EIT Health Morning Health Talks focus on training healthcare professionals for smart healthcare practice

The first of the EIT Health Morning Health Talks of 2023 took place on 14 June. The topic of this talk was medical professional training for smart healthcare practice.

During the talk, experts Paula Veikkolainen, a researcher at the University of Oulu, Pauliina Hyrkäs, a development manager at Istekki (an information, health, and wellness technology expert organisation), and Pauls Siliņš, co-creator of Riga TechGirls, shared their experience from Finland and Latvia respectively in preparing medical professionals for smart healthcare practice. 

The presentations were followed by a moderated discussion on the daily experience of Latvian healthcare institutions. Siliņš was joined by Aleksandrs Oborins, a simulation instructor at the Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) Medical Education Technology Centre and Zoja Osipova, a manager of functional specialists at the Vaivari National Rehabilitation Centre.

The first of the EIT Health Morning Health Talks of 2023 took place on 14 June. The topic of this talk was training medical professionals for smart healthcare practice

After a brief introduction of the Finnish health care system and the Finnish MEDigi project (2018-2021) Veikkolainen gave an insight into a study about eHealth competence building for future doctors and nurses that described the attitudes of medical and nursing students towards digital health.

Hyrkäs introduced listeners to the Finnish experience in engaging healthcare professionals in innovation activities. While healthcare organisations are expected to make use of advanced technology and innovations, the complex context and traditional structures of healthcare, including hierarchies and bureaucracies, can impede the flow of information and agile development cooperation among different actors. She further pointed out factors enabling innovation activities in a public university hospital such as unified practices, adequate authorisation, supportive culture, expertise in innovation management.

Siliņš introduced Riga TechGirls, a community in Latvia dedicated to educating and inspiring girls and women about technology, and their experience in organising the education programme "Cilvēcīgi par tehnoloģijām" for healthcare professionals. The programme was aimed at healthcare professionals with the goal of teaching participants different possibilities of using technology in their field of work.

The pandemic had made it clear that healthcare professionals lack digital skills. Learning technology and digital skills can be essential to improving the quality of service, implementing technological solutions to patient-centered care, and improving the balance of how healthcare professionals organise their work.

Acquiring digital skills and new technologies should be made at a gradual pace, simultaneously developing a more unified national strategy of progress and a supporting ecosystem. 

The EIT Health Morning Health Talks are dedicated to convening regional leaders to help map best practices and common challenges of digital health solutions. The primary audience of talks held in Latvia are senior managers of hospitals and medical staff.

Since 2020 The EIT Health Morning Health Talks are organized by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT Health) representation hub in Latvia (EIT RIS Hub), that is coordinated by Riga Stradiņš University International Department.