The conference “Telecoms Europe: 5G and Beyond” took place virtually between the 8th and the 10th of November and was attended by several european specialists from different sectors.

João Paulo Firmeza, from Altice Labs’ Innovation Strategy and Digital department, participated in the panel “How can 5G make healthcare better”, where the main benefits and challenges of 5G technology in the healthcare sector were addressed.

5G technology represents a strong improvement over 4G and WLAN, and therefore has great potential to transform the healthcare sector, with very positive consequences for organizations, professionals and citizens. Among the main strengths are lower response times (latency) and greater reliability. With 5G, IoT (Internet of Things) applications will also be enhanced, since this new generation supports more devices and more efficiently.

For all these reasons, “5G’s characteristics may prove valuable in the health area with applications in telehealth, assistance in emergency scenarios, remote surgery using AR/VR, transfer of large medical files, tracking of patient movements within facilities or transfer of information from monitoring devices in real time”, said João Paulo Firmeza.

However, there are challenges to be faced:

  • How will sensitive and confidential medical data be transferred and stored globally, often over public networks;
  • How to guarantee “total” security and privacy;
  • How will institutions be interconnected to synchronize data, services and inventories in real time;
  • How to involve more patients and professionals in the digital transformation.

Regarding the obstacles regarding the adoption of connected technology, João Paulo Firmeza said that “technology is not the problem”, pointing out that consent should not be either, because if “people see real benefits they will give consent” just as it will happen with accessibility and regulation. “It’s just a process that requires time” he stressed. In his opinion, the real problem is “human resources, their training and the procedures and processes that must be adapted and evolved to effect full digital transformation in healthcare and wellness”.