Roundtable No°8 | 2024: Science or Science Fiction? The Future of Patient Monitoring
Note: The next roundtable will take place in the new year under the title “Patient monitoring and alarm management: Adverse events and “collateral damage”” on January 23rd in the BIH (Berlin Institute of Health) Digital Labs. If you are interested, you can register here for in-person or online participation!
One more thing that is very important to us: To continue offering exciting roundtables in 2025, we kindly ask for your feedback: Your feedback is extremely important to us in order to further improve the Patient Monitoring Roundtable. We’d greatly appreciate it if you could take 5 minutes to participate in our survey. Thank you very much!
On November 28, the 8th Patient Monitoring Roundtable took place at the Einstein Center Digital Future under the inspiring theme “Science or Science Fiction? The Future of Patient Monitoring.” As the grand finale of the three-part event series “Patient Monitoring – past, present and future”, this last event of 2024 offered a platform to develop visions and ideas for the future of patient monitoring.
Envisioning the Future - A Glimpse into 2055
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”
Guided by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s visionary thought we delved into potential developments in patient monitoring up to the year 2055 with Sascha Dannenberg, a futurist from FU Berlin. Using the backcasting method (as proposed by Geels and Schot), participants explored how social and technological innovations could shape future healthcare systems.
This method emphasizes that innovations never arise in isolation but are always rooted within a sociotechnical system.
Three Key Themes - Three Visions for the Future
The workshops focused on three pivotal points that could profoundly transform the world of patient monitoring:
AI & Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS)
Regulation: Legally compliant, sustainable, and privacy-focused AI applications.
Acceptance: Transparent, trustworthy AI models and integration with holistic medicine.
Technology: Standardized, bias-free systems to optimize clinical decision-making.
Wireless Monitoring
Future of 2055: Wireless monitoring is universally established, data-secure, and governed by clear legal frameworks.
Societal Drivers: Demand for outpatient care and preventive medicine fuels wireless technologies.
Technology: Miniaturized sensors and innovative power sources make wireless monitoring accessible and efficient.
Hospital @ Home
Policy and Society: Cultural shifts and political measures promote acceptance of home-based healthcare.
Technology: Contactless monitoring systems and robust networks enable decentralized care.
Education: Prevention and health literacy become essential for success.
Shaping the Future Together
With clear insights and inspiring visions, the roundtable was a worthy end to 2024. The event once again underlined how important collaboration between science, technology and society is in order to make the healthcare system fit for the future.
And so, we move into the new year with renewed enthusiasm: on January 23 2025, we will meet at the BIH Digital Labs to write the next chapters in health innovation.
Let’s continue shaping the future - hand in hand, with courage and vision.
Many thanks to all participants for their enriching contributions and to Sascha Dannenberg, whose expertise made this evening possible. Special thanks go to the Stiftung Charité and the Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF) for supporting this successful event.
The Patient Monitoring Roundtable is organized and hosted by INCH e.V. (Initiative for Innovation and Collaboration in Healthcare e.V.) in collaboration with the Institute for Medical Informatics at Charité – University Medicine Berlin.