On 7 and 8 May 2024, the 18th dHealth Conference took place in the historic Apothekertrakt of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, a central meeting place for experts from the digital health industry. With over 350 participants from 12 countries, representing science, industry and healthcare, the conference was once again a resounding success. It impressively demonstrated how far the digital transformation in the healthcare sector has already progressed and what innovative paths the future holds in store.
Federal Minister for Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, Johannes Rauch, gave the opening remarks via video, after being welcomed by the conference chair, Günter Schreier, and Chief Medical Officer, Ruth Ladenstein, as well as the organising partners, Elke Guenther (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology), Winfried Mayr (ÖGBMT) and Bernhard Pfeifer (UMIT Tirol). A special innovation this year was the intensified cooperation with the Austrian Medical Association and Digital Doctor, which further intensifies the connection between technology developers and practising doctors. Thomas Mück, the president of the co-organising OCG, was unable to attend and had to convey his greetings to Günter Schreier, the head of the OCG/ÖGBMT working group "Medical Informatics and eHealth".
Günter Schreier summarises: "The dHealth Conference 2024 has once again shown how important the exchange between science, industry and practice is. As a central hub for the digital health community, the conference continues to develop every year and generates innovative ideas and partnerships. This dynamic and the close collaboration between all participants will improve healthcare in the long term. "
Pioneering concepts and transformative solutions
This year's programme included a wide range of specialist presentations and discussions on current topics and developments in the field of digital health. Key topics included AI-supported diagnostic tools that enable doctors to make more precise and faster diagnoses, as well as the further development of the ELGA architecture, which promises seamless integration of patient data.
The session on wearable tools that can record and analyse health data in real time received particular attention. These technologies not only promise to improve healthcare, but also to relieve the burden on medical staff through more efficient work processes. The highlights of the presentations were the international keynotes:
- Joe Lennerz, Chief Scientific Officer at BostonGene (U.S.A.), kicked off the keynote session with his opening speech "Breaking Boundaries: Harnessing AI in Healthcare for Transatlantic Data Exchange and Integrated Diagnostics". Lennerz highlighted the latest advances in artificial intelligence and its application in healthcare, particularly with regard to transatlantic data exchange and integrated diagnostics.
- The second keynote was given by Sylvia Thun, Director of the Core Unit eHealth and Interoperability (CEI) at Charité Berlin (Germany). Her presentation "Digital Health Research Infrastructure in Germany - EHDS-compatible" focussed on the research infrastructure for digital health in Germany and its compatibility with the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
- Sze-Yuan Ooi, Director of the Coronary Care Unit and Senior Staff Specialist at Prince of Wales Hospital (Australia), spoke in the third keynote about "Implementing Virtual Health in South Eastern Sydney: a paradigm shift in the delivery of healthcare". He discussed initiatives to change care models to improve efficiency and patient outcomes.
- The closing keynote was given by Hannah Gsell, Patient Expert and Projects Coordinator at Childhood Cancer International (CCI) - Europe (Austria), with the title "The last word belongs to the patients... does it?". As a cancer survivor, she emphasised the important role of the patient perspective in the development and implementation of digital health technologies.
Successful partnerships and start-up session
In addition to the presentations, another highlight was the successful start-up session, which offered young companies a platform to present their innovative solutions. This session impressively demonstrated how creative and dynamic the digital healthcare landscape is and the potential that lies in new ideas.
The participants in the competitions, which honoured the best work in the field of digital health by students, received special applause:
- Anna-Lena Brecher won the prize for the best Master's thesis for her work "DiGA in Primary Care and the Influence of Patient-Related Factors - Results of a Survey of Family Doctors" and Anja Schwab with "Automated Clinical Trial Cohort Definition and Evaluation with CQL and CDS-Hooks". This year's awards were sponsored by IHE Austria.
- The prize for the best PhD thesis went to Anna Savoldelli for her study "Exploring the Environmental Impact of Telemedicine: A Life Cycle Assessment".
- The prize for the best poster went to Clemens Lang, Silvia Winkler, Johannes Koren, Gerhard Gritsch, David Pollreisz, Stefan Köpl, Tilmann Kluge and Christoph Baumgartner for their work "Feasibility of an Integrated Telemonitoring System for Home-recorded EEG with Automated AI-based EEG Analysis".
Conclusion and outlook
The dHealth conference once again proved that it is an indispensable platform for dialogue on the future of healthcare. The event provided valuable insights into current developments and trends and promoted dialogue between researchers, industry and healthcare providers. The conference was rounded off by the traditional social networking event, where participants were able to network in a relaxed atmosphere and enjoy Vienna's culinary delights.
We are already looking forward to dHealth 2025, which will take place from 6-7 May 2025, and invite all interested parties to save the date. Until then, the organisers are offering a series of free online events in the form of the dHealth Pulse series, which will cover current digital health topics and offer the opportunity to exchange ideas with leading experts.
You can find more information on our website: www.dhealth.at