Abstract
Although it has been possible to transfer electrocardiograms via a phone line for more than 100 years, use of internet-based patient monitoring and communication systems in daily care is uncommon. Despite the introduction of numerous health-monitoring devices, and despite most patients having internet access, the implementation of individualised healthcare services is still limited. On the other hand, hospitals have invested heavily in massive information systems offering limited value for money and connectivity. However, the consumer market for personal healthcare devices is developing rapidly and with the current healthcare-related investments by tech companies it can be expected that the way healthcare is provided will change dramatically. Although a variety of initiatives under the banner of ‘e-Health’ are deployed, most are characterised by either industry-driven developments without proven clinical effectiveness or individual initiatives lacking the embedding within the traditional organisations. However, the introduction of numerous smart devices and internet-based technologies facilitates the fundamental redesign of healthcare based on the principle of achieving the best possible care for the individual patient at the lowest possible cost.Conclusion The way healthcare is delivered will change, but to what degree healthcare professionals together with patients will be able to redesign healthcare in a structured manner is still a question.
Highlights
110 years ago, Willem Einthoven was the first person to use telemedicine by sending clinically obtained ECGs by telephone to his laboratory located outside the hospital, because his ECG machine was not allowed on the wards [1]
Neth Heart J (2016) 24:441–446 the costs of the commercially available hospital information systems (HIS), it is remarkable that hospitals are still willing to invest enormous amounts of money and human resources in generic mainstream systems, offering limited value on investment whereas it can be expected that in the near future information will be stored in the cloud and networked distributed applications will provide optimal support for treating individual patients
The leading principle as stated by Porter in 2012 should be: ‘achieving high value for patients must become the overarching goal of healthcare delivery, with value defined as the health outcomes achieved per dollar spent’ [15]
Summary
110 years ago, Willem Einthoven was the first person to use telemedicine by sending clinically obtained ECGs by telephone to his laboratory located outside the hospital, because his ECG machine was not allowed on the wards [1]. Laboratory results, diagnostic images and patient records became available online in most hospitals and it became possible to exchange data between healthcare providers. General practitioners (GP) use PCs to record patient data, and currently 98 % of Dutch GPs are storing information in electronic health records.
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