DIGI SOCIETY 

Digitalization is the process by which we move from analog technologies to digital ones. It’s an evolution from systems that use physical objects, like paper documents or CD´s, to ones that use digital files stored on computers or other devices.

History

I was born in 1990, when digitalisation was hardly talked about and there were very few digital tools available. My childhood was internet free and I just played normal games outside. I remember my mother’s first phone and a worm game in it. I remember the excitement when I first got to use the computer and its´s keyboard. It was all the beginning of something new. Messaging with a friend who lived far away took place through letters, and banking had to be handled at the bank. I remember the big red phone on the table and the thick paper phone book which involved many phonenumbers. In the store, payment was ALWAYS made in cash. Also studying at school was different then. Books were books and all tasks were written in hands on paper. Homework and notes were written down in the student´s own calendar, which the parents always checked and signed at the end of the day. It´s so crazy just to think aboat my childhood ! 🙂

Today’s life has changed radically thanks to digitalization, and our children have no clue about life twenty years ago.

Digitalisation in the health sector

I have worked as a nurse in the university hospital wards and digitalisation plays a major role in my everyday work. I use different medical advices and electronic patient record system, which is my work platform. Electronic patient record system involves everything you have to know aboat patient health.  Also I use smartphones and tablets that assist me in daily work. For example I can see schedules for the day and write patient´s records. It seems incredible to think that we are dependent on digital tools and that patient care would not be possible without them.

The healthcare sector has undergone significant transformations in recent years. This has been influenced both by the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of new technologies, and the change in the approach of patients and medical staff to the treatment process. This is extremely important, especially now, as the world is dominated by aging populations needing fast and efficient medical services. Today, we no longer have to go to the doctor to get a prescription or stand in long lines to make a medical appointment. Instead, many of these tasks can be done remotely – via computer, phone, or app. Also patient’s medical history data is available in electronic medical records, significantly speeding up the diagnosis process. Digital health solutions have radically changed the way patients interact with healthcare professionalt and receive treatment. They’ve also reshaped the way patients consume and share medical information and data.

The future is DIGITAL!

From the Cloud and artificial intelligence to Blockchain and Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT), digital technologies are redefining how we live and work. They are expanding the purview of the potential in terms of new products, services, business models, and the internal processes that facilitate these new offerings. I belive, that digital touchpoints are being inserted at every step of the costumer or patient journey from awareness to realisation to advocacy.

Also I belive that digitalization will change future forms of work. Many work tasks dissappear, because artificial intelligence and automation will raplace the different work tasks. Different technological solutions make it possible to work in different places. Telecommuting is increasing. Different digital tools, technologies and platforms are used to improve communication and collaboration as well as the organization and execution of work.

I also belive that digitalization will change my working field- health sector. In the future, the development of remote and self-diagnostics will change the nature of nursing. The focus of human work is changing, and machines, devices and software are becoming part of our everyday lives. More and more health technology is being introduced into customer´s homes, which increase independent coping and enable them to live at home for longer. Artificial intelligence combined with technology will offer good opportunities for self-diagnostics in the future. It sounds incredible, but in the future, it may be possible to diagnose diseases from the couch at home, with your own mobile phone. Clients receive increasingly individualised treatment as gene technology develops, and the use of general treatment recommendations is decreasing. As a result, disease prevention, identification and treatment are increasingly individualised and people’s life expectancy may increase aboat 20–30%. Is it good or bad?

Risks of opean digital society

Our modern digital society offers us opportunities which we could have only dreamed of some years ago. At the same time, however, it poses also threats and concerns upon us, especially when it comes to new digital technologies capable of gathering, combining, and storing vast amounts of data, some of which can be qualified as private or personal information. It´s important that people understand its benefits and risks, because there are already hundred of examples in Finland and all over the world where personal information has been leaked, stolen and misused.

I also think that technology is addictive in our daily lives. Research also shows that excessive use of technological devices increases concentration difficulties, mental health problems and affects people’s health behaviour.

I was introduced to GDPR in an earlier data protection course, so this topic wasn´t new for me.  In May 2018, the EU implemented the General Data Protection Regulation to safeguard personal data. In my opinion, the main thing aboat the data protection reform is to increase costumers trust and credibility. GDPR ensures that all personal data is collected in a secure and legal process, with proper consent from the users. It places more power at the user’s end and extra responsibility at the business end. I really can´t see any negative sides aboat GDPR in the eyes of the costumer. The point of view of the organization and the company, the GDPR increases the complexity and costs of processes.

Self evaluation

I really liked to watch the videos aboat the subject. It was nice to stop and think aboat all the changes that has happened in my everyday life and working field during the last years. It´s amazing how much it has changed. Different topics which I readed, made me think even more aboat my own use of data and what sort of information to put out there. I also enjoyed to read other students toughts aboat digital society. I found a lot of similarities in one another and views of points that I did not think of myself.

I´m really intrested and I´m looking forward to see and learn what kind of changes artificial intelligence (AI) can make in future. AI is already provided great value in fields as genomics, precision medicine, drug research and medical imaging.