In the field of cardiology
Cardiology can also greatly benefit from digital health. I would focus on the value it can bring in combating the queen of chronic conditions, heart failure, one of the most prevalent diseases, with a post-discharge mortality rate of close to 50%, which consumes up to 10% of hospital beds and accounts for 5% of emergency hospital admissions, generating 2% of national healthcare expenditure.
Here, it is possible to monitor patients with heart failure or intermittent claudication, who, for example, can be monitored remotely for the first six months after hospital admission, avoiding travel and reducing hospital readmissions.
And within the hospital, the implementation of cardiology information systems allows us to eliminate old silos where departments managed patient records in isolation (supporting an ecosystem of difficult-to-manage electro-medical devices, each with its own software) and move towards the creation of interoperable systems that manage workflows from end to end, from patient admission to report generation or clinical follow-up.
In reality, all branches or specialities can apply digital health in a similar way. However, it is true that cardiology may require greater speed and precision in certain cases, which means that diagnoses can be more critical. Here, artificial intelligence can help doctors interpret electrocardiograms and detect pathologies or patterns invisible to the human eye. In the event of a “heart attack code”, information systems allow emergency departments, haemodynamics units and medical transport to be connected and coordinated to provide the rapid response that is required.
The future of digital health linked to cardiology
The future looks set to move towards the implementation of all emerging technologies, combining them with each other, which will significantly improve cardiology. And let’s not forget areas such as precision medicine, which, by combining this discipline with genetics, will enable personalised treatments to be offered to each patient.
Challenges
The same as other specialities, but the main obstacle is breaking down the barrier to change in the way patients are treated with the implementation of these technologies. There is also the economic cost of implementing them, although their benefits can also be measured in terms of savings.
Potential security breaches will be another sensitive issue, as will the dilemma of how to process the data that will be generated. And, of course, compliance with standards to ensure the interoperability of all of them.
The technologies that are helping the most
In addition to those already mentioned, I would mention the impact that wearables, ECG monitors (essential medical devices that record the electrical activity of the heart over time) and smart bracelets are having in detecting arrhythmias, not just measuring heart rate. These devices are evolving by leaps and bounds and combining communications networks for overall cardiac health care.
It would be strange not to mention the evolution of AI in diagnosis, with some algorithms already allowing the identification of aspects such as ventricular dysfunction, or the emergence of digital twins, which allow the patient’s heart to be simulated in order to predict their response to certain treatments.
