Research from the Athena Institute and Amsterdam UMC highlights the unintended consequences of digitalisation in the Dutch healthcare system
Professors Teun Zuiderent-Jerak (Athena Institute) and Christine Dedding (Amsterdam, UMC), shared insights with de Volkskrant from their studies on how digital tools, such as hospital check-in kiosks and health apps, are affecting people's ability to access to care.
Although digitalisation is often promoted as a solution to staff shortages and system inefficiency, their research shows that it can unintentionally exclude patients who need care most. One in five Dutch citizens struggles to navigate digital systems, including individuals with limited digital literacy, people with physical impairments, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Challenges in navigating digital systems can result in missed appointments, reduced access to services, and increased anxiety in healthcare environments. Today, people from the upper class live an average of seven years (men) to eight years (women) longer than people from the lowest socio-economic class, and spend up to 24 more years in good health. If digitisation isn't done properly, it will result in stark differences in healthcare outcomes in the coming years.
Zuident-Jerak and Dedding emphasise the need for a fundamental shift in how healthcare technologies are designed. Rather than assuming that those most at risk of exclusion will eventually adapt, digital tools must be developed that reflect the diversity of patient experiences from the outset. Inclusive design, informed by real-world challenges, is essential to ensure that digitalisation supports equity rather than deepening existing disparities.