F018 Can Bolivia become the global digital health role model? (Shafi Ahmed)
In 2014, Shafi Ahmed removed a tumor from the liver and bowel of a patient in what was the first operation streamed live online using Google Glass. The procedure to remove was watched live via computer or mobile phone by 13,000 surgical students, healthcare professionals and members of the public in more than 100 countries. Two years later Shafi performed an operation on a British cancer patient using virtual reality technology, again with a large global online audience. He is undoubtedly a driver of change in healthcare with his next big project of leading the First-Ever Fully Digital Hospital in Bolivia. You heard it right, Bolivia – the South American country with 12 million people, where only 6.3% of the GDP goes to healthcare. Can a country like this become the global digital health leader?
