Digitalization and SDGs accounting: Evidence from the public healthcare sector

Digitalization provides an opportunity for public entities to meet the SDGs. This article explores the contribution of digitalization to the SDGs within complex settings. It builds on the concept of SDG accounting as a way of measuring and reporting SDG-related performance and enhancing accountability, and related challenges in public healthcare organizations. Drawing on the SDG Global Indicator Framework and the academic literature on digital healthcare impacts, this article develops a context-specific SDG performance model, used within a case study of two digital healthcare services to account for the changes in the SDGs and assess the feasibility challenges associated with sourcing information for the model’s indicators. The findings demonstrate the potential of SDG accounting to showcase the contribution of digital healthcare services to multiple SDGs. In addition, the article highlights the issues associated with sourcing information to calculate SDG-related indicators, and the urgent need for decision-makers to take action.