EMEA News

Healthcare leaders are concerned about security and data breaches and meeting GDPR requirements when leveraging the cloud for clinical decision support. At the HIMSS & Health 2.0 European Conference, experts from Roche will discuss the latest advancements in cloud security.

Closer dialogue between national and local bodies is essential if the national policy for NHS technology, digital and data is to achieve its priority of a digital NHS, according to a new report that explores the opportunities for digital transformation following the creation of NHSX. The professionalisation of digital health roles, more co-ordinated leadership to drive the adoption of data sharing, and recognition that investment in achieving digital maturity requires a realistic long-term strategy are three of the key recommendations from the Nuffield Trust report, Achieving a Digital NHS: Lessons for national policy from the acute sector, which also focuses on the importance of digital standards and the benefits of more streamlined relationships with digital suppliers. The report is based on feedback from 72 digital leaders in national organisations, NHS trusts and frontline roles. It concludes that while digitisation is making good progress across the NHS, the new focus on refining the organisational approach to national policy affords a number of important opportunities for NHSX and national bodies to take a more joined-up approach to digital transformation. WHAT'S THE IMPACT? Many acute trusts feel that the recruitment and retention of a workforce to support and deliver digital change is a significant hindrance to transformation. The report’s authors, Sophie Castle-Clarke and Rachel Hutchings, suggest that this could be addressed by the professionalisation of digital health roles and the development of appropriate pay frameworks, as well as qualifications that would help to build distinct career pathways. It also makes the case for legitimising the role of the Chief Clinical Information Officer – and for national bodies to provide best practice guidance on clinical informatics workforce configuration. The report emphasises the effort still required to drive the value of data sharing and overcome the reluctance of some providers to engage in local data sharing efforts. Central bodies could help to ensure a better understanding of Information Governance legislation, engage more fully with patients and the public, while national and regional leadership could drive the development of trust-based analytics capacity – helping to reduce reliance on outsourced projects. The report also advocates a more co-ordinated approach to investment in achieving digital maturity, based on a recognition that transformation will take a long time, and requires a joined-up strategy that includes the digitisation of middling and weaker trusts as well as Global Digital Examplars (GDEs). WHAT'S THE TREND? The report acknowledges the positive work that has been achieved on collaborative digital standards development but says the national strategy for implementation is often lacking. The impact of this across the areas covered by the report – configuring a digital workforce, working with digital suppliers, data sharing, funding and sustainability, and the role of the GDE and Fast Follower programme – requires a more strategic approach, and better communication between national policy and NHS providers. “Too often, the implementation of standards is viewed as a technical rather than a technical adaptive exercise, and frequently falls to technical specialists within trusts,” the report found. “More needs to be done to communicate the purpose of digital standards beyond technical teams – particularly in highlighting the potential benefit they offer the organisation.” ON THE RECORD “Establishing clear avenues for two-way dialogue between all local organisations and central bodies is essential to ensure that national policy is in line with local priorities and effectively supports digital advancement, rather than serves as a hindrance or distraction,” concludes the report. “This may help central bodies strike the right balance between national direction and giving NHS organisations the space and time to lead their own change.”

Over 360 eHealth professionals in Europe took part in the survey carried out earlier this year.

Fitness, sport and a healthy lifestyle are becoming increasingly important in our everyday lives. Health insurers that follow this current development are therefore increasingly relying on prevention services in combination with digital services.  A pioneer of this trend is the German subsidiary of the global finance and insurance group AXA: the private health insurance announced a new tariff at the end of May with the offer "ActiveMe" in order to support its policyholders more strongly with health prevention in the future. The company is focusing specifically on digital support. The prevention offer is aimed at health-conscious people who want to prevent illness through fitness and a healthy lifestyle and its numerous digital offers include an online consultation hour. As a special feature of the new "ActiveMe" tariff, AXA offers telemedicine advice from an online physician, who can be consulted around the clock for diagnosis, prescriptions, referrals and disability certificates.  In addition, AXA's offering includes supportive health apps and other preventative services such as bonuses and reimbursements for healthy behaviour. PARADIGM SHIFT FOR PAYERS Bonuses are provided in the AXA offer for the achievement of certain goals and vital values, such as a stable abdominal index in the normal range, regular exercise, smoking and participation in vaccinations, blood and bone marrow donations.  The privately insured receive reimbursements of up to €200 per year for participation in sports courses and for purchases that promote their own health - whether yoga courses or exercise bikes. As part of AXA's "My Health" service, policyholders can also communicate more easily with the doctor treating them, for example through a digital medication manager, an online doctor search and appointment and the digital health file.  "This is a completely new approach in private health insurance, because the time is ripe for a paradigm shift in our healthcare system," said Dr Thilo Schumacher of AXA Germany.  With its digital prevention programme, the insurance group is thus showing other cost bearers the way to digitalisation in the healthcare market. Last but not least, Schumacher emphasised that digital services can also noticeably reduce treatment costs. Further information can be found here. Anna Engberg is a Wiesbaden-based freelance journalist specialising in health and technology.

THE ROAD TO HELSINKI: How can health organisations provide patients and staff with actionable insights - at the right place, the right time and under a secure environment? At the HIMSS & Health 2.0 European Conference, Microsoft for Healthcare will present its ecosystem of partner and cloud solutions that empower health organisations to reimagine the way they address health challenges.

At the Swiss eHealth Summit this September, Adrian Schmid from eHealth Suisse will be at the Thun Hospital to answer questions about the Electronic Patient Dossier (EPD), the Swiss version of EPRs, in hospital operations. In an interview, he reveals how participants can prepare for the workshop "Next Stop: EPD - The Last Challenges".

Following the successful pilot phase of a telemedical emergency doctor system deployed in Aachen at the Western border of Germany, the telemedical support of rescue forces is now to be extended to the entire federal state.

THE ROAD TO HELSINKI: At the HIMSS & Health 2.0 European Conference, Tieto will present the first openEHR-based information systems for Finnish healthcare.

Dr Afzal Chaudhry, consultant nephrologist and CCIO at Cambridge University Hospitals, details the trust's journey to moving away from paper-based processes.

Only 22% of the participants at the last HIMSS Swiss eHealth Summit were women. That has to change, says Sunjoy Mathieu, founder of Women in Digital Health.