While 2020 has been a challenging year, it has also shown the potential of a more digitalised world, particularly in healthcare and the management of chronic diseases such as allergy, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). New digital services have been developed, implemented and improved to meet the many needs of patients and healthcare professionals when consultations in person are not at hand.
As part of EFA’s Capacity Building Programme, on 23rd and 24th of October we organised the Allergy and Respiratory Patients Conference, where we explored the power of digitalisation and innovation to improve health services across Europe, and to empower allergy and respiratory patients in managing their care.
Digitalisation can play an important role in shifting healthcare to a patient-centred focus. But it also presents challenges in terms of regulations, policy framework, and access.
With the help of key opinion leaders, inspiring speakers and trainers working on allergy, asthma, and COPD, EFA provided allergy and respiratory patients with insights and tools to increase their confidence in taking a central role in their disease management through the ongoing digital revolution.
More than 150 participants from all over the world followed the open conference online and those participants who were EFA members and individual patients also took part in trainings on digital literacy.
As a result of these two exciting days, and thanks to the contribution of EFA members, EFA will draft a Declaration on Patient-centred Care through digitalisation.
Did you miss the Conference? You can find here the programme, recordings and presentations.