Health Technology – our neighbours on the continent

In Austria things are going well for their ELGA, “elektronische Gesundheitsakte” (electronic health records).

As of May last year (2018), 80% of hospitals were linked, as were 200 pharmacies and 1,1000 doctors. The system consists of discharge summaries, lab reports, radiology reports and e-medications.

By the end of September 2019 (this year), there will be100% online implementation of EHR within doctor surgeries and hospitals…..and it is interoperable!

How did they manage it?

Here’s a quick overview at how some of our neighbours are doing with their developments in the healthcare industry.

Finland

Six million people live here and in 2018 it was named in the top three of health technology eco systems. Nokia may be a key component to this, when it went down hill, the IT people most likely gravitated to other industries including health. The result being a thriving health tech scene.

Some good startups to check out are:

Huoleti

Surgify

BuddyHealth

Estimo Healthcare

The Finnish government has poured a lot of money into loans, grants and investments and is excelling in the four major health systems:

1. Digital Health
2. Health Data
3. Clinical Co-creation
4. Medical Research

They even have a Health Technology Association, The Finnish Health Technology Association (FiHTA).

Who wants to move to Finland?

Sweden

Sweden’s government has pledged to ‘be the best in the world at using the opportunities offered by digitalisation and eHealth’ by 2025. Wow.

One of Sweden’s best known Apps KRY, is now in the UK and known as Livi, a virtual GP appointment service.

Now the website to go to in Sweden to see what is going on and to keep up to date is HealthTech Nordic, does what it says on the first page of their website “Empowering nordic health tech for life”.

Mimerse is a lovely designed website that is a VR platform “for evidence based apps that can improve, manage and treat the minds of millions.”

Byon8 is trying to revitalise the healthcare industry through digital products.

Denmark

5.66 million people live here. 18.2% of the population are over 65 years of age.

If you live in Denmark and a relative becomes seriously ill, you can take paid leave of up to nine months

A lot of leading players within the market are based here, Philips Healthcare, Invacare, Widex to name a few.

Estonia

Every person has a e-health record in primary care (similar to the UK), although they supplement this with an electronic ID card.

Blockchain technology is applied to ensure the data integrity is not harmed, and minimising threats to it.

Just go and read their website as I couldn’t do it justice, it will make you weep inside.

The e-ambulance, looks like a thing of true technology beauty.

In the UK

The NHS is the biggest employer in the world of clinically trained professional staff, and the largest employer in Europe.

We need to emphasis and build on:

1. Online Interaction for patients and staff — more likely two separate systems
2. Outcome Transparency — what are we really trying to prove and at what cost?
3. Patient Self Care
4. Patient Self Service

Or how about developing a forward thinking product that incorporates Waze’s real time API information on traffic accidents direct to Ambulance control room services, so they can initiate crews to calls before they are actually called, cutting down time. It is forward planning an thinking to future problems. If a performance measure is needed, then make one!

Until we do this, we will continue to have a fragmented service and only look to our continental neighbours and dream of wha they have.

What do you think we could and should be doing?