Ethics in digital health: An analysis based on Quranic themes

Abstract

Background and aim: Digital health has provided new opportunities for improving healthcare services, but it faces ethical challenges. This research aims to identify Quranic themes related to the ethical standards of digital health. Materials and methods: This qualitative study was conducted with an exploratory approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 experts in medical ethics and Quranic studies in Fall 2024. Data analysis was performed using thematic analysis to identify and classify ethical dimensions of digital health based on Quranic teachings. Findings: Data analysis yielded 63 Quranic themes related to digital health ethics, categorized into eight domains: telemedicine/telehealth, mobile health (mHealth), electronic health records (EHR), wearables and sensors, health data analytics, personal health records (PHR), artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain. The most frequent Quranic ethical recommendations were maintaining privacy, trustworthiness and reliability of digital health services (9 occurrences); preventing harm to patients (5 occurrences); preserving patient health and life; ensuring documentation and transparency of medical information; and promoting justice and fairness in service delivery (each with 4 occurrences). Conclusion: Quranic teachings have great potential to explain and strengthen the ethical principles of digital health and can provide an indigenous basis for policymaking and the development of health technologies in Islamic society.

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