Digital Healthcare Empowering Europeans

The digitization of healthcare has become almost ubiquitous in recent years, spreading from healthcare organizations into the homes and personal appliances of practically every citizen. Thanks to the collective efforts of health professionals, patients and care providers as well as systems developers and researchers, the entire population of Europe is able to participate in and enjoy the benefits of digitized health information. This book presents the proceedings of the 26th Medical Informatics in Europe Conference (MIE2015), held in Madrid, Spain, in May 2015. The conference brings together participants who share their latest achievements in biomedical and health Informatics, including the role of the user in digital healthcare, and provides a forum for discussion of the inherent challenges to design and adequately deploy ICT tools, the assessment of health IT interventions, the training of users and the exploitation of available information and knowledge to further the continuous and ubiquitous availability and interoperability of medical information systems. Contributions address methodologies and applications, success stories and lessons learned as well as an overview of on-going projects and directions for the future. The book will be of interest to all those involved in the development, delivery and consumption of health and care information.

The digitization of healthcare has become almost ubiquitous in recent years, spreading from healthcare organizations into the homes and personal appliances of practically every citizen. Thanks to the collective efforts of health professionals, patients and care providers as well as systems developers and researchers, the entire population of Europe is able to participate in and enjoy the benefits of digitized health information.This book presents the proceedings of the 26th Medical Informatics in Europe Conference (MIE2015), held in Madrid, Spain, in May 2015. The conference brings together participants who share their latest achievements in biomedical and health Informatics, including the role of the user in digital healthcare, and provides a forum for discussion of the inherent challenges to design and adequately deploy ICT tools, the assessment of health IT interventions, the training of users and the exploitation of available information and knowledge to further the continuous and ubiquitous availability and interoperability of medical information systems. Contributions address methodologies and applications, success stories and lessons learned as well as an overview of on-going projects and directions for the future.The book will be of interest to all those involved in the development, delivery and consumption of health and care information.

Medical informatics is increasingly central to the effective and efficient delivery of healthcare today.This book presents the proceedings of the European Federation for Medical Informatics Special Topic Conference (EFMI STC 2017), held in Tel Aviv, Israel, in October 2017. The theme and title of the 2017 edition of this annual conference is 'The practice of patient centered care: Empowering and engaging patients in the digital era'. The aim of the conference series is to increase interaction and collaboration between the stakeholder groups from both health and ICT across, but not limited to, Europe by providing a platform for researchers, data scientists, practitioners, decision makers and entrepreneurs to discuss sustainable and inclusive digital health innovations aimed at the engagement and empowerment of patients/consumers. The book is divided into 3 sections: full papers, short communications, and posters, and covers a wide range of topics from the field of medical informatics. It will be of interest to healthcare planners and providers everywhere.

The healthcare system is experiencing unprecedented challenges and opportunities that will revolutionize the sector. The rising demand for health services and the resources restrictions have put increased pressure on healthcare organizations to improve cost-efficiency and service offerings. The pandemic has further exacerbated the main pressure points of the healthcare sector. Currently, the shift towards patient centricity is gaining momentum, therefore there is a need to rethink how health systems can embrace this concept, in particular with digitization, service innovation and value co-creation. Focusing on digital healthcare, this book proposes a theoretical framework, along with managerial implications, on moving towards a patient-centric model. It explores the role of digitization and innovation in solving existing challenges in the sector, and includes the concept of 'One Digital Health', which refers to global health and transformation and recognizes the importance of the connection between humans, animals, nature and the interrelation of different health systems. With clear implications to Sustainable Development Goal 3: ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages,’ the authors argue that innovative transformation in the sector can support the Agenda 2030.

Powerful new approaches and advances in medical systems drive increasingly high expectations for healthcare providers internationally. The form of digital healthcare – a suite of new technologies offering significant benefits in cost and quality – allow institutions to keep pace with society’s needs. This book covers the need for responsible innovation in this area, exploring the issues of implementation as well as potential negative consequences to ensure digital healthcare delivers for the benefit of all stakeholders.

Patients with unmet needs will continue to increase as no viable nor adequate treatment exists. Meanwhile, healthcare systems are struggling to cope with the rise of patients with chronic diseases, the ageing population and the increasing cost of drugs. What if there is a faster and less expensive way to provide better care for patients using the right digital solutions and transforming the growing volumes of health data into insights? The increase of digital health has grown exponentially in the last few years. Why is there a slow uptake of these new digital solutions in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries? One of the key reasons is that patients are often left out of the innovation process. Their data are used without their knowledge, solutions designed for them are developed without their input and healthcare professionals refuse their expertise. This book explores what it means to empower patients in a digital world and how this empowerment will bridge the gap between science, technology and patients. All these components need to co-exist to bring value not only to the patients themselves but to improve the healthcare ecosystem. Patients have taken matters into their own hands. Some are equipped with the latest wearables and applications, engaged in improving their health using data, empowered to make informed decisions and ultimately are experts in their disease(s). They are the e-patients. The other side of the spectrum are patients with minimal digital literacy but equally willing to donate their data for the purpose of research. Finding the right balance when using digital health solutions becomes as critical as the need to develop a disease-specific solution. For the first time, the authors look at healthcare and technologies through the lens of patients and physicians via surveys and interviews in order to understand their perspective on digital health, analyse the benefits for them, explore how they can actively engage in the innovation process, and identify the threats and opportunities the large volumes of data create by digitizing healthcare. Are patients truly ready to know everything about their health? What is the value of their data? How can other stakeholders join the patient empowerment movement? This unique perspective will help us re-design the future of healthcare - an industry in desperate need for a change.

Digital health has faced obstacles from poor IT systems implementation to lack of consumer acceptance. Very little is known about the management, development, and design of digital health projects, the level of IT adoption, and the role of digital leadership that is needed to successfully drive health projects. Digital health, if successfully implemented, offers tremendous opportunities in health data analytics for consumers of health services and service providers that include health information portability, personalization of health information by consumers, easy access and usefulness of health information, and better management of electronic data records by health institutions and the government. Research suggests that despite assurances provided to consumers, digital information security and digital health innovation have been a challenge and are only slowly being accepted. Opportunities and Challenges in Digital Healthcare Innovation is an innovative research publication that identifies digital health innovation opportunities and obstacles and proposes frameworks and conceptual models for digital health innovation that empowers consumers of digital health to use the information to make informed decisions and choices. Highlighting topics such as data analytics, health regulations, and telehealth, this book is ideal for IT consultants, medical software developers, data scientists, hospital administrators, medical practitioners, policymakers, academicians, researchers, and students.