Rethinking Health Care: How Digital Technologies Can Support Patients

Key Takeaways:

• Digital innovation for a sustainable healthcare system: New technologies help ensure care capacity and alleviate the burden on the healthcare system.
• Greater independence for patients: Telemedicine services promote health literacy and active participation in the treatment process.
• Human-centered technologies that add value: Digital solutions improve connectivity, reduce the burden on healthcare professionals, and complement in-person care.

The Human-Centered Technologies (HCT) Research Centre at the FHV, together with partners, is investigating how digital technologies can support people in managing health conditions and enable new care models through the APAT4PATIENTS and eNSPIRE1 projects.

“Demographic change and resource scarcity require innovative forms of care to maintain or even improve the quality of care,” emphasizes Katrin Paldán, project manager and researcher at the FHV’s HCT research centre.

When medical facilities come to your home 

The APAT4PATIENTS project (Telemedicine in Outpatient Antibiotic Therapy), funded by Interreg ABH VI, focuses on outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy. Patients can continue their intravenous antibiotic treatment at home instead of staying in the hospital for extended periods. Researchers are investigating how wearables—digital devices worn on the body to continuously monitor vital signs—and telemedicine visits can enhance the safety of this form of treatment.

The potential is great: it relieves pressure on hospitals, expands care capacity, and gives patients greater independence in their daily lives.  

Digital Support for Living with Diabetes

The eNSPIRE1 project focuses on the daily lives of people with type 1 diabetes. In addition to medical data, emotional, social, and practical challenges also play a crucial role in disease management.

eNSPIRE1 (Needs-Based Digital Support for Emotional, Social, and Practical Challenges in Disease Management) is funded by the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Mobility, and Infrastructure through the FFG’s “benefit” funding programme.

The researchers are developing a digital platform that combines health data, AI-powered information, and interaction with trained peers. “Our goal is to strengthen health literacy and support people with diabetes in better understanding their condition and taking self-directed action,” emphasizes Paldán.  

Technology as Part of Sustainable Health Care

Whether it’s telemedicine or digital self-management support, both projects demonstrate how technology can assist people and health care professionals without replacing in-person care.

In light of demographic change, the rising number of chronic diseases, and the shortage of skilled workers, such approaches could be key building blocks of sustainable health care in the future. Research at the FHV thus provides valuable insights into how digital innovations can help design healthcare to be more patient-centered, efficient, and accessible.  

Contact 

Dr. Katrin PALDAN
Senior Scientist & Group Team Lead

+43 5572 792 3791
katrin.paldan@fhv.at