The digital revolution is far more significant than the invention of writing or even of printing.

Douglas Engerbart

My experiences of the digitalization so far

I have lived and grown side by side with technology and digitalization from the 90s. It has developed a great deal as some of its product’s names tells it too. There have been released a lot of “smart things”; First smartphones, -watches, -televisions etc during my lifetime. The amount of tech and digitalization is growing and developing constantly, and they add new features to the equipment and apps all the time. It is hard work to try to keep up with all of it!

I also have quite some amounts of experience with digitalization and technology just through my work alone as I am a radiographer; Radiology department have plenty of digitalization and technology. I have seen the digitalization taking over and being put in good use more and more in healthcare. We use a lot of computed equipment and machines. I also have used many kinds of EPRs (Electronic Patient Record systems). The equipment we use has been and is constantly evolving and has added more digitalized solutions on its way to this day and forward. However, when the imaging equipment is in use for several years it might take quite some time to get access to the new digitalization in some areas in imaging in our hospital, when the latest available technology and digitalization may not arrive overnight for personal use. It depends on how often the equipment is renewed and where the money is budgeted.

Digitalization in today and in the future – Healthcare

Modern medicine would be incapable without medical equipment and health technology. Digitalization and technology are making new opportunities possible and are the future of our health care. The benefits of digitalization, artificial intelligence and robotics are intended directly for healthcare operators and patients themselves. Health technology enables faster diagnoses and lowers the workload in social and health care. It also achieves new analysis of gene and other health data that can be used to personalise treatments and prevent diseases. The healthcare sector will improve dramatically in the future and both technology and digitalization play a big role in the big picture. Welfare technology is thought to be the biggest factor in improving customer experience and overall impact. Its potential and the results already are great and world changing. Digitalization can and does open a lot of opportunities, the existence of which I and many others do not even have an idea of.

Growing problems are forcing us to increase productivity, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness. Digitalization can be utilised for this. Digitalization is changing the ways of working and the content of work at an even faster pace than before. As AI and other digital awareness increases in imaging studies, it helps the patient to get a diagnosis and potential help faster. With more accurate and better-quality descriptions, fewer examinations can lead to diagnoses, which means that extra visits to the hospitals and examinations are left out of the patient’s treatment chain. It saves the patient’s time, frees up staff and gives them more time for patients for example, and it can lead to be able to offer more appointments and examinations to them. In addition to improving patient care, everything aims to save time, money, costs and speed up processes and the flow of information, and to eliminate unnecessary steps on treating the patients.

Data protection reform

As the digitalization grows fast, so do the risks. When the pace is rapid, it leaves the data protection more vulnerable. The regulations doesn´t get updated that quickly either, which increase it even more. Digitalization contains a lot of personal data which needs to be protected. We need to prepare for possible security breaches and protect our own security. The more data and digitalization come, the more we need the protect them – the risks increases in line with each other. It’s about confidentiality, integrity ja availability. It’s very important to keep its importance in people’s minds and increase the awareness of it. 

After GDPR came to our use in EU, I think some of the employees and employers got a bit scared in the healthcare section. Even it was and is to protect the patients and personal data, it felt a bit intimidating from the healthcare workers point of view. There were a lot of thoughts and worries in people’s heads, such as “Can we still do our daily work as we used to or will it get harder and more complicated and time consuming? Can we read patient history or look results or pictures of examinations without being accused of doing something wrong even we need it for doing our jobs? etc.” It took time to adjust to the idea even it was of course for the greater good and was very good addition. It also reduces or at least should the amount of people who have sadly misused of personal data. It still unfortunately occasionally appears in the headlines. 

GDPR shows in many ways in my working environment. There are regulations and instructions made by the company everyone needs to follow. They are updated and re-viewed if needed. We have had online courses ever since about GDPR and specifically in our working environment, which every person in our department needs to perform. You need to report if you suspect a breach and patients can of course file cases of their own. There are a team which values the situations and what consequences comes after them inside our own company.

To secure personal data, there’s also not so direct ways to ensure it. It also shows in smaller and more daily things. Some of them seems taken for granted but it’s good to not leave scope for human error. The computers have more often updates. Instructions of passwords have changed many times and became more strict, complicated, and safer. They also need to be changed more often. Because computer displays and screens of equipment need to be open and available only to the eyes which they are supposed to, they need to be closed and locked if you don’t need them. The displays will lock automatically after certain of time if you don’t use them. People’s clearances need to be brought up to date if something changes in your work status. We got separate locked bins for papers which includes personal data. And there’s many many other things how everyone’s personal data is being kept safe in daily basis.

Self evaluation

Digitalization is fascinating and interesting to me. It’s an area where you can never know enough and the amount of the information is never ending. I was able to immerse myself deeper into digi society and increase my own awareness of it and all in English.

I haven’t done blogs and used WordPress before, so this is the most unknown part for my learning experience.

Comments on other people’s blogs

DIGI SOCIETY – Anni in digitalized world (savonia.fi)

Digi Society – Miia’s blog? (savonia.fi)