Can Värmskog become a test environment and model for digital health services - and if so, which ones? That was the main question when DigitalWell Arena gathered for a workshop to probe the conditions.
The residents of Värmskog themselves have set the game plan by showing a great commitment to making their home area a viable, connected and attractive place to live in. The starting point for a possible test environment is the locality's service point, which can become a hub for connecting physical and digital functions.
Such a health room already exists in Värmskog. What it could contain – both physically and via digital technology – is the next step to be able to move forward. The key question is to identify what needs exist in Värmskog, where testing digital services to meet these could be interesting for the whole of rural Sweden.
- This workshop is important to start a process where we can identify which self-service services can be made independent of location for those who can and want to, that is, make it easy and equal to live and work in rural areas and at the same time use the range of health and care services that can be digitized, said Cecilia Karlsson, Innovation Manager at DigitalWell Arena.
There is no shortage of ideas. Some of the more specific ones are that the health room could become a center for trying out aids via VR technology or a gateway for IoT technology (cameras and sensors) to create a safer home environment for the elderly. There are also thoughts about creating a more general hub to spread knowledge about digital tools.
However, a recurring point of view during the workshop was the importance of getting to the bottom of what needs really exist in Värmskog.
- It also arouses an interest and anchors the process. It's about the people who live in Värmskog making use of what we offer, said Lisa Gärdt in Värmskog's home village association.
Spread the comet in place
In addition to a delegation from Värmskog, collective expertise was also on hand to help put the puzzle together. The workshop was attended by Anna-Beata Brunzell, public health strategist, Lina Wahlgren, sustainability strategist, and Per Hanning, digitization strategist, from Region Värmland. From Karlstad University came Erik Wästlund, docent in psychology at the Center for Service Research, and Erica Åkerberg, research advisor. Lars Ragnarsson, development manager at Tellu in Sweden, was there as a representative of business, together with Tommy Sandström, who runs Värmskog's Lanthandel.
- The many different skills made the workshop interesting, because it gave so many different angles to the challenge, says Marika Martin, process development designer at Compare, who led the workshop.
Mission to create arenas
And although no specific service for testing to build on was pointed out, Cecilia Karlsson has good hope that Värmskog will really become a model for digital health services in rural areas.
- One of our biggest tasks is to create an arena and connect different players and skills, and we certainly did that today.
