Digital Health and Patient Data: Empowering Patients in the Healthcare Ecosystem

Patients  with unmet needs will continue to increase as no viable nor adequate  treatment exists. Meanwhile, healthcare systems are struggling to cope  with the rise of patients with chronic diseases, the ageing population  and the increasing cost of drugs. 

What if there is a  faster and less expensive way to provide better care for patients using  the right digital solutions and transforming the growing volumes of  health data into insights? The increase of digital health has grown  exponentially in the last few years. Why is there a slow uptake of these  new digital solutions in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries?  One of the key reasons is that patients are often left out of the  innovation process. Their data are used without their knowledge,  solutions designed for them are developed without their input and  healthcare professionals refuse their expertise. This book explores what  it means to empower patients in a digital world and how this  empowerment will bridge the gap between science, technology and  patients. All these components need to co-exist to bring value not only  to the patients themselves but to improve the healthcare ecosystem. 

Patients  have taken matters into their own hands. Some are equipped with the  latest wearables and applications, engaged in improving their health  using data, empowered to make informed decisions and ultimately are  experts in their disease(s). They are the e-patients. The other side of  the spectrum are patients with minimal digital literacy but equally  willing to donate their data for the purpose of research. Finding the  right balance when using digital health solutions becomes as critical as  the need to develop a disease-specific solution. 

For  the first time, the authors look at healthcare and technologies through  the lens of patients and physicians via surveys and interviews in order  to understand their perspective on digital health, analyse the benefits  for them, explore how they can actively engage in the innovation  process, and identify the threats and opportunities the large volumes of  data create by digitizing healthcare. Are patients truly ready to know  everything about their health? What is the value of their data? How can  other stakeholders join the patient empowerment movement? This unique  perspective will help us re-design the future of healthcare - an  industry in desperate need for a change.