Photo: The European Society of Cardiology at Radical Health Festival Helsinki 2023.
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and Radical Health Festival Helsinki continue their partnership for the upcoming event on 22-23 May, 2024, in Helsinki. ESC was the Lead Clinical Partner for the first-ever Radical Health Festival Helsinki in June 2023. The partnership is natural as ESC, one of the largest medical societies in the world with over 120,000 members, wants to play an active role in healthcare digitalisation.
Health Capital Helsinki had the opportunity to sit down with President of the European Society of Cardiology, Professor Franz Weidinger, and Professor Gerhard Hindricks, Chair of the Digital Health Committee of ESC.The professors explain that the partnership with Radical Health Festival Helsinki came about in a pretty straightforward manner: one of ESC’s strategic aims is to increase competence in digital health – and Radical Health Festival Helsinki fits the bill perfectly.“We feel very strongly that the digital approach is the way to go and wanted to expand our network,” says Professor Hindricks.Hindricks believes that the word ‘radical’ is an apt choice for the event:“The radical approach means that you question all the elements of traditional healthcare,” he says, adding that this attitude was well in evidence throughout the first-ever Festival in June, 2023.Professor Franz Weidinger, President of the European SocietyProfessor Gerhard Hindricks, Chair of the Digital Health Committee of ESC
Eye on Finland and new technologies
Professor Weidinger points out that as ESC has 57 member countries, the capabilities in the digital arena do vary quite a bit.“We’re happy to be in Finland which is very advanced in this regard,” says Weidinger, during his first-time visit to Finland in June 2023.Weidinger and Hindricks feel that new technologies such as artificial intelligence will certainly shape the face of healthcare a great deal – even though we do not yet know what the overall impact will be.
Digitalisation will definitely disrupt a lot – and we want to play an active role.
“The answer is not there yet, but in addition to developing algorithms we need both human eye and clinical judgement,” says Weidinger.The best-case scenario is that digital tools will automate a lot of the everyday routines and give doctors more time to take care of their patients, instead of being immersed in paperwork and red tape.“The focus on patients has been neglected lately. It’s time to reverse this trend,” Weidinger says.“Digitalisation will definitely change a lot, disrupt a lot – and we want to play an active role in this process,” adds Hindricks.
Revising digital roadmap
The ESC has certainly been placing extra emphasis on all things digital in recent years, starting with the composing of the first digital footprint strategy in 2016.“We’re now working on the digital roadmap for the next five years that will cover R&D, applications and science in the cardiovascular field,” says Hindricks.The professors perceive many signals of change in Health & Wellbeing: for example, in the post-Covid world, the physical distance between a treating physician and the patient can be bridged with technology, with telemonitoring tools now proving their mettle.“We feel that this is something that the patients mainly benefit from,” says Weidinger.Weidinger also heads the ESC task force on Big Data.“We look into things such as wearables and administrative data banks to see how data can improve care.”
The focus on patients has been neglected lately. It’s time to reverse this trend.
Photo: The first Radical Health Festival Helsinki gathered over 1,000 delegates from 30 countries.
Metaverse emerging
Another key area is the use of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (VR & AR) solutions to educate and train healthcare professionals.“Teaching in metaverse classrooms is definitely coming, it’s just a matter of time,” says Hindricks, eager to “go meta” himself.The professors are also excited about the possibilities inherent in electronic health records which could, conceivably, place all the relevant patient info in the hands of just the right experts.“We are well on track to perform a transnational harmonisation of health records, to boost both patient care and research,” says Hindricks.
Welcome to Helsinki, ESC!
Save the date: The next Radical Health Festival Helsinki takes place on 22-23 May, 2024.
The 2024 edition of Radical Health Festival Helsinki, with the overarching theme ‘Deploying Precision and Prevention at Scale,’ builds upon the successful event in June 2023. It will feature a diverse and thought-provoking programme with workshops, talks, and interactive experiences spanning topics from artificial intelligence to mental health and cybersecurity.Read more:
ESC and Radical Health Festival Helsinki Renew Partnership, Celebrating Continued Collaboration in May 2024 Festival
Radical Health Festival Helsinki returns for second edition in 2024
The first Radical Health Festival Helsinki was a success
Text: Sami J. AnteroinenHealth Capital Helsinki
