In a newly published white paper, Health Hub Vienna provides a comprehensive overview of Digital Health in Austria, with a special focus on the role of digital innovations in combating the pandemic. More than ever, innovative solutions and “thinking outside the box” with a short innovation cycle are needed! The white paper highlights some already successful implementations of digital health solutions and calls for committed action to sustain the progress made.

Health Hub Vienna staff conducted a series of interviews with healthcare professionals and asked them about their challenges and experiences with specific use cases of digital health solutions. The prevailing opinion is that the last six months have seen the growth of a decade and that it is important to preserve this progress and actively establish a new standard.

Digital Health on the rise

The COVID-19 pandemic changed healthcare in Austria and around the world dramatically in a very short period of time. The crisis required rapid changes in procedures to adapt to the measures set in place and minimize the impact of the coronavirus. Digital health technologies have played a pioneering role in this process.

COVID, as a trigger, has enabled healthcare experts to gain insight into the vast possibilities of digital health solutions and address the challenges they face in practice.

The role of startups

The paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the role of digital health solutions in the Austrian healthcare system in nine main areas, additionally highlighting ideas related to the role of startups, the landscape of legal and regulatory frameworks, and technical infrastructure, and discussing approaches for national efforts toward a digital health innovation strategy.

Ultimately, the paper calls for committed action by all decision makers to sustain and build on the progress that has been made – so that what many see as the growth of a decade is not lost.

The white paper can be downloaded from the Health Hub Vienna website.