ZOOM: Caring technology

Technology for healthcare and supportIt is impossible today to think of any healthcare or personal support that does not resort to technology. Think, for instance, about the sensors to prevent people falling, video-consultations, wearables that monitor the parameters of your body and the various applications used for your health and well-being.Digital technology modifies both a person’s healthcare and support as well as our behaviour and the manner in which healthcare professionals and the public communicate with each other.All of these technological tools and support aids collect data about the user, patient or client. But who does what with the data collected in this way?What about personal privacy? With which principles must the technological innovations of today and tomorrow comply? How can we anticipate and prepare for these developments, instead of simply sustaining one wave of technology after another?The Fund Dr Daniël De Coninck and the King Baudouin Foundation assembled stakeholders from various horizons to consider the « Teckno 2030 » project. The participants developed a framework to be used for technologies relating to personal healthcare and support. Eight guiding principles form the basis of this framework: the Caring Technology Principles.