Saif Khairat remembers the moment his team realized something was deeply off: more than half the communities most at risk of being left behind in the digital health revolution weren’t showing up on any official radar. These were places where telehealth could be a lifeline—yet without the right tools to spot them, they remained invisible. Now, Khairat and his team have launched the Digital Health Index (DHI), an AI-powered measure that for the first time maps digital health readiness at the census tract level across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., revealing a hidden landscape of vulnerability.
With nearly 100 million Americans already living in areas with inadequate health care access, digital tools like remote monitoring and telehealth offer real promise. But as Khairat’s study in JAMA Network Open shows, simply having internet isn’t enough. True readiness depends on a blend of digital connectivity, socioeconomic stability, and existing health care infrastructure. The DHI weaves these factors together into a single, validated index—analyzing data from over 85,000 census tracts to pinpoint where support is needed most.
The results challenge long-standing assumptions. When compared to existing social vulnerability indices or broadband access maps, the DHI identified a striking discrepancy: over half of the communities most vulnerable to digital health exclusion don’t appear in traditional assessments. That means hospitals and policymakers using older tools may be directing resources away from the very populations who need them most. “Health systems that allocate digital health resources using only existing indices miss the majority of the communities that need support most,” Khairat said. “The DHI was built specifically to close that gap.”
This isn’t just about equity—it’s about effectiveness. As health systems pour billions into digital care platforms, the DHI offers a way to ensure those investments reach the people who will benefit most. Local clinics can use it to target digital literacy programs, governments can prioritize broadband expansion, and nonprofits can distribute devices where they’re most needed. The index doesn’t just highlight problems; it enables solutions.
The future of health care is digital, but it can’t be equitable without the right maps. With the DHI, communities once overlooked now have a voice—one grounded in data, powered by AI, and built to ensure no one is left offline when care goes virtual.