Health 2.0 Workshop at the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations General Assembly: A Starting Point for Raising Awareness About the Relationship Between Information Communication Technology and Health Care Among Medical Students.
Abstract
Health care has been deeply transformed by the Digital Revolution at every level and many new paradigms allowed bythe application of information and Communication Technologies in medicine are already mainstreamed in everyday
medical practice. e-Health allows a more patients centred, data driven, delivery of care, with big economical and
efficiency improvements, for both high- and low income countries.
It is fundamental that awareness about the changes introduced by e-Health and its ethical and practical consequences
raise among medical students, as the following generation of health professionals.
The International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) represents the biggest medical students
association in the world and its aim is to arrange debates and discussions among medical students all over the world
about the impact of ICTs over Health Care, another great importance is to educate a generation towards professional
health awareness and confidence about the radical changes carried on by the correct usage of these technologies.
During the 63rd General Assembly, in Hammamet, Tunisia, the Federation has started a long term effort to advocate
about e-Health with specific initiatives. Health 2.0 Workshop was organized to give the participants a background on
the several innovations introduced by ICTs. The workshop themes spanning from relationship between patients, doctors
and technology, devices and software, movements like Quantified Self, including medical education and research. Other
topics were also low-income backgrounds, and examples such as virtual simulation and Open Access platforms, Big
Data, Digital Epidemiology and the effects on Public Health and many others. The IFMSA enables a student movement
of passionate future health leaders and emphasizes the role of youth in the global mobilizing for health in the post-2015
development agenda, the theme of the General Assembly. IFMSA strongly believes that this contribution to promote
the enforcement of Universal Health Coverage will have an impact on health-care delivery, public health, research and
health-related activities, as stated in the e-Health Policy Statement approved during the General Assembly.
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Copyright (c) 2014 Angelo Francesco D'Ambrosio, Stefan Buttigieg, Alexander Carlström, Omar Cherkaoui, Ivana Di Salvo
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