Digital Transformation & Digital Health Data

In France, University Hospital Centers (CHUs) were created in the 20th century to fulfill four core missions: medical education and training, clinical research, equitable access to top-tier medical expertise across the country, and public health leadership.

Traditionally, each CHU’s coverage area is determined by multiple factors, including regional population size, density, specific healthcare needs, and available patient transport options. In complex or specialized cases—or during health crises—patients may be transferred from distant regions. For emergency care, the effective catchment area typically covers a radius of 50 km, translating into an average travel time of about 30 minutes.

Given the structural similarities between the French and Moroccan healthcare systems, Morocco has adopted a comparable CHU framework, guided by the same objectives and principles. However, both countries now face a similar challenge: the limits of this traditional model. Increasingly, the “place” where medicine is practiced is no longer confined to the hospital walls but instead spans the entire patient care pathway—provided that care is well-coordinated and health data can be securely shared.

Morocco stands at a turning point—an opportunity to redefine the CHU model and its role in healthcare delivery, both regionally and nationally, in order to overcome and surpass the shortcomings of the current system.

One vision for the future is a hybrid CHU model, combining the capabilities of a traditional academic medical center with the operational efficiency of a transport hub. Such a facility would have expanded resources for patient transfers, healthcare workforce mobility, and medical freight logistics, while maintaining its teaching, research, and advanced clinical care capabilities.

Enhanced logistics would naturally extend the CHU’s geographic reach, even for emergency care, far beyond the limits of today’s facilities.

The real breakthrough lies in extending every clinical specialty beyond the physical hospital through mobile healthcare units. These units could continuously serve a much larger perimeter than a traditional CHU, delivering care locally through telemedicine or transporting patients to the nearest qualified facility—while operating within a unified health information system.

This approach would ensure that even populations in remote, underserved areas receive continuous follow-up, preventive services, and the same quality of care available in better-resourced urban centers.

A digitally driven CHU—combining the expertise of a traditional academic hospital with the geographic reach and logistical precision of an airport hub—could form the backbone of a new, more efficient healthcare system. This model would require fewer infrastructure investments, respond effectively to rising demand within a sustainable budget, and anticipate future healthcare needs.

By embracing this vision, Morocco could establish a new standard for CHUs in Africa—improving access and quality for its own population while building a model of healthcare leadership for the continent. This transformation would not only strengthen national healthcare delivery but also position Morocco as a reference in innovative hospital organization, telemedicine integration, and patient-centered care pathways.