The growing embrace of digital applications in healthcare has not caught on in all areas by 2023. Although adoption has increased in some subject areas, growth in others is actually lacking.
This is according to RIVM's E-health Monitor 2023. The weakening embrace of digital solutions is a setback given the pressures on healthcare, including an ageing population, rising staff shortages and high healthcare costs. Digital care is seen as an opportunity to keep care affordable and accessible, without compromising quality. With the E-health Monitor, RIVM has been charting the embrace of digital care solutions since 2013.
Usage similar to 2021 and 2022
where the availability of digital healthcare tools is now high, usage is similar in 2021 and 2022. There are also clear differences between various tools. For example, the use of telemonitoring has remained the same. At the same time, the use of, among other things, support by digital means in medication dispensing and supervisory techniques did increase.
at the same time, the RIVM also points to applications whose use did increase. Think of medication dispensing support and supervisory techniques. There are also examples of digital applications that were already offered by almost all healthcare providers during the 2022 E-health Monitor, such as the patient portal and e-consultation. Such applications now have a structural place in healthcare.
Healthcare providers are generally positive
Healthcare providers' views on digital care are generally positive. For instance, they see opportunities for reducing the cost of care, reducing workload and improving job satisfaction. However, they do think that digital care cannot eliminate all problems in healthcare.
nurses have become more positive about the potential for improving patient care using digital care compared to 2021. This includes delivering more tailored care.
Use among patients increased
Among patients, the use of digital tools has increased slightly. For instance, more people are using the patient portal and e-consultation. The use of wearables has also increased. At the same time, the use of other resources has actually decreased. For instance, fewer patients report having visited a website for their health or treatment, while the use of apps is also lower.
As in previous editions of the E-health Monitor, differences between age groups and education categories are large in terms of the use of digital tools and applications. The majority of respondents have the skills to use resources independently. However, the use of digital care is still lower among people with practical education and older people. The majority of healthcare users use digital self-help to seek information about their health, illness or treatments.
Room for further stimulation
Much emphasis has been placed on the area of digital healthcare implementation in recent years. With the aim of supporting care and reducing workload. The RIVM concludes in the monitor that there is still room to encourage further implementation among both healthcare users and providers.
RIVM advocates, among others, embedding replacement or hybrid digital care offered by inclusion as the new standard in care processes for patients where this is possible. This should only include applications that are proven effective in terms of labour savings or have a position impact on the quality or cost of care.
at the same time, the RIVM cites the need to de-implement applications that do not (adequately) meet these criteria. In doing so, it emphasises that the added value of specific applications may differ per healthcare field. From 2024, the Platform Digizo.nu will play a role in this.
The E-health Monitor 2023 is available here.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Image: Darko Stojanovic via Pixabay
