Author: Mario Voge

FAQ: Digital Healthcare - Top 5 Questions

Digital healthcare offers many opportunities to improve quality and deliver more accessible and flexible services. However, some caution still exists as digital environments introduce new risks. Thus, we are clearing up the five most pressing frequently asked questions regarding digital healthcare. 

How do medical professionals benefit from digital healthcare?

On the one hand, medical professionals benefit from more efficient processes and easy access to health and medication data. On the other hand, it also helps them reduce administrative overhead. This, in turn, frees up time that they can use to focus more on patient care and improve the patient-physician relationship. This approach requires the following: digital automation tools such as (AI-powered) speech-to-text and patient data management software, digitized processes like billing, identity authentication, and signing e-forms, e-prescriptions, and electronic doctor’s letters, as well as a robust data infrastructure for data exchange. 

 

What is the EU doing to simplify information exchange and connect patients, medical professionals, and medical facilities?

As one cornerstone of the European Health Union, the planned European Health Data Space (EHDS) fosters a data and interoperability environment specifically for the healthcare industry. Its primary purpose is to empower patients to access and control their health information across borders. The EHDS will also be the technical framework for electronic health record systems. With these, the EU Commission aims to simplify further the flow and exchange of health data across borders. It does so by supporting EU countries to ensure that citizens can easily and securely access, manage, and share their health data wherever they use medical services in the EU. By 2030, every EU citizen is expected to be able to (voluntarily) own an electronic health record. 

How is personal health information protected in a digital, more connected environment?

The GDPR explicitly classifies health information as sensitive data that needs to be heavily protected. To guarantee that, every EU country has implemented state-of-the-art encryption technology within its respective health information exchange infrastructure, serving as the technical basis for the patient-medical facility communication. Every other technical component, such as connectors, must also be provided with security features.

On a more personal level, patients can control the protection of health information within the electronic health record. They maintain complete data sovereignty and can decide who can see and edit their information and for how long. 

What can patients and medical professionals do to protect their (medical) devices against cyberattacks, especially in the context of remote/mobile healthcare?

Medical professionals and patients can do a lot to protect devices and their data. With the help of multi-factor authentication, users implement a secondary means of authentication, which creates another obstacle for cybercriminals to gain access to a system. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates a secure, encrypted connection between an endpoint device and the public internet. It acts as a tunnel shielding data transmission against extraction and manipulation. Another important security measure is to keep software and devices up to date, as updates contain patches for potential vulnerabilities. Also, always stay vigilant and keep yourself informed regarding the latest security threats and ways of account and network compromises.

How can artificial intelligence support the healthcare industry?

AI capabilities go further than automating administrative and/or repetitive tasks. For example, AI systems are already able to drive progress in diagnostics. They can help more accurately detect and identify early signs of (fatal) diseases like cancer. They can detect patterns and signals that might elude the human eye. Other capabilities far exceeding the human skill set are the ability to process and analyze vast amounts of data rapidly and generate synthetic information. This is especially helpful in medical research and the discovery of new drugs. Future physicians and medical specialists can learn in realistic AI-simulated scenarios. Lastly, AI systems can create more personalized treatment plans based on every individual's medical history, medication, allergies, and drug interactions.