by Dr Karen Dawe, Deputy Director, Skills and Knowledge programme
As the nights start drawing in, we’ve been reflecting on what we did over the summer, and a theme has emerged.
This summer LEAP spoke at a number of events. During Data Week we gave a webinar for the Jean Golding Institute on how data can be used to improve health outcomes. We also delivered online lessons on Digital Health for a summer school for international students, and made an appearance during University of Bristol’s Welcome Week, highlighting how new students studying Digital Health can benefit from the presence of the Hub.
A key question was at the heart of all these activities – what is Digital Health?
The healthcare landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation, driven by the rapid integration of digital technologies. This isn’t just about e-consultations or being able to get prescriptions online; it’s a fundamental shift in how we approach health and well-being, impacting patients, clinicians, and entire healthcare systems.
The World Health Organization defines health not merely as the absence of disease, but as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being.” Digital Health supports this comprehensive view of well-being, addressing various aspects from general wellness and behaviour change to service planning, online consultations, and medical research.
The global market for digital health is booming, projected to grow exponentially from $175 billion in 2019 to an estimated $660 billion in 2025. This huge growth is reflected in the wide range of ways the application of digital technologies holds the potential to transform healthcare. Early work within LEAP identified some of the areas where we, the Digital Health community in Wales and South West of England, can make the largest impact:
- Service and resource planning: Electronic health records, online appointment scheduling, and patient portals.
- Frailty, fall prediction, and fall prevention: Wearable and video analytics to predict risk of falling. Technologies that support the delivery of interventions, including physiotherapy, rehabilitation, social care and support.
- Smartphone and wearable technologies: Fitness trackers, continuous glucose monitors, and smartwatches that track vital signs. Consumer electronics including smartphone, wearable and video technologies put powerful computing and sensing capabilities in the hands of patients and health & social care professionals alike.
- Care outside of the hospital: Remote consultations, monitoring, and diagnosis. Health and social care services that support people in their own homes and communities.
Where has this boom in digital health come from?
Digital Health is not anything new. The first wireless heart rate monitor was invented in 1977 by the Finns to complement their National Cross Country Ski team’s training. Yet, it wasn’t until the 90s and noughties that the digital revolution amplified the use of digital technologies in health and care, leading to great advancements in health sciences from genome sequencing to the popularisation of smartphones and wearables in personalised medicine. Despite the advances, many national healthcare systems have lagged in digitalisation, at least until recently…
The Pandemic’s Impact:
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant acceleration in the adoption of Digital Health. Lockdowns forced patients and healthcare providers to embrace online solutions, resulting in a surge in the acceptance of e-consultations. People who may not have chosen to go online found that actually it took a lot of stress out of visiting healthcare providers. Many healthcare providers continue to utilize online consultations due to their proven convenience and efficiency.
Beyond E-consultations:
Digital Health’s impact extends far beyond virtual appointments. Technology is interwoven into nearly every aspect of the healthcare journey, from the earliest stages of symptom detection to diagnosis and treatment. Consider a patient’s path:
- Pre-diagnosis: Molecular and cellular changes often go unnoticed initially. Could AI and machine learning have a role in early detection and risk assessment?
- Symptoms: As symptoms develop, patients need readily accessible information and support. Digital tools can improve information dissemination and reduce wait times.
- Diagnosis: The diagnostic process can be improved by using digital technology to collect and analyse patient data, facilitating faster and possibly more accurate diagnoses. For instance, continuous glucose monitoring revolutionized diabetes management by providing real-time data.
- Treatment: Electronic prescriptions, medication management apps, and innovative technologies like remote medication dispensing systems, are improving access to medication, particularly for patients in underserved communities.
The Future of Digital Health:
Digital Health technologies hold immense potential to improve healthcare efficiency, increase access, reduce costs, and enhance quality of care.
The development of health tech is inherently inter-disciplinary and requires expertise from health and technology fields. A diverse collaborative team is needed, including:
- Software engineers
- Web developers
- Data scientists
- Product engineers
- Biomedical engineers
- UX designers
So, we hope to continue being invited to talk about Digital Health, and how being part of the LEAP Digital Health Hub can benefit everyone involved in the development and adoption of health technologies. If you’ve still got question about what Digital Health is, or how the Hub can help you, please reach out to us at leap-dh-hub@bristol.ac.uk or visit us online.