Susan Treacy
Chief Executive Officer, HealthTech Ireland
Elaine Murray
Public Affairs Lead, EIT Health Ireland-UK
Addressing Ireland’s healthcare challenges through innovation, collaboration and data privacy, with a focus on solutions and collective action.
Ireland’s healthcare challenges are daunting but solvable, with issues like waiting lists, trolleys and staff recruitment. Additionally, there are underlying trends and policy shifts, such as the move towards community care under Sláintecare, an ageing population and the imperative for equitable healthcare access.
While the health technology sector can’t solve all of these problems, it has been proven to mitigate many of them and increasingly plays a critical role in shaping our response to problems it cannot directly address.
Unlocking the potential of big data and your data
Utilising big data is crucial for governments and organisations to effectively target support, identify emerging disease trends and comprehend chronic conditions. Importantly, data should stay private and still have the capability to accompany you as you engage with healthcare providers. It must be safeguarded to ensure your protection, with oversight to guarantee ethical and proper usage.
The initial foundations to make sure both happen are in motion. Elaine Murray, EIT Health and HealthTech Ireland member, supports this work locally and with the EU Commission. “In Ireland health information policies are undergoing rapid change,” says Murray.
Utilising big data is crucial for governments
and organisations to effectively target support,
identify emerging disease trends and
comprehend chronic conditions.
“The Health Information Bill provides a legislative framework for data sharing via summary care and shared care records, as well as the establishment of a National Health Information Authority. This Bill is a stepping stone toward the EHDS (European Health Data Space) set to be voted on in 2024. This will be instrumental to further unlock the potential of data.”
In parallel, after a period of consultation, with insights delivered from HealthTech Ireland members, the Department of Health’s Framework and the HSE’s Implementation Plan for Digital Transformation is highly anticipated.
Cooperating and collaborating, not competing
These foundations are essential; however, it is widely acknowledged that these critical steps cannot achieve the level of transformation required in isolation. Post-Covid, we, as the trade association for healthtech, work closely with all stakeholders supporting this national effort.
As such, every day, we observe companies sharing insights, setting aside competition and engaging in unprecedented collaboration between the public and private sectors. This collaboration leads the way in driving pathways for adoption and accelerating transformation.
The impact was evident at the HSE ‘Better Together’ conference, with HSE teams demonstrating the immense value realised from co-created, patient-centred solutions with industry. This collective approach, tackling common aims, will certainly deliver outcomes to our healthcare system far greater than the sum of any parts.