Opinion: How digital health can bring about equity in global surgery

Moore’s Law, a widely recognized technology principle, predicts that computer processing power doubles approximately every two years. This exponential growth has fueled rapid advancements in various fields, including health care.

At the 77th United Nations General Assembly, a digital health strategy called “Stay Left, Shift Left-10x” was introduced. Inspired by Moore’s Law, the 10x aspect of the strategy aims to revolutionize health care by leveraging technology to achieve an exponential improvement in accessibility, affordability, and effectiveness.

Stay Left refers to the idea of preventing the need for surgery wherever possible. This involves public health initiatives — promoting healthy lifestyles, disease prevention, and early detection of health conditions; primary care interventions such as strengthening primary health care systems; and preventive surgeries and strategies, such as screenings and early interventions to reduce the need for more complex procedures later.