Ageing Populations and the Importance of Interoperability and Connected Solutions
Ageing populations are a Europe-wide concern and are a particular issue for under-pressure healthcare systems. Research from the European Commission suggests the median age in the EU-27 will increase by 4.5 years by 2050 (EC). Over the same period, the old-age dependency ratio will reach 56.7%. At this point, there will be fewer than two working-age persons for every older person (EC). While increasing demand for healthcare services, this demographic shift raises other concerns, such as increased multimorbidity rates.
As part of its focus on interoperability and connected solutions, the upcoming E-Health in Norway (EHiN) conference, which takes place from the 12th to the 13th of November, 2024, will explore the ways innovative e-health solutions can help resolve the sector’s most pressing issues. In the context of ageing populations and multimorbidity, Omda Medialab is playing a particularly interesting and significant role in achieving this.
The Omda Medialab solution enables healthcare professionals across diverse medical disciplines, healthcare facilities and geographical regions to store, share, view and use medical images and other documents. Today, healthcare systems remain fragmented and crucial data is often siloed, complicating processes and resulting in substandard patient outcomes. Omda Medialab offers an effective solution to this problem. It also assists healthcare systems in tackling some of the sector’s most pressing challenges.
Ageing populations and the issue of multimorbidity
While the demographic shift towards older EU populations is well documented, its impact on healthcare services remains relatively under-publicised. One of the most concerning challenges associated with ageing populations is higher rates of multimorbidity. Older patients typically require more medical treatment and care than younger citizens, and multimorbidity (the coexistence of two or more chronic conditions) is significantly higher in older adults. Recent studies show that multimorbidity affects:
- 28% of people aged under 59 years
- 47.6% of people aged 59 to 73 years
- 67% of people aged 74 years and over.
Multimorbidity is associated with a greater risk of death, disability, poor quality of life and adverse drug events. If medical professionals operating in different specialities cannot collaborate and coordinate, effective diagnosis and treatment of individuals with multimorbidity is exceptionally difficult. Without a means of facilitating improved collaboration, inadequate processes for handling multimorbidity will exacerbate the strain ageing populations place on struggling healthcare systems.
Connecting healthcare professionals for a comprehensive patient view
Omda Medialab tackles these challenges head-on, providing healthcare providers with a digital connected healthcare system that enables easy image and document sharing and provides professionals with a holistic view of a patient. Crucially, it does so without costly integrations. Unlike other document sharing platforms, it goes beyond a simple file storage system and incorporates the tools and viewers required to access, view and utilise the documents and images. This drastically streamlines workflows and ensures those responsible for providing care and treatment have access to all relevant information without having to access multiple systems.
The connected healthcare solution facilitates the sharing of a wide range of files and documents, including ECGs, DICOM files, images, videos and prescribed medications. This last point is particularly important, as older patients with multimorbidity are at higher risk of adverse reactions to certain medications. While improved patient outcomes are a clear benefit, so too are improved efficiency, reduced costs and more effective use of healthcare professionals’ time.
For instance, in the case of individuals who suffer heart attacks, it is not uncommon for multiple ECGs to be taken over a short period as the patient moves through the healthcare system, from emergency response to specialist care at the hospital. This occurs simply because there is no mechanism for sharing the original ECG between healthcare departments. Were Omda Medialab in place, all medical professionals would have secure access to the original scan, reducing unnecessary resource use and enabling quicker decision-making in a situation where time is of the essence.
By connecting healthcare professionals and ensuring healthcare information, data and images are available to all relevant stakeholders, Omda Medialab equips clinicians with the tools they require to better understand and treat patients with multimorbidity. This connected healthcare platform simplifies workflows and processes, improves access to information, and enables more effective collaboration. In some cases, it speeds up response and reduces resource usage, potentially making the difference in time-sensitive cases and driving efficiencies without compromising care provision. In other words, it is an effective solution to the issue of fragmented and siloed healthcare systems and will play a pivotal role in ensuring healthcare providers can overcome many of the critical challenges the sector faces.
Omda Connected Imaging at EHiN 2024
The Omda Connected Imaging team will attend the EHiN conference from the 12th to the 13th of November, 2024 and would be delighted to discuss how Omda Medialab can help your organisation. The team will be present at Stand C1 throughout the event. If you’d like to prearrange a meeting, please get in touch via the contact details below or click here to see the EHiN info page.
