Networking for the future of healthcare: Highlights and solutions from Digital Health Ljubljana

07. 02. 2024

On February 5 and 6, 2024, Ljubljana Technology Park brought together stakeholders from the broader healthcare ecosystem to share challenges, knowledge and solutions for the transformation of healthcare at the Digital Health Ljubljana 2024 conference. With over 150 participants, including entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, researchers and clinicians, as well as more than 20 innovative start-ups from seven countries, the event was a catalyst to further advance the ecosystem and find systemic solutions in healthcare together.

"We are particularly proud of the commitment of our tech startups and the great guests who travelled from half of Europe to share their insights and visions with us. We are also very pleased that we have more visitors from the healthcare industry every year. The event has proven that we need a broader community to move us towards a better connected and more efficient healthcare system," Rebeka Žerovnik, conference director of the two-day event, enthusiastically summarised.

Groundbreaking solutions from start-ups

On the first day, the Show of Innovation took place, where start-ups presented their ground-breaking solutions to forge strategic partnerships and shape the future together. They presented themselves to a large number of investors and also found discussion partners from the healthcare industry.

You can see their presentation in the startup catalogue. URBAN TECH Journey of solution providers: Infographic overview of activities.

Focus on the patient

We witnessed two stories that highlighted the cracks in the healthcare system. They illustrated that even the best healthcare systems, like Israel's, are failing.

Roi Shternin, a renowned patient rights advocate from Israel, challenged us to go beyond mere words and focus on the patient. A real focus on the patient should be the backbone of our business models, not just an advertising slogan. I myself was bedridden for seven years because I was not taken seriously as a young man, while ChatGPT diagnosed him in seconds.

"I would like to see a Chief Patient Officer in Slovenia next year, but above all I would like to see doctors trained in compassion and empathy," emphasised Shternin.

This was followed by another personal story of Goran Dumić, who turned adversity into triumph by helping his child overcome epilepsy on his own by collecting and analysing data when the healthcare system failed.

The use of data must be patient-centred

A variety of projects that use data to improve the patient experience were presented at the event.

"At Better, we are always looking for innovative partners with whom we can develop trends together. The Digital Health Ljubljana conference is one such event where important topics in the field of digital health are discussed and where we find out what trends are happening abroad," said Tomaž Gornik, owner and founder of Better and co-chair of openEHR International.

In his presentation, he said that it is crucial for the future that the data collected throughout the lifecycle is focused on the patient and not on apps or institutions. This is demonstrated by the examples of Catalonia, where a shared electronic medicine record in more than 60 hospitals in the region will enable safer prescribing and better care for patients, and the example of London, where 10 million Londoners will be better served with one health plan.

Artificial intelligence is an effective helper

10% of hospital patients suffer adverse events, 40% of which could have been prevented, emphasises Jakob Pieber from Predicting Health GmbH. They are working on changing clinical decision-making through personalised artificial intelligence. They use 600 parameters in individual patients, which the app uses to predict whether and how at risk the patients are. The app makes predictions, not diagnoses.

The technology is increasingly accessible

Valentin Alcañiz from Illumina presented genome sequencing and said: 'If in 2001 it cost 100 million dollars to test a genome, today, with the help of the new technology, it costs 200 dollars One of these devices is also used at the Ljubljana Clinical Centre.

Your chance to contribute to the transformation of healthcare

We invite you to join our growing community of experts, innovators and visionaries who are working towards a more connected, efficient and compassionate healthcare system. Together, we can shape the future of healthcare by sharing knowledge and experience and collaborating to develop solutions that improve people's lives. Do not miss the opportunity to become part of this dynamic community. Join us and together we will make a difference. If you would like to become part of the community, please contact Rebecca Žerovnik, rebeka.zerovnik@tp-lj.si, 040 886 727.

PHOTO GALLERY

Support from sponsors

We would like to thank our sponsors Better and SRC for contributing to the success of this event.

Juicy Marbles, Radenska Adriatic and Optifarm provided the culinary experience.