S03 EP 04: Why standards matter in women’s digital health

Women’s health has been historically under-represented in health data and research, leading to persistent inequities in care. As digital health evolves, there’s a unique opportunity to address these gaps, but only if innovation is grounded in strong, shared standards. In this episode, they explore how FHIR-based interoperability can help create health data that is meaningful, portable, and genuinely supports women’s health across the system.

Guests:

Dr Talat Uppal, Danielle Bancroft & Angela Ryan

Key topics discussed include:

• The Value of Standards - They talked about why embedding standards like FHIR is essential to avoid repeating old patterns of data silos in women’s health.
• Clinical Reality - Talat shares examples of disconnected care due to missing or unshared data, and how interoperable solutions improve outcomes.
• Femtech and Fragmentation - Examining how rapid innovation without foundational standards risks perpetuating bias and creating more fragmentation.
• Collaborative Design - Insights from the Sparked Technical Design Group show the benefits of involving clinicians, consumers, and technology experts to develop practical, system-wide solutions.
• Building Visibility - Standardised data is highlighted as key to making women’s experiences visible in both research and policy, leading to better service design and broader health improvements.

Listeners will gain a grounded, practical understanding of how digital health infrastructure can support lasting change for women’s healthcare, if built on the right foundations.