience in managing challenges associated with digital health transformations.