Right now, health services opt to acquire electronic information systems that store patients’ clinical records; these are of a closed nature and need to be continually adapted and, in some cases, replaced by other more modern ones when new functionalities can no longer be incorporated. This practice entails considerable economic cost, and does not guarantee, either, that a new version may not end up obsolete in the future.
“If I had to give an example, I would say that the current electronic clinical record systems would be comparable with the early ‘closed’ mobile telephony systems that came onto the market, whereas the e-health platform would be akin to today’s smartphones,” explained the engineer Aitor Eguzkitza. “The early mobile phones included the same basic functions for all users, whereas smartphones, apart from the basic services, can incorporate apps depending on the specific needs of each user. What is more, these apps are compatible with mobile phone models provided by different manufacturers. In other words, each health system would be able to personalise its own system and include new parameters without having to acquire another more powerful terminal”.
