Digi4Care: Financing & Health Policies

Pilot 3: Digital Health for Post Clinical Rehabilitation

Welcome to the third episode of the Digi4Care podcast — on Pilot 3, which brings digital tools and remote monitoring into post-clinical rehabilitation for patients with cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Rehabilitation is one of the most overlooked parts of the patient journey. People leave the hospital after a heart attack or with a serious chronic diagnosis, and then — too often — they slip out of structured care. They don't start a rehabilitation programme, or they don't finish it, and the result is avoidable complications, lower quality of life, and costly readmissions. In this episode we sit down with three guests working at very different parts of that puzzle to ask: what is actually going wrong in post-discharge care, and what can digital tools realistically do about it? We talk about why rehabilitation is fragmented and inconsistent across countries, what stops patients from engaging long-term, and how clinicians can monitor people they don't see every week. Then we turn to what Pilot 3 puts on the table: smartwatches, blood-pressure monitors and smart scales for daily measurements; AI-powered tools like thermography and a Doppler device for early detection of complications; and a remote patient-monitoring system that keeps continuous communication between patients and their care teams. We walk through how the pilot is being run on the ground — recruiting between 30 and 100 patients per site, what the digital rehabilitation journey looks like day-to-day for a patient, and how clinicians actually use the data — and we discuss what success would look like: better adherence, fewer hospitalisations, improved quality of life, and real cost savings. We close with the bigger question: what would it take for digital rehabilitation to become standard practice in the region, and what changes do our guests hope to see in the next five years? WHAT YOU'LL HEAR - Why post-clinical rehabilitation is the weakest link in chronic-disease care - The biggest barriers across the Danube Region — access, motivation, data, cost - The smart devices and AI tools tested in Pilot 3 - How the pilot is being implemented and evaluated across sites - What it would take to make digital rehabilitation standard practice GUESTS Mira Ganova — CEO of the Digital Health and Innovation Cluster, Bulgaria. Builds a multidisciplinary expert community to support digital health transformation in Bulgaria and across the region. Ákos Tiboldi — Anaesthesiologist & Intensive Care Physician; Researcher, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute, Austria. Péter Vajer — General Practitioner; Family Medicine Department, Semmelweis University, Hungary. Also works with the National Cardiovascular Centre on screening, prevention and international projects. HOST Šimon Jeseňák ABOUT DIGI4CARE Digi4Care is a transnational Interreg Danube Region project supporting the adoption of digital technologies in healthcare. It brings together partners from seven countries — academia, hospitals, NGOs and policy institutions — to validate and scale innovative screening, monitoring, ultrasound and telemedicine tools that support earlier detection, better patient pathways and more effective, informed decision-making in everyday care. Beyond the technologies themselves, the project works at system level on policy, financing, regulation, data management and training, so that what works in a pilot can actually reach patients across the region. If you found this useful, subscribe — upcoming episodes go deeper into the remaining pilots with the clinicians and researchers leading them. Share your thoughts and questions in the comments. #Digi4Care #DigitalHealth #Rehabilitation #CardiovascularHealth #Diabetes #RemoteMonitoring #Wearables #HealthTech #DanubeRegion

Digi4Care: Financing & Health Policies

Welcome to the second episode of the Digi4Care podcast — on the financing and health policy side of digitally transforming healthcare across the Danube Region. Digital transformation in healthcare needs more than good technology. It needs sustainable financing, smart regulation and policies that actually let new tools reach patients. In this episode we sit down with three guests who live and breathe these questions to ask: why is reimbursement so slow for digital tools, what regulatory and ethical gaps hold the region back, and how can countries with very different health systems align enough to move forward together? We map the biggest financial barriers to scaling digital solutions in the Danube Region — limited reimbursement pathways, fragmented national systems, slow regulatory processes, uneven digital maturity — and then turn to what Digi4Care is actually doing about them. That includes institutional-level action plans for sustainable adoption, an Integrated Care Model that supports coordinated, digitally enabled care, a Data Management Model that provides evidence for policy and financing decisions, and a Knowledge Platform that helps policymakers see which technologies exist and what they cost. We then look at the four pilots — diabetic retinopathy screening, point-of-care ultrasound, wearables for cardiovascular and diabetes patients, and digital solutions for dementia care — through the financing and policy lens, including the very practical question of how AI screening can fit into existing reimbursement categories, and how the Czech example of insurance-funded AI fundus cameras might be adapted elsewhere. We close with where we hope to see the region in five years: more flexible reimbursement, better-aligned policies, long-term investment in digital infrastructure and skills, and reforms that make pilots stick beyond the project's end. WHAT YOU'LL HEAR - Why financing and policy decide whether digital tools reach patients - The biggest financial and regulatory barriers in the Danube Region - How Digi4Care helps institutions and countries close the gap - A finance-and-policy view of the four pilots - The reforms that would actually move things in the next five years GUESTS Krisztina Davidovics — Legal & Health Policy Expert, Semmelweis University, Budapest. Research focus: health policy, legal and regulatory issues around AI and data-driven tools in healthcare. MMag. Dr. Johannes Weiss, Bakk. — Health Expert, Austrian National Public Health Institute. International department, focusing on health policy. László Lorenzovici, MD, Ec, MSc — Medical Doctor & Health Economist, Hospital Consulting, Romania. In Digi4Care he leads the work on financing, costing and cost-efficiency analysis. HOST Šimon Jeseňák ABOUT DIGI4CARE Digi4Care is a transnational Interreg Danube Region project supporting the adoption of digital technologies in healthcare. It brings together partners from seven countries — academia, hospitals, NGOs and policy institutions — to validate and scale innovative screening, monitoring, ultrasound and telemedicine tools that support earlier detection, better patient pathways and more effective, informed decision-making in everyday care. Beyond the technologies themselves, the project works at system level on policy, financing, regulation, data management and training, so that what works in a pilot can actually reach patients across the region. If you found this useful, subscribe — upcoming episodes go deeper into each of the four pilots with the clinicians and researchers leading them. Share your thoughts and questions in the comments. #Digi4Care #DigitalHealth #HealthPolicy #HealthFinancing #Reimbursement #DanubeRegion #DigitalTransformation #HealthTech #healthcareinnovation

Introduction of Digi4Care Project

Welcome to the first episode of the Digi4Care podcast — a series on the digital transformation of healthcare across the Danube Region. In this opening conversation we set the stage for the whole series: what Digi4Care is, why it exists, and what it aims to change. We talk about the uneven pace of healthcare digitalisation across Central and South-Eastern Europe — why some countries lead, why others lag, and why a transnational consortium was needed to push things forward together. From there we look at the biggest barriers to adoption: fragmented systems, incompatible data, regulatory complexity, financing gaps, workforce shortages, and a clinical community that is often (and understandably) cautious about new technology. We then turn to what Digi4Care actually delivers in practice — a digitally enabled integrated care model, a knowledge platform mapping technologies and best practices across the region, a unified data-management framework, and a training toolbox to upskill healthcare professionals. We also give a first look at the four pilots: AI-based screening for diabetic retinopathy, point-of-care ultrasound in primary and emergency care, wearables and apps for cardiovascular and diabetes patients, and digital solutions for dementia and Alzheimer's care — each piloted across several countries so we can compare what works, what doesn't, and what's worth scaling. We close with the longer view: what changes can patients realistically expect, how the project's results can be made sustainable through policy, financing and training, and what the next five years could look like if we get this right. WHAT YOU'LL HEAR - Why Digi4Care was created and what it tackles - The biggest barriers slowing digital adoption in healthcare - Concrete outputs: integrated care, knowledge platform, data framework, training - A tour of the four pilots and early findings - How to make change stick — policy, financing and action plans for the next five years GUESTS Réka Kovács — Project Coordinator of Digi4Care; Health Services Management Training Centre, Semmelweis University, Hungary. Previously around 20 years at the Hungarian Ministry of Health. Péter Pažitný — Health management and innovation expert; Prague University of Economics and Business; former Director of the Health Policy Institute and member of the Slovak healthcare reform team. Active in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. HOST Šimon Jeseňák ABOUT DIGI4CARE Digi4Care is a transnational Interreg Danube Region project supporting the adoption of digital technologies in healthcare. It brings together partners from seven countries — academia, hospitals, NGOs and policy institutions — to validate and scale innovative screening, monitoring, ultrasound and telemedicine tools that support earlier detection, better patient pathways and more effective, informed decision-making in everyday care. Beyond the technologies themselves, the project works at system level on policy, financing, regulation, data management and training, so that what works in a pilot can actually reach patients across the region. If you found this useful, subscribe — each upcoming episode goes deeper into one of the four pilots with the clinicians and researchers leading them. Share your thoughts and questions in the comments. #Digi4Care #DigitalHealth #HealthcareInnovation #DanubeRegion #DigitalTransformation #Telemedicine #HealthTech #AI #IntegratedCare

Rudolf Zajac: Otočme jednosmerku. Ambulantní lekári musia chodiť do nemocníc

V slovenskom zdravotníctve sa v poslednom období roztrhlo vrece s auditmi, konferenciami a vládnymi plánmi. Ministerstvo zdravotníctva predstavilo svojich „8 bodov“ na záchranu nemocníc. Pomôžu však tieto opatrenia reálne zastaviť ich nekonečné zadlžovanie? Rudolf Zajac v tom má absolútne jasno: „V súčasnom nastavení to proste nejde.“ Ústrednou témou tohto dielu je zvrátená „jednosmerka“ slovenského zdravotníctva. Systém dnes funguje tak, že lekári masovo odchádzajú zo štátnych nemocníc do súkromných ambulancií. Rudolf Zajac bez servítky pomenúva, prečo štátne nemocnice kolabujú a prečo musíme túto pomyselnú tabuľku jednosmerky okamžite otočiť – tak, aby ambulantní špecialisti chodili na platené výkony pomáhať a operovať priamo do nemocníc. Vypočujte si otvorený a kritický rozhovor o tom, prečo štát ako manažér fatálne zlyháva, prečo máme na každom rohu „fakultnú nemocnicu“ bez peňazí a čo musíme urobiť, aby sme v zdravotníctve nečakali už len na to, kedy nás predbehne Albánsko. 📌 10 kľúčových tém, o ktorých v podcaste hovoríme:     🛑 Prečo súčasný systém nedokáže zastaviť dlhy: Súčasné nastavenie štátnych nemocníc generuje stratu automaticky a žiadne kozmetické úpravy to nezmenia.     🔄 Zvrátená jednosmerka slovenského zdravotníctva: Masívny odliv lekárov z nemocníc do ambulantného sektora a prečo je nevyhnutné tento smer okamžite otočiť.     📋 Kritika vládnych plánov a 8 bodov ministerstva: Prečo sú navrhované riešenia len prázdnymi frázami, ktoré reálne problémy vôbec neriešia.     📉 Analýza neefektívneho personálneho kľúča: Počet sestier v systéme alarmujúco klesá, zatiaľ čo počet lekárov stúpa, no celkový počet výkonov napriek tomu padá.     🏢 Ako fungujú (ne)slávne štátne podniky: Otvorená kritika štátu ako najhoršieho možného manažéra, pod ktorého vedením nemocnice neustále generujú stratu.     🎓 Financovanie praktickej výučby medikov: Starý spor medzi rezortmi zdravotníctva a školstva o to, kto má platiť za vzdelávanie budúcich lekárov pri posteliach pacientov.     🚪 Fenomén viacúvazkových lekárov (Kauza NKÚ): Sú lekári s menovkami na štyroch dverách reálnym problémom pre pacienta, alebo ide len o zbytočne nafúknutú tému?     💼 Porovnanie privátneho a štátneho sektora: Prečo súkromné nemocnice dokážu prežiť a prečo by mal štát prebrať ich osvedčené manažérske mechanizmy.     🥪 Spomienky na schvaľovanie reforiem v parlamente: Ako sa za Zajacovej éry vyjednávalo s komunistami, prečo vtedajšia opozícia reformám bránila a kto nakoniec priniesol povestné chlebíčky.     🇦🇱 Porovnanie s európskym priemerom: Prečo slovenské zdravotníctvo stagnuje a či naozaj čakáme už len na Albánsko, aby sme v únii neboli úplne poslední.

Rudolf Zajac: Komu není zhůry dáno, v apatyce nekoupí.“

Exminister Zajac o poplatkovej divočine a správe verejného ochrancu práv „168 druhov poplatkov, nikto nevie odkiaľ, prečo, začo. Nemá to kto kontrolovať ani sankcionovať." Exminister zdravotníctva Rudolf Zajac na podcaste Ozdravme drsne komentuje správu verejného ochrancu práv Róberta Dobrovodského o poplatkoch v zdravotníctve, audit štátnych nemocníc, ktorý ležal v šuplíku rok a pol, aj 42 vládnych opatrení na ľudské zdroje. „Mladý človek, ktorý sa volá Kamil Šaško, naberie tú odvahu, že ide robiť ministra zdravotníctva," reaguje na šéfa rezortu. 168 druhov poplatkov a žiadne jasné pravidlá Zajac sa s ombudsmanom stotožňuje v hlavnom posolstve: súčasný stav je právne neudržateľný. „Poplatková divočina, tak to znamená, že každý si vyberá za čo chce, čo chce bez opory v zákone," opisuje. Dodáva, že problém je v rozsahu aj absencii kontroly. Fico, Ústavný súd a 15 rokov bez riešenia Bývalý minister pripomína, že ombudsmanova pozícia stojí na bazálnej požiadavke právnej istoty. „To, že hovorí je v naprosto poriadku a treba ho podporiť," potvrdzuje Zajac. Politickú zodpovednosť adresuje Robertovi Ficovi: „Od roku 2006 obsluhuje tri štvrtiny, toho času rovných 15 rokov z dvadsiatich a poplatky sú tu také, že sa veľa ľudí môže dostať aj pod hranicu chudoby." Ústavný súd pritom dávno potvrdil, že spoluúčasť pacienta je s článkom 40 ústavy v súlade. {{odporucane} Cenník „na vedomie" a vykastrovaný úrad pre dohľad Systém je podľa Zajaca prakticky nekontrolovateľný. „Lekár, ktorý chce vybrať peniaze, pošle cenník na VÚC na vedomie, ale nie na schválenie," vysvetľuje. Žiadosť je takmer všade považovaná za schválenú a sankcie reálne neexistujú: „Nemá to kto kontrolovať a nemá to kto sankcionovať." O Úrade pre dohľad nad zdravotnou starostlivosťou pridal v drsnejších výrazoch,. ÚDZS je v súčasnej podobe „tak zmenšený a tak je vykastrovaný", že akýkoľvek pokus o reálnu kontrolu poplatkov potenicálne realizovanú ÚDZS by uňho vyvolal „epileptický záchvat". KDH, Hainburg a vatikánske doláre Návrh Kresťanskodemokratického hnutia, podľa ktorého by lekári mohli pacientov ošetrovať za poplatky v doplnkových ordinačných hodinách, Zajac zhodil jednou vetou: „Keď už to mám platiť po ordinačných hodinách, tak to môžem ísť rovno platiť do Rakúska, do Hainburgu." Pripomína, že Tomáš Drucker zboku zakázal poplatky v nemocnici, no „nikto to nerešpektuje". Politické riešenia sú podľa neho väčšinou naivné: „Žiadne riešenie nie je komplexné a reálne." {{suvisiace}} V podcaste hovoríme aj o týchto témach: •       📜 Ombudsman Róbert Dobrovodský predložil parlamentu správu o poplatkoch v zdravotníctve, ktorú zákonodarcovia odmietličo i len prerokovať •       💸 V slovenských ambulanciách a nemocniciach existuje 168 druhov poplatkov bez jednotných pravidiel — Zajac to nazývapoplatkovou divočinou •       📈 Z desiatich miliárd eur tečúcich do zdravotníctva ide podľa odhadov dve miliardy na doplatky, poplatky a príplatky •       🏛️ Ústavný súd dávno potvrdil, že spoluúčasť pacienta je v súlade s článkom 40 ústavy — bezplatnosť teda nie je absolútna •       ⚖️ Lekári posielajú cenníky na vyššie územné celky len na vedomie, nie na schválenie. Reálne sankcie neexistujú •       🛑 Tomáš Drucker zboku zakázal poplatky v nemocniciach, ale podľa Zajaca to už dnes nikto nerešpektuje •       💉 Národná transfúzna služba má dlh 20 miliónov eur na sociálnej poisťovni — rovnakú sumu jej dlžia štátne nemocnice •       📋 Vláda schválila 42 opatrení pre ľudské zdroje v zdravotníctve. Zajacov verdikt: papier znesie všetko, ministerstvo netuší,ako to realizovať •       🇦🇱 „Aby Albánsko vstúpilo do EÚ a 2týždne po ich vstupe už nebudeme poslední," uzatvára Zajac stav slovenského zdravotníctvaKamil