by Disa Choun (Author), Anca Petre (Author)
Patients
with unmet needs will continue to increase as no viable nor adequate
treatment exists. Meanwhile, healthcare systems are struggling to cope
with the rise of patients with chronic diseases, the ageing population
and the increasing cost of drugs.
What if there is a
faster and less expensive way to provide better care for patients using
the right digital solutions and transforming the growing volumes of
health data into insights? The increase of digital health has grown
exponentially in the last few years. Why is there a slow uptake of these
new digital solutions in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries?
One of the key reasons is that patients are often left out of the
innovation process. Their data are used without their knowledge,
solutions designed for them are developed without their input and
healthcare professionals refuse their expertise. This book explores what
it means to empower patients in a digital world and how this
empowerment will bridge the gap between science, technology and
patients. All these components need to co-exist to bring value not only
to the patients themselves but to improve the healthcare ecosystem.
Patients
have taken matters into their own hands. Some are equipped with the
latest wearables and applications, engaged in improving their health
using data, empowered to make informed decisions and ultimately are
experts in their disease(s). They are the e-patients. The other side of
the spectrum are patients with minimal digital literacy but equally
willing to donate their data for the purpose of research. Finding the
right balance when using digital health solutions becomes as critical as
the need to develop a disease-specific solution.
For
the first time, the authors look at healthcare and technologies through
the lens of patients and physicians via surveys and interviews in order
to understand their perspective on digital health, analyse the benefits
for them, explore how they can actively engage in the innovation
process, and identify the threats and opportunities the large volumes of
data create by digitizing healthcare. Are patients truly ready to know
everything about their health? What is the value of their data? How can
other stakeholders join the patient empowerment movement? This unique
perspective will help us re-design the future of healthcare - an
industry in desperate need for a change.
