ABSTRACT
Background: COVID-19 has changed the scene for the healthcare system. Most healthcare systems were strained for resource generation, distribution and reallocation during the pandemic as well as in the post-pandemic era.
Objective: This chapter aims to analyze how recent developments in the regulatory frameworks in Germany, Italy, Denmark and China are changing for digital healthcare solutions and whether these changes can facilitate the implementation of digital health solutions. Furthermore, recent developments in AI require multi-modal data to generate insights, particularly in the area of personalized medicine, digital twins and clinical trials. Development in technology poses a higher challenge for data interoperability and for the healthcare system.
Methods: The discussion focuses on the analysis of unmet challenges in the healthcare system in China and in selected countries in Europe, regarding the demand for telehealth solutions and the supply of such solutions. The chapter describes general trends for telehealth solutions in Europe and China, the features of healthcare systems in selected parts of China and in some countries in Europe, the target market for telehealth in China and Europe, and the policy incentives for developing telehealth solutions. Denmark, Germany and Italy have been taken as a sample for the healthcare systems in the EU to make a contrast on the degree of digitalization of the healthcare system, and the market potential for Internet of Healthcare solutions.
Results: This chapter arrives at a conclusion that both Europe and China can benefit from the adoption of smart health solutions. China and Europe are still struggling to deal with providing care for the elderly at home. Unequal healthcare qualities have resulted from the lack of benchmarking of services in their healthcare systems. This provides a scope for telehealth solutions to fill in the gap to provide care for the elderly in home settings, improve data interoperability in the healthcare system and provide healthcare service providers with quality benchmarking.
