To date there has been a number of different technologies, computer software and hardware systems that have been put to use in health organizations. Healthcare technology has surely been the answer to transforming health-related services. Clinical facilities make use of a wide variety of applications to create more patient-centric services.
But lately, they’ve been using innovative digital mapping technologies for a multitude of purposes.
One such startup firm that uses digital mapping technology is Esri Ireland, a software and services organization based in Dublin. They specialize in geographic information systems (GIS).
In January of this year, the company participated in a new digital health project that was launched by the Digital Hub and St James’s Hospital in Dublin. Esri Ireland’s proposal of the best way to map healthcare assets has allowed them to be the winner of the contest.
The project required start-up digital entrepreneurs to submit proposals. It required them to “outline how they would develop a website and mobile app using local data to document all health-related services in the vicinity of St James's Hospital.”
As a winner of the digital health contest, Esri Ireland will receive seed funding valued at up to €15,000, have a free office space at the Digital Hub and get free enterprise development support. In addition, they will be working with clinicians from the St James’s Hospital to take part in another project, known as LAMP (Local Asset Mapping Project), where they’ll be able to apply their GIS expertise.
Lastly, they’ll be asked to help develop a new website and mobile mapping platform to improve local health services in the community.
As stated by Dr. Gerard Boyle, principal physicist at St James's Hospital, GIS techniques and technologies which use “computer mapping" applications can meet clinical environmental obligations, improve health-related services and make healthcare facilities in the area more productive – all while enhancing medical care production efficiencies.
He concluded by saying that exploring the potential of GIS in the surrounding area, Dublin, to support health and wellness in the community is all part of the initiative to develop future Connected Health projects involving Irish companies.
Edited by
Braden Becker
