5 ways Open Health Stack is helping developers address healthcare gaps

More than half of the world’s population lacks access to essential health services — but mobile-based solutions have emerged as a promising way to address gaps in care. That’s why in 2023 we launched Open Health Stack (OHS), a suite of open-source tools that address a common set of problems developers face in the global health context. OHS saves time and makes it easier for developers everywhere to adopt modern digital healthcare standards and build next-generation digital health solutions. These are secure, offline-capable solutions that healthcare workers can use in low-resource settings where there might be connectivity challenges.

Since launching, we’ve made considerable steps towards supporting the global digital health community and making a difference in underserved settings. We’ve worked with over 20 early adopter partners and supported deployments of OHS-powered health solutions across different regions in Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Here are five ways we’re helping digital health developers around the world build with OHS:

1. Helping developers build faster and unlock insights in their mobile health apps

Developers have created helpful digital health solutions using OHS, including some that offer data insights and analytics to healthcare decision makers. For example, Ona builds apps that allow health workers to move from using paper-based records to digital solutions. OHS accelerated Ona’s app development and allowed them to adopt interoperable data standards (i.e., HL7 FHIR), which healthcare workers and supervisors then used to deliver better care in underserved communities.

Similarly, both mPower and ITECH-DIGI leveraged OHS tools to improve their healthcare solutions. mPower used them to accelerate development and scalability for better service quality in Bangladesh, while ITECH-DIGI used the analytics tools for data visualization and decision-making insights within their electronic medical records system.

2. Collaborating to advance and share digital healthcare best practices

OHS has been key in building greater awareness and knowledge of interoperability standards and open technologies for developers in the global health community. Most recently, together with the WHO and a network of partners, we held the inaugural Open Digital Health Summit, from December 1-3, 2024. The Summit brought together more than 300 developers and technical architects from 45 countries to help address gaps in knowledge and skills required to accelerate standards-based digital transformation for health.

3. Advancing digital health developer skills through immersive workshops

We’ve conducted several OHS workshops globally for hundreds of developers. For one, we collaborated with Kabarak University in Kenya to run bootcamps for IT students and budding innovators to learn about key concepts and tools required to build digital health applications. And in India, we conducted a developer-focused workshop in the country’s largest digital health conference to provide hands-on coding and building sessions on OHS components.

4. Exploring new AI capabilities

While OHS provides foundational technical infrastructure for digital health solutions, there’s also potential in AI-based capabilities for developers. Google has already made available a suite of open weight models, Health AI Developer Foundations, to help developers more easily build AI models for healthcare applications. The OHS team is further working with the developer community to understand their needs with the goal of creating the enabling infrastructure to make it easier for them to build AI powered solutions in the near future.

5. Cultivating an OHS community

Based on feedback from a thriving global community of developers about their requirements, we’ve introduced new technical features to OHS to help developers build faster and more securely. We’ve also recently launched resources like an educational video series for developers to easily get started building on OHS. Since its inception, OHS has been a community initiative and we are excited to recognize the contributions of the many developers who continue to make OHS successful. In the words of OHS contributor Khyati Vyas from ArguSoft India, “Working on Open Health Stack has been an eye-opening experience for me. It’s inspiring to collaborate on an open-source platform that empowers innovation and improves health data accessibility for better patient outcomes."

As we look towards 2025, we're excited about continuing to work with partners and the global digital health ecosystem to expand the OHS footprint globally. Ultimately, our goal with OHS is to reduce the barrier for developers and innovators to build next-gen digital health solutions and improve care for people everywhere. To get involved with OHS, learn more here.