DIGI SOCIETY

I spend my childhood in the 80s and teenage years in the 90s. My elementary school education did not include digital devices or software programs and was spend in analog world. My interest to digital world began when I was 17 years. At that time I got my first mobile phone and real computer.  Actual education to digital services and digitalization was introduced first time in bachelor’s degree programme of nursing. Nursing programme was an interesting mix of analog and digital world. Now almost 20 years later when studying master’s degree digital society and digitalization appears in very different role and is tightly part of our everyday life.

Digitalization in healthcare has been an ongoing process for the past few decades, but recent advancements in technology have accelerated the pace of this transformation. From electronic health records to telemedicine and wearable devices, the healthcare industry is rapidly embracing digital tools to improve patient outcomes, increase efficiency, and reduce costs.

In this blog, I will explore the current state of digitalization in healthcare and present some ideas for how it will continue to change life and work in the future. I will also contemplate risks of digital society and how Europeans GDPR (general data protection regulations) rules apply to this.

One of the primary drivers of digitalization in healthcare has been the widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs). EHRs have replaced the paper-based medical records that were previously used by healthcare providers, and they offer numerous benefits over their paper-based counterparts. EHRs are more accurate, easier to update, and can be accessed by multiple healthcare providers simultaneously. Additionally, EHRs can be used to analyze patient data and identify trends, which can help healthcare providers make more informed decisions about patient care. EHRs have been part of Finnish healthcare for a long time and the development in this area has not been easy. Original goal was that EHRs would be implemented by 2007 (https://stm.fi/-/sahkoinen-potilaskertomus-kayttoon-koko-maassa), but we are still facing challenges in this area.

Another key area of digitalization in healthcare is telemedicine. Telemedicine allows patients to receive medical care remotely, often through video conferencing or other digital channels. This is particularly beneficial for patients who live in remote areas or have difficulty accessing healthcare facilities. Telemedicine can also help to reduce the spread of infectious diseases by enabling patients to receive care without leaving their homes.

IoT (Internet of Things) and wearable devices (such as fitness trackers and smartwatches), as a part of IoT development are also playing an increasingly important role in digitalization in healthcare. These devices can be used to track a wide range of health metrics, including heart rate, sleep patterns, and physical activity. This information can be used by healthcare providers to identify potential health issues before they become serious and to develop personalized treatment plans for patients. In the article “The Future of Healthcare Internet of Things: A Survey of Emerging Technologies” (1) writers open the technological advancements of IoT and things that researchers must consider when applying these advancements to healthcare.

Future ideas for digitalization in healthcare:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI), which can be used to analyze vast amounts of patient data to identify patterns and make predictions about potential health issues. This information can be used to develop personalized treatment plans for patients and to improve overall healthcare outcomes.
• Virtual Reality (VR). VR can be used to create immersive healthcare experiences that can help patients to better understand their medical conditions and treatment options. Additionally, VR can be used to train healthcare providers and to simulate complex medical procedures.
• Blockchain technology has the potential to improve the security and privacy of patient data. Blockchain can be used to create a secure, decentralized network for storing and sharing medical records. This would enable patients to have more control over their own medical data and would help to reduce the risk of data breaches.

Open digital societies, while offering numerous benefits, also come with certain risks. Some of the main risks associated with open digital societies include:

• Privacy and data protection
• Cybersecurity
• Digital exclusion

In Finnish society I consider the digital exclusion as the biggest risk. Not everyone has equal access to digital technology and the internet, which can add social and economic inequalities. This is a point that we have to consider for example in education and in services that are directed to elderly people.

The European Data Protection Reform (GDPR) is a set of regulations implemented in 2018 to protect individuals’ privacy and data rights. The GDPR imposes strict requirements on how organizations collect, process, and use personal data. This is much wider concept than in most countries, for example USA. The difference between personal and non-personal data is seen problematic in law and research point of views and will be discussed in years to come (compare 2 and 3).

In my personal and working life, the GDPR affects me by giving me greater control over my personal data and providing me with more transparency and accountability from organizations that collect my data. To Europeans the right to your own data is considered as a human right. Overall, while the GDPR has some limitations, it represents an important step in protecting individuals’ privacy and data rights in an increasingly open digital society.

Positive effects of GDPR

• Greater control over personal data: The GDPR gives individuals more control over their personal data, including the right to access, correct, and delete their data.
• Improved transparency and accountability: Organizations are required to be transparent about their data processing practices and to obtain individuals’ consent before collecting and using their data.

Negative effects of GDPR

• Compliance costs: The GDPR imposes significant compliance costs on organizations, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, which may struggle to meet the requirements.
• Uncertainty and complexity: The GDPR’s complex requirements and ambiguous language have led to some confusion and uncertainty, especially for organizations operating across multiple jurisdictions.

Blogs I commented on

DIGI SOCIETY

DIGI SOCIETY

Self evaluation

This course, which is implemented as a blog posts, is my first time of writing a blog post. Technical side of the assignment is clearly constructed. The text layout is foreign to me and it will take time to get familiar with the concept of “blog”. Overall, the texts by other students are very interesting and also show that there are no one right way to build your site or a blog.

The video materials of this assignment were inspirational and informational (thought little outdated). I found the “Watch your day in 2020” the most interesting. This is where we should be now with digital society and digitalization, not quite there yet. Mostly I learned new information about the GDPR.

1. Qadri, Y, Nauman, A., Zikria, Y., Vasilakos, A. & Kim, S. 2020. The Future of Healthcare Internet of Things: A Survey of Emerging Technologies. IEEE Commucications surveys and tutorials Vol. 22 No 2, 1121–1167.
2. Goddard, M. 2017. The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): European regulation that has a global impact. International Journal of Market Research Vol. 59 No 6, 703–705.
3. Finck, M. & Pallas, F. 2020. They who must not be identified–distinguishing personal from non-personal data under the GDPR. International Data Privacy Law Vol. 10 No 1, 11–36.