“Mind the gap!”: having confidence in technologies is key
Mind the gap! is the famous expression that warns London travelers to remember the step (“gap“) between the car and the platform when getting on and off trains. It is no coincidence that this short, easy-to-understand message is used internationally today to indicate to be mindful of the gap, the gap that exists in all areas of human society, be ir economic, professional, cultural, and health related, between those who can and those who cannot. Between those who have the chance and those who do not. Those who know and those who do not know.
It is not easy to identify a line of thinking in health policies that would bring European decision makers together on the issue of trusting the use of technology and digitization. It is not so much whether or not technologies are useful or necessary – this we take for granted, but rather whether any of them should be introduced so that health care is accessible to all.
The outcome of discussions on this issue is documented in the report prepared by the Digital Health Advisory Group for Europe (DHAGE) at a high-level meeting (title: “Mind the gap in Digital Health: Trust”), released in June 2022, which focused on collaborative actions, policy recommendations and suggestions for joint strategic initiatives.
Building on the work of the European conference HIMSS & Health 2.0 (European Conference Advisory Council), whose goal was to create policy themes for the annual conference that would be of national relevance to its member countries, the Digital Health Advisory Group for Europe (DHAGE) produced a paper that explores the importance of a fundamental requirement when it comes to public health: trust.
But what is meant by trust and what should it be placed in?
Trust refers to that drive that enables patients and all healthcare professionals (who are patients themselves) to understand how data sharing between different networks, services and their participants is critical to push the digital transformation of health and care in Europe. Reforming the global health ecosystem, through the power of information and technology, which is undergoing unprecedented change, fueled by disruptive innovation and a renewed focus on patient-centered care.
The report highlights the tools needed to gain, maintain and, if necessary, regain the trust of people (patients and physicians) in digital health services. In order to trigger long-term positive outcomes for society as a whole, trust, according to European experts, is a key requirement that enables the progress made since the COVID-19 pandemic to continue, and ensure that technologies used in healthcare can help improve equitable access for all in the years to come.
In the document, which can be found on the website of HIMISS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society), which is the international nonprofit organization that promotes the use of information technology to improve patient health outcomes, closely interrelated issues are examined:
- The role of the proposed European Health Data Space (EHDS ) legislation in building and maintaining trust;
- The particular challenges of trust in the use of digital therapies (DtX);
- The importance of learning from failures in building trust.
All three themes emphasized that trust is multifaceted and requires that the perspectives and needs of all stakeholders in the digital health ecosystem be considered: citizens, patients, health care providers (HCP – Home Care Premium, Home Care for the not-self-sufficient), industry, and policy makers. Each community must be involved, listened to and nurtured, as losing the trust of one community could undermine trust for all.
According to experts from the Digital Health Advisory Group for Europe (DHAGE), it is necessary to start from:
- developing a legislative framework that supports broader initiatives to help build and maintain trust in robust data governance and data quality in the European Health Data Space (EHDS);
- using international and European collaboration to ensure that emerging digital therapies are accepted and used by professionals and bring real benefits to patients;
- developing attitudes and environments that support open discussion of failures so that all stakeholders can trust that mistakes will help avoid future errors.
