Six topical themes

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Almost no other sector has achieved and processes as much data as healthcare. By applying algorithms to data, groundbreaking new insights have arised. Artificial intelligence makes patterns and correlations visible that previously concealed traces. Diseases can be detected and treated sooner.

Which groups of patients are at risk? Which will benefit most from an intervention? If AI can answer these questions, it could encompass enormous pressure on the healthcare system.

But how realistic is this scenario? For the time being, the Dutch healthcare and life sciences sector is having the greatest difficulty in providing access to sufficient data. Not to mention funding and regulatory pressure.

2. Cyber security

Every year, hundreds of healthcare organizations worldwide are confronted with cybercrime. That will only increase in the future. The question is not whether a healthcare organization will become a victim, but when. With thousands of data breaches that occur every month, it becomes clear how important cybersecurity is.

However, many healthcare organizations are not yet sufficiently prepared for a cyber-attack. This starts with the awareness of the professionals. Who knows how vulnerable all that new digital equipment in healthcare is? There is also a lack of policy at the organizational level. With potentially serious consequences. Think of disruption of the care process, reputational damage and financial loss due to the payment of ransom. And then there is the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP), which can issue fines of up to 5 percent of annual turnover in the event of negligence.

What to do to increase digital resilience and protect patient data?

3. Data Availability

With the approval of the Wegiz, electronic data exchange becomes the legal standard in healthcare. So get rid of the fax and retyping information.

The field agrees on the need for seamless electronic transfer. For good care, healthcare providers must have a complete and up-to-date patient data. However, the reality is stubborn. Closed systems and organizational fragmentation stand in the way of data exchange.

How can healthcare overcome the hurdles towards effective digital data exchange? What is needed to allow digital information to flow ‘freely’? Should the government take more control? What is the role of suppliers, care providers and care recipients, respectively?

Does your company have the answers to these questions? Participate at Zorg & ICT and meet thousands of health care specialists. You can contact us for more information about the possibilities to participate.

4. Health IoT

All devices that measure, register and share our bodily functions via the internet have become an indispensable part of our daily life. This Internet of Things (IoT) offers healthcare infinite opportunities. Where expensive examinations in the hospital used to be necessary, doctors can now monitor and even treat patients remotely.

‘Speaking’ implants, a camera pill or smart home automation that embraces the elderly, are just examples of the endless possibilities. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the value of this market is estimated at more than 10 billion euros in 2024.

Where health, care and the market meet, friction can also occur. Who is responsible for the safety and reliability of all those smart devices? What happens to all the data they collect?

5. Virtual Care

Experimenting with the human body without endangering the patient. Drug trials without harmful side effects. It’s all possible in the virtual world of Augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR).

Whether in research, education or clinical practice, Extended Reality (ER) makes healthcare more efficient and safe. At least, that is the promising future of this rapidly developing technology.

What will it take to fulfill this promise? What does a fully or partially virtual care environment mean for the relationship between care provider and care recipient? Where does virtual enrichment change into impoverishment of care?

During Zorg & ICT, visitors will receive answers to these and other questions. Get to know the latest ER technology. Or even better: come to Zorg & ICT and try it yourself!

6. Care on remote

The hospital of tomorrow is at the patient’s home. More and more healthcare providers and patients are using remote care. Thanks to the covid epidemic.

This growth will accelerate in the coming years. Health insurers make firm agreements with hospitals about relocating hospital care. Patients often prefer care in their own environment to a visit to the hospital. And technological aids such as smartphones and tablets are also making remote care increasingly easier.

This does not alter the fact that healthcare providers struggle with the subject. What does remote care mean for them? What will they do with all those expensive square meters? And citizens wonder whether remote care is always suitable for everyone.