“Digitalisation is a global megatrend, and Norway is a role model for digital solutions in healthcare. In fact, Norway hosts many delegations from countries such as Germany that want to explore the latest digital health solutions,” states Sindre Holme, Head of Communications at Norway Health Tech, a leading industry cluster.

Holme goes on to mention the demographic changes putting pressure on an already strapped healthcare system. One of these is the “senior boom” in which people are living longer thanks to medical advancements, but many end up with chronic conditions that are resource intensive.

Combine this with the health workforce crisis in Europe. National health systems are struggling to keep up with the rising demand for healthcare, exacerbated by service backlogs, rising expectations from patients and health risks posed by climate change. By 2030, the World Health Organization (WHO) expects a global shortage of 10 million healthcare workers.

“There are not enough warm hands to treat all the patients, so more patients must be treated outside the hospital, ideally at home, using digital services,” explains Kim Mugaas, VP Sales at CheckWare, which delivers a software platform for digital patient participation.

Patient-reported data lies at the heart of the solution, which can be used for any service and any pathway. Designed for health trusts, hospitals and clinics, the platform provides access to all clinical and outcome measures needed in a given situation. Both mental and physical health services are included.

CheckWare empowers healthcare staff to provide high-quality care in less time, at a lower cost. They can follow up many more patients in the same amount of time. Others have reported a 57.4 per cent reduction in administrative time, improved waiting list priorities and a six-week reduction in time that premature newborns spend in hospital.

Dignio also delivers a software platform for home-based care. Using various Dignio home devices, chronically ill patients can measure their own temperature, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, blood sugar level, weight, and lung function and capacity. The results are sent to the MyDignio app on the patient’s tablet. If necessary, a doctor or nurse will contact the patient to discuss the results.

In the public sphere, Vestre Viken Hospital Trust in Norway has created a high-profile “virtual hospital.” Upon release from the actual hospital, patients can receive digital follow-up care at home for a variety of diseases, from atrial fibrillation and epilepsy to COPD and some types of cancer. Moreover, dialysis can be done at home, and orthopaedic surgeries can be followed up digitally. The virtual hospital is now being expanded to more people, in more regions and with different medical conditions.

For patients who must stay in care facilities, digital solutions create a safer, more comfortable environment. An excellent example is Vitalthings, which provides a digital supervision tool for nursing homes and eldercare. Known as Somnofy, the technology enables continuous monitoring of residents’ presence, sleep and restlessness with no camera and no equipment connected to the body.

In a newsworthy development, Vitalthings will launch Guardian M10 in third quarter 2024. Guardian M10 is the world’s first contactless patient monitor for measuring vital parameters in hospitals. It was created through Autoskår, an innovation collaboration between healthcare players that included St. Olavs Hospital, Vitalthings, and DNV Imatis, University Hospital of North Norway and Malvik Municipality.

Bliksund brings the digital revolution to emergency care. “It’s all about digital cooperation – sharing patient data with everyone involved. The data flows seamlessly from one end to the other, from dispatchers and paramedics to hospital personnel. We help all parts of the emergency care chain to work together,” says Janne T. Morstøl, CEO at Bliksund.

Its flagship product, EWA, consists of a tablet-based app for use in ambulances, a real-time display in emergency departments and a medical record server for secure storage of patient data. The system also integrates with emergency medical communication centres (EMCC). The company’s portfolio also includes GRID, an operational management system designed to streamline processes by replacing paper and disparate IT systems with a unified digital platform, and IncidentShare, a live video solution that enhances control and situational awareness during emergencies.

In hospitals, DNV Imatis delivers a mobile e-health solution that puts patient data at nurses’ fingertips. The solution aggregates data from hospital sensors and systems, such as electronic patient records, logistics and HR administration. Then healthcare workers can access this data in real time, regardless of their location, using tablets and smartphones, making hospitals a truly mobile workplace.

Complementing the mobile workplace, Sonitor Technologies delivers real-time location systems (RTLS) for hospitals and care facilities. An indoor positioning tool locates the exact real-time position of a patient, co-worker or asset, reducing search time and enhancing patient safety.

One company leveraging AI is Dossier Solutions, a provider of competency management software for hospitals. Most employees need ongoing professional training to do their jobs, but it’s difficult to keep track of who is qualified to do what in a large hospital. Adding to the challenge, competency information is often stored in Excel worksheets and loose-leaf binders.

The software enables hospitals to consolidate all their competency and learning activities in a single digital platform. The results are impressive. With Dossier Solutions, hospitals can save about USD 10 million over three years, reduce competency administration time by 65 per cent, and eliminate staff paperwork by 99 per cent.

Another AI-powered solution is Chiron Predictive Technologies (formerly SynPlan), a digital platform to optimise healthcare workforce planning. The solution predicts future sick-leave absence and budget expenses, making planning more efficient and keeping costs under control. For more precise staff scheduling, the platform processes all available sources of staffing data, which helps managers to set up shifts with confidence.

Already an innovator in digital health, Norway is set to increase its impact on the global digital health market, which is expected to reach USD 946 billion by 2030. The Norwegian health industry has some special advantages: cutting-edge AI and life science research, innovative startups and scaleups, and strong collaboration and clusters. In addition, robust government support and a world-class universal healthcare system make up the secret sauce behind Norway’s leadership in digital solutions.