ERASMUS+ and The Faculty of Health Sciences Angela Boškin (FZAB) hosted the final conference of the European project DELIVER on November 24, 2023, in Ljubljana, bringing together all four partners from Denmark, Italy, Catalonia (ES), and Slovenia.
Bringing the digital transformation of healthcare on track
The goal of the DELIVER project (Digital EducationaL programme invoIVing hEalth pRofessionals), co-financed by the European Union Erasmus+ program, is to elevate the digital competencies of healthcare professionals, enabling the digital transformation of healthcare in Europe. As part of the project, a new e-learning program was developed and is available for free at https://project-deliver.eu/e-learning-tool
Digital transformation – also in health
In the world today, the demand for all-round digitization is present in all types of industries and organizations. Digitization promises lower costs, greater efficiency, agility, increased comfort, among other things. However, healthcare is unique in the realm of digitization because it must and should focus on people – patients, caring for their health and well-being, said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sanela Pivač, the dean of FZAB, at the beginning, and continues:
– Digitization imposes additional tasks on everyone in healthcare: in addition to lowering costs, efficiency, and agility, we must also enhance patient involvement in their own care, regardless of their diverse personal circumstances and knowledge. Safety and quality of healthcare is to be improved, respect for human dignity, and transparency in the operation of all parts of the healthcare system. Lastly, we must prevent inequalities and provide care to everyone who needs it. Therefore it is required that everyone connects to modern technologies, knowledge, and people as effectively as possible.
– Why do we need digital competencies? The short answer is that the world around us is changing. Digitalization is not about reducing costs but brings long-term benefits, said Linda Justi, the project manager of DELIVER.
Digital skills in Healthcare. Start here
– The main objectives of the DELIVER project are the development of a web platform for e-learning, a common transnational learning program with an accredited curriculum for healthcare professionals, and e-learning tools that support healthcare leaders in digital transformation.
The platform brings essential digital knowledge closer to healthcare professionals and leaders. The program consists of a collection of micro-modules in six topics and is available in Slovenian, English, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, and Danish. The target audience is instructors and teachers who can use the material in classroom teaching or for self-learning.
- Digital Technology in Healthcare
- Technology and Ethical Dilemmas
- Match between Citizen and Technology
- Telemedicine and Video Consultations
- The Digital Healthcare Professional
- Digital Leadership.
Target group are instructors and teachers who can use the material in classroom lessons. The material can also serve as self-learning and appeal to educators in the social sector.
Legal issues in digitization
Alenka Kolar, the director-general of the Slovenian Directorate for Health at the Ministry of Health said: Today, it’s not difficult to buy technologies, but we always get the response that we don’t have the legal basis for it. This is a significant obstacle to everything we want to do. We need a law on the digitization of healthcare because currently, patients in Slovenia do not have all their health data in one place.
Takeaways from the conference
Evidently, the DELIVER partner-countries differ greatly in terms of healthcare digitization level but we share many similar challenges. The conclusion drawn was in order to move forward with the digital transformation, first step is to attain (more) support from political decision-makers. Policymakers must step up; push digitization by making realistic education strategies, and earmark money for training and education. “Everything can be done, even during a pandemic”, was a statement from one speaker at the conference –perhaps this should be modified to “exactly because of a pandemic”. What we have seen during Covid-19 is that digitization is a means to reach a goal. However, we should not be in a state of force majeure for digitization to effectively kick in.
European cooperation across four countries
The DELIVER project is coordinated by the Southern Denmark Health Innovation Center Syddansk Sundhedsinnovation, with the participation of the Faculty of Health Sciences Angela Boškin, the Catalan public agency Fundació TIC Salut Social, and the University of Udine.
The three-year project will conclude on December 30, 2023. Further information on the project is available on www.project-deliver.eu
