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“Mind the gap”: Facing Challenges in Bridging Digital Transformation

This entirely new Imagining 2029 work stream reflects on current challenges that health and care organisations and professionals face as a result of digital transformation. Mind the gap is about facing the challenges that currently exist in digital transformation in health and care in Europe. The objective of this workstream is to develop a ‘bottom-up platform’ which offers EHTEL Members opportunities to engage with other Members on a topic of their choice. The topics covered in the future will all be related to the challenges of accelerated digital transformation.

mind the gap

What are the gaps that exist today in the digital transformation of health and care in Europe? EHTEL wants to give its members the opportunity to engage in an ‘open floor’ selection of key challenges. In March 2021, we are organising a consultation process (an online poll) for EHTEL members to express their interests in core subjects, including proposing new topics. The EHTEL Board members will then explore the main topics voted on, and select which ones to include in the overall Imagining 2029 work programme.

Topics can be tailored to specific categories of stakeholders.

Three proposed sets of challenges

Broadly, examples of upcoming challenges are technical, organisational, and human:​

  • Technical challenges:

- Exploring how to train machine learning to make artificial intelligence usable (supported by the vCare project).

- Handling challenges in implementing standards when developing new services: Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standards (supported by the InteropEHRate project).

  • Organisational challenges:

- Facing challenges in co-designing eHealth services (drawing on the work of the DigitalHealthEurope and/or SCIROCCO Exchange projects).

- Designing and applying effective reimbursement schemes for digital health (drawing on the work of the DigitalHealthEurope project).

  • Human, including professional, challenges:

- Preparing the health workforce for the digital future (Topol Review).

- Providing the digital skills needed by patients and informal carers.

- Handling the stresses and strains of keeping families and communities healthy in the ‘era of COVID’, including inter-generational gaps.

- Working with all the stakeholders represented in communities, including on bridging the gaps between the public/private sector and/or the general public/commercial sectors.