The school
What is digital health?
According to Pr Maurice Hayot, Director of ESNbyUM, Digital Health represents the meeting of the healthcare and digital sectors, made possible by the use and development of new information and communication technologies.
It enables us to respond to major societal challenges, such as the rise in chronic pathologies, by offering remote monitoring, which enables a healthcare professional to interpret the data required for a patient's medical follow-up from a distance; or the management of dependency, using robotic assistance, known as home automation, which helps dependent elderly people to maintain their autonomy and remain at home for as long as possible.
It also facilitates communication between professionals and patients, through regulated access to remote care via telemedicine or telecare. It implies the creation of a growing number of digital medical devices and connected objects, as well as the irruption of artificial intelligence in the processing of health data.
In addition to its technological stakes, digital health encompasses other dimensions to be considered: a legal and sociological dimension with, for example, the protection of personal health data and digital security, as well as an ethical and regulatory dimension with the question of clinical use and scientific evidence.
Digital health is now considered a scientific field in its own right, with its own journals and conferences.
Digital healthcare has thus taken on a major role, considerably transforming the practices and organizations of the healthcare system.
Why this school?
The birth of this school is the culmination of a response to a nationwide Call for Expressions of Interest (A.M.I.), part of the France 2030 Future Investment Program, entitled "Compétences et Métiers d'Avenir" ("Skills and Professions of the Future").
This A.M.I. was launched following the realization that Digital Health has become an essential part of tomorrow's healthcare.
Health professionals , paramedics and social workers but also professionals involved in Digital Health (digital specialists, managers of medico-social structures, lawyers and professionals in charge of regulatory affairs) are directly impacted by the digital transformation of healthcare.
All these professionals represent a very heterogeneous group.
- diversity of professions (doctors, nurses, specialized educators, etc.)
- diversity of status (self-employed, salaried)
- diversity of the structures that employ them (hospitals, personal services, etc.).
-> Diversity of initial training courses , where digital health is still under-represented.
The University of Montpellier, a pioneer in the field of Digital Health and with the support of the Occitanie Region, has decided to work with its partners to build the Digital Health School, which will form the basis of the region's Digital Health Excellence Cluster.
For whom?
It is aimed at anyone wishing to receive training in Digital Health, whether for initial or continuing training, as well as for citizens/patients.
The people concerned are:
- Healthcare and medical-social professionals and their managers
- Digital professionals
- Medical device regulatory affairs professionals
- Legal experts
- Healthcare systems management professionals
When is the new training course due to start?
We're in the process of putting together a training program, and will keep you informed of its progress as soon as possible. However, we can inform you :
- A cross-disciplinary tutored project may be offered to students from the1st semester of the 2023-2024 academic year.
- A "test" Teaching Unit will be offered in the2nd semester of the 2023-2024 academic year.
-> The full roll-out of courses is scheduled for the start of the 2024-2025 academic year.
To conclude
The École de Santé Numérique is born. It's up to each and every one of us - students, professionals involved in digital health, engineers, researchers, teachers, companies and citizens - to make this structure, its communication and its influence our own, for the benefit of everyone in our region.