The digital evolution of women's health is an important topic for all health IT leaders to understand and embrace. Veronica Adamson provides a deep dive.

n the past five to 10 years, there has been an explosion in digital solutions in maternal health. And it's not by coincidence. This is a space in desperate need of innovation to help providers turn the tide of worsening outcomes.

Since the 1980s, maternal mortality has more than doubled in the U.S., at-risk pregnancies have reached nearly ~30%, and costs have exploded to more than $118 billion. Today, the No. 1 surgical procedure in the U.S. is the C‑section.

The digital evolution of women's health is a major trend today. Technology is transforming obstetrical care by empowering clinicians, families and communities.

Veronica Adamson, head of the general care solutions business and maternal health champion at Philips, talked with Healthcare IT News about the evolution and its benefits, obstetrics, remote patient monitoring, and more.

Q. How can obstetrics and maternal health benefit from the digital evolution of women's health?

A. Digital solutions offer hope in our maternal health crisis. They are an enabler for providers and payers to address both the clinical and economic aspects of this issue, not to mention patient experience for this important population.

There are three areas where I believe digital health solutions benefit obstetrics and maternal health.

Empowering expectant mothers with information they trust. One way to empower expectant mothers is to share with them information they need from a source they trust, so they can follow their gut and act when something feels wrong. Too often, tragic outcomes are the result of moms not being heard, being heard too late or being afraid to ask a question.

Today there are a wealth of apps and telehealth services providing anonymous information and access to diverse communities – both of which play a key role in ensuring moms and their advocates are armed with the facts to act and have alternative pathways to seek care when needed.

Read more- https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/philips-maternal-health-champion-discusses-digital-womens-health