Bridging Digital Divide: How the Digital Economy Affects Health Care in Developed and Developing Nations

ABSTRACT With the widespread application of digital technologies, the digital economy has increasingly become a driving force for transformation and upgrading across various sectors of society, demonstrating significant potential in the field of healthcare in particular. Based on panel data from seven countries—China, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, France, the UK, and Australia—this study systematically examines the impact of digital economy development on healthcare standards and further explores the heterogeneity of this impact between developed and developing countries. Using a fixed‐effects regression model for empirical analysis, the results indicate that digital economy development has a significantly positive effect on improving national healthcare standards. This effect is more pronounced in developed countries, manifested in the optimization of healthcare infrastructure, enhancement of service efficiency, and more equitable allocation of healthcare resources. The findings provide empirical evidence for a deeper understanding of the interaction mechanism between the digital economy and healthcare systems and offer theoretical support and practical insights for the formulation of targeted public health and digital development policies in countries at different stages of development.