HiNZ keynote focuses on future of digital health

HiNZ keynote focuses on future of digital health in the 5G era

Date: 25 June 2018

Privacy and personal data protection will be key concerns for digital health in the 5G era, says HiNZ Conference 2018 keynote speaker Samson Tse.

Tse is a professor of mental health in the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at the University of Hong Kong and will be speaking at the HiNZ Conference 2018 on how 5G connectivity will impact the delivery of healthcare.

In his keynote speech, The amazing 5Gs: Debate, dialogue and future directions, Tse will consider the launch of fifth generation wireless systems, which promise a superfast mobile connection and an explosion in the number of connected devices.

He envisions a parallel rapid expansion in the collection of vast volumes of personal data in real time, from wearable and other technologies, and believes this new era presents both new opportunities and obligations.

In a time when a person’s every movement and health indicator can be remotely monitored, protecting personal privacy and data will be paramount.

Tse says providing access to real-time data will have significant beneficial impacts on research, but researchers will also need to grapple with the challenge of keeping the data confidential.

“It’s important to explain to patients their rights in terms of their privacy and to have clear boundaries, so they understand under what circumstances their data will be collected and used,” he says.

The accessibility of this data will also transform the traditional relationships between patients and clinicians, with health professionals providing options and guidance to patients to enable them to make their own decisions about their care.

“Patients, service users, caregivers will also have access to much more powerful data, so patients will be in a much stronger position to demand informed decision making, which will have a huge impact on health professional training as well,” says Tse.

He says the 5G environment will allow service providers to congregate data from multiple sources, putting health providers in a much stronger position to think about delivering healthcare services through the digital environment.

“It’s important that we don’t rush to just use the technology, but rather go back to the fundamental question which is why the healthcare services exist in the first place, what are the health problems we need to tackle and what are the person’s strengths we can mobilise to combat the condition?” says Tse.

The HiNZ annual conference is being held on 21–23 November 2018 at Wellington’s TSB Arena. Tse will be presenting there on the afternoon of Wednesday 21 November. That morning, he will also be speaking at the eAllied Health one-day event.

To read more about the HiNZ Conference 2018 click here >>
To read more about eAlliedHealth 2018 click here >>

URL link: https://www.hinz.org.nz/news/404996/HiNZ-keynote-focuses-on-future-of-digital-health-in-the-5G-era.htm

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