Legal Analytics on the Role of Intellectual Property and Digital Health System in Overcoming Public Health Emergency

Abstract

The current Covid-19 pandemic is undoubtedly challenging conventional health systems and services to their core. This article attempts to analyze the urgency and potential utilization of digital technology in conducting data-driven disease surveillance as an important part of the digital health system. To be more specific, this article analyzes legal preparedness and the development of legal frameworks and policies concerning public health emergency and ethical concerns to support the formulation of the digital health system in providing access to health information as well as essential medicine and vaccine. This research concludes that the digital health system potentially plays a huge role in developing an adequate public health system and mitigating public health crises, and the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic increases the need for ongoing digital health advancements; however, there are several challenges in its implementation: first, the access to technology, second, low levels of digital and health literacy especially in aging population, third, the uncertainties surrounding digital health policies and regulations especially related to privacy, data protection, and other ethical concerns, fourth, lack of accountability of commercial sectors that provide digital infrastructures and last, technological risk. Therefore, substantial efforts and government intervention through the formulation of the legal framework and the development of digital infrastructure are needed to be made to normalize the use and inclusivity of digital health at a societal level.