Christian Wenande
January 16th, 2018

Share

Some 66 percent of Danes want better connectivity (photo: Pixabay)

In co-operation with regional and municipal authorities, the government today released a new strategy geared towards further digitalising the health sector.

The strategy, which comes as a result of the 2018 budget agreement regarding digital health for 2018-2022, consists of 27 initiatives across five central areas: the citizen as an active partner; knowledge on time (quicker information sharing); prevention; trust and security; and progress and mutual building blocks.

“Denmark is a trailblazer when it comes to digital solutions in the health sector, but we can become a lot better at including the patients and sharing relevant information across the sector,” said the health minister, Ellen Trane Nørby.

“With all of the digital options we have at our disposal today, it can seem strange that some sharing of knowledge still takes place on paper and that some IT systems remain incompatible. That’s not beneficial to the patients or to health workers.”

READ MORE: Helping kids in homes where alcohol abuse is the norm

DI on board
Among the 27 initiatives are digital journals for expectant mothers, contact with GPs via apps, and earlier diagnoses of illness among the elderly.

According to a survey from the Trygfonden foundation, 66 percent of Danes said they wanted the health sector of the future to be more connected, and becoming more digital is evaluated to be a key step.

The national confederation of industry, Dansk Industri (DI), was in strong support of the new strategy.

“Today, we miss out on massive opportunities to lift our health system and our own health through the smarter use of data and technology. This strategy shows the public sector that there are huge benefits to be had in data and tech,” said Tine Roed, the deputy head of DI.

Read the entire strategy here (in Danish).