The smartHEALTH European Digital Innovation Hub experiences and challenges for accelerating the transformation of...

Digital innovation can significantly enhance public health services, environmental sustainability, and social welfare. To this end, the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) initiative was funded by the European Commission and national governments aiming to facilitate the digital transformation on various domains (including health) via the setup of relevant ecosystems consisting of academic institutions, research centres, start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, larger companies, public organizations, technology transfer offices, innovation clusters, and financial institutions. The ongoing goal of the EDIHs initiative is to bridge the gap between high-tech research taking place in universities and research centres and its deployment in real-world conditions by fostering innovation ecosystems. In this context, the smartHEALTH EDIH started its operation in Greece in 2023, offering technical consultation services to companies and public sector organizations to accelerate digitalization in precision medicine and innovative e-health services by utilizing key technologies such as artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, cybersecurity, and others. During its first 20 months of operation, over 50 prospective recipients have applied for consulting services, mainly seeking "test-before-invest" services. This paper aims to provide insights regarding the smartHEALTH initiative, preliminary outcomes and lessons learned during this first period of operation. To this end, this paper outlines smartHEALTH's approach to attracting recipients and providing expert guidance on utilizing state-of-the-art technologies for innovative services, product development, and process creation to accelerate digital transformation.