Healthcare Professionals (HCPs)

The HCP’s adoption of digital health differs from that of patients, even though both groups want to improve patients’ health outcomes. HCPs want to treat patients, control the symptoms, increase patients’ adherence, monitor patients, slow down a disease progression, and are responsible for the patients’ wellbeing. Digital technologies offer enhanced tools for HCPs to reach these objectives and to help them provide more effective and efficient services for patients. The transition to usage of digital tools requires skills and expertise to enable HCPs to use them [1] [2].

As mentioned before, patients in the 21^st century want an active role in shaping their care. Digital Health supports a transition from traditional approaches to more modern medicine.

Digital health technologies can help to advance a new doctor-patient relationship, and all HCPs are exposed to various digital tools. Depending on the national and regional healthcare structure, various tools will be employed by HCPs. By using these tools, HCPs have the benefit of double-checking the diagnosis, the offered treatment plan can be personalised, and the real-time patient feedback can be provided, enabling HCPs to monitor the patient's health conditions and the effect of treatment.

References

[1] Monaco A, Palmer K, Faber NHR, et al. Digital Health Tools for Managing Noncommunicable Diseases During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of Patients and Caregivers. J Med Internet Res 2021;23(1):e25652 https://www.jmir.org/2021/1/e25652. 2021;23(1):e25652. doi:10.2196/25652 
[2] Serbanati LD, Ricci FL, Mercurio G, Vasilateanu A. Steps towards a digital health ecosystem. Journal of Biomedical Informatics. 2011;44(4):621-636. doi:10.1016/J.JBI.2011.02.011