The Digital Lab, a key player in Wallonia's digital strategy, invites you to take a closer look at digital health with this new issue: "Santé numérique: entre promesses technologiques et réalités de terrain". This invitation follows an evening debate and an episode of its podcast "Échos Numériques".
This 10th issue comprises 4 chapters, each exploring a specific facet of digital health from technological, organisational, ethical and human perspectives.
Chapter 1. The wellbeing paradox of self-tracking technologies
Written by Lisa Baiwir (ULiège), the first chapter focuses on the individual experience that each of us can have with healthrelated technologies. The author draws on recent research to show how excessive or poorly supervised use can be harmful to mental health. She identifies different user profiles, analyzes the motivational mechanisms at work, and proposes approaches for more responsible design of these technologies. This chapter invites critical reflection on the use of digital tools in the intimate sphere of health.
Chapter 2. Key issues in the use and processing of health data
In the second chapter, Nicolas Neysen (HEC Liège-ULiège) and Bruno le Marchand present the issues related to the collection, processing, and sharing of health data. This data, which is increasingly abundant and varied, is essential for the functioning of the applications mentioned in the first chapter, but above all, and more broadly, for medical research, healthcare management, and the development of artificial intelligence. However, it also raises complex questions about confidentiality, consent, interoperability, and security. This chapter proposes a typology of health data, examines its use in research, and details the technical, legal, and ethical challenges associated with it.
Chapter 3. Cybersecurity in the healthcare sector: challenges and strategies for increased resilience
In the third chapter, Nina Hasratyan and Pascal Poty (Agence du Numérique) delve deeper into a crucial issue for data: cybersecurity in healthcare facilities. This chapter provides an overview of cyber threats on hospitals and other medical facilities, drawing on concrete examples from Belgium and abroad. It analyzes the specific vulnerabilities of the sector, recent legal obligations, and the organizational responses that have been put in place. The emphasis is on the need for a proactive approach based on resource sharing, staff training, and the
implementation of appropriate technical solutions. This chapter also highlights the role of regional and federal actors in supporting healthcare institutions towards greater digitalresilience.
Chapter 4. The EpiCURA approach to innovation in digital health: context, examples, and prospects
Finally, to show that it is indeed possible to get the most out of new technologies in healthcare by asking the right questions, we will delve into the experience of the EpiCURA Hospital Center, a Belgian institution committed to a structured approach to digital innovation. Through a rigorous and participatory methodology, EpiCURA has
established innovation governance that integrates healthcare professionals, patients, academic and industrial partners. This chapter describes the stages of the innovation process, the concrete projects implemented, and the
results of a qualitative study conducted among hospital staff. It also proposes a charter of values governing the use of AI within an ethical and human framework. EpiCURA’s approach illustrates how an institution can reconcile
technological transformation and quality of care by placing people at the center of its concerns.