Digital Health and Care

Members:

  • Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
  • Baden-Württemberg
  • Catalonia
  • Lombardy

 

Aims:

The demographic structure of the EU has been transforming over the last decades, which lead to the significant increase of the portion of elderly in the overall population. In the coming years, the EU's population will continue to age as a result of consistently low levels of fertility and extended longevity. Although this is a great societal achievement, issues of demography are likely to have an enormous impact for European regions. Some of them, especially rural and remote ones, will experience a considerable decline in population numbers. This situation may further exacerbate the already existing challenges of the health and care system, i.e. the growing need for care on one hand and the lack of medical staff and informal care givers on the other.

Therefore, a working group on digital health and care was set up by the Four Motors network. Since its establishment the group has been focussing on equity aspects as well: „Equity in a digital health and care system – Bridging social and digital divide in times of demographic change“. Under this theme several workshops as well as an international conference have been hold and a joint position paper was written by the group. In addition to that research consortia – i.e. on personalized medicine – have been formed.

The aim of this working group is to collaborate more intensively on the topic of health and care (meetings, workshops, conferences, research consortia etc.). Together, the working group is committed to improve the transregional social, digital and research infrastructure as well as the quality of service for citizens, patients and employees of the health- and care-system, exploring the need and the potential for (digital) health innovation and preventive healthcare in the regions, especially in rural areas, and for the set-up of a large-scale deployment of social and technological innovations.

 

Current topics:

  • personalized medicine
  • empowerment of citizens and (digital) health literacy
  • support for (informal) care-givers

 

Milestones:

  • Regular meetings and workshops
  • Organization of international conferences
  • Joint project proposals for Horizon 2020 calls and Interreg-Programmes
  • Joint Paper on "Equity in a digital health and care system"

 

Position paper on Equity in a digital health and care system (PDF)