Biomedical innovation is at the forefront of the healthcare digital transformation, driving advances like interoperability models or e-prescriptions, among others, and taking on challenges like the monitoring of clinical tests, e-signing of clinical research contracts or bringing work into line with the new data-protection regulatory framework. All these aspects have been dealt with in a working day organized by the healthcare-development foundation called Fundación IDIS, in which GMV took part as technological partner, and with the collaboration of Farmaindustria, the Spanish Association for the Pharmaceutical Industry, the Spanish Federation of Healthcare Technology Firms (Federación Española de Empresas de Tecnología Sanitaria: FENIN) and the Spanish Association of Biocompanies (Asociación Española de Bioempresas: ASEBIO).

All present at the debate were unanimous about the crucial role of the digital transformation and the integration of technological systems in all the following aspects: improving healthcare results and boosting efficiency; tapping into the huge advantages being offered by mass analysis and processing techniques, in order to set up predictive models based on technologies like Big data, Smart data, Machine Learning, etc; synchronous and asynchronous telemedicine or vital signs monitoring and the control of chronic illnesses with platforms like the GMV-developed antari. Farmaindustria hailed HARMONY as an example of a cutting-edge biomedical project. Harmony is a research project focusing on hematologic malignancies, where GMV is developing a Big Data platform as the only technology partner of the alliance.

Another of the burning issues dealt with was the need to strike the right balance between data protection and the development of biomedical research, to ensure that an over-zealous approach to the former does not cramp the style of the latter. Carlos Royo, GMV’s Healthcare Strategy Manager, forcefully made the point that “just as we donate our organs, why can’t I donate my clinical records for research into a chronic illness I suffer from?”

ICTs, applied to healthcare systems, are proving to be a necessary tool in the struggle to cut down the relapse rate in certain illnesses, pinpoint risk groups or involve patients in the care of their own health. Indeed, it is reckoned that an empowered patient cuts costs by between 8 and 21%, while also improving care and monitoring of the illness due to the patient’s joint responsibility for his or her own health.

From the Biotech industry the president of ASEBIO stressed the great progress now being made by diagnostic processes thanks to the obtaining of huge volumes of patient data in a clinical environment (Big Data) and its processing with technological tools that enable vital decision-making, diagnosis and prescription information to be extracted from all this data.