540 - HLTH Europe 2025 Feature Episode: Leveraging Technology for Community and Home-Based Care

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, host Peter Birch speaks with healthcare leaders and innovators, including Auður Gudmundsdottir from Reykjavik City, Paula Bellostas Muguerza from Kearney, and fellow podcast host Shubs, along with Sophie Turner as co-host. The episode explores the digital transformation of community care services in Iceland, global efforts in women's health equity, practical challenges for clinicians working in health tech, and the impact of innovation in underserved populations.This episode was recorded during HLTH Europe 2025 in Amsterdam. To catch all the discussions that Talking HealthTech had during HLTH, including discussions with all the Australian organisations participating on the ANDHealth delegation, visit a dedicated playlist on our YouTube channel.Key Takeaways

👴 Digital Transformation in Community Care: Reykjavik is implementing digital health solutions to assist elderly residents stay independent at home, including video visits, automated medication dispensers, and remote rehabilitation. Challenges include workforce shortages, shifting staff mindsets, and the need for national strategy.🏥 Scaling Technology in Care Delivery: There is a significant opportunity to expand remote care models, with estimates that up to 40% of current home nursing could be delivered through technology-enabled services.🤰 Women's Health Equity on a Global Stage: Women's health remains a critical topic globally, with a focus on making systemic changes in clinical research, guideline development, investment, and practical steps organisations can take daily. The importance of investment to drive real innovation was highlighted.👩‍⚕️ Role of Clinicians in Digital Health: Integrating clinicians into health tech teams requires a shift from token advisory roles to active participation in product development and quality improvement. Building collaborative relationships before formalising processes helps generate better outcomes.🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Underserved Communities and Technology Implementation: Global lessons can be learnt from the use of digital health and AI in low- and middle-income settings. Emphasising context-specific solutions and working backwards from real community needs is more effective than technology-driven interventions.Timestamps00:00 - 01:26 Introduction01:28 - 14:53 Audur Gudmundsdottir, Reykjavík City Welfare Department14:57 - 23:00 Paula Bellostas Muguerza, Kearney23:04 - 36:10 Shubs Upadhyay, Global Perspectives on Digital HealthCheck out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.

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