This volume presents accepted papers from the third triennial Healthcare of the Future conference to be held since the series began in 2019. The theme of the inaugural conference [1] was ’Bridging the Information Gap’, and the conference showcased the innovative cross-institutional digital care pathways that connect patients at home with general practitioners, specialists, hospitals and rehabilitation centres [2]. It also envisioned a future where smart systems, wearable devices and telehealth services would enable more independent and empowered living at home. At the time, many of these technologies, applications and communication channels were in their early stages or existed only as proofs of concept.

This situation changed dramatically with the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic which began at the end of 2019, forcing the strained healthcare system to explore new and distance-based diagnostic and therapeutic measures to prevent overburdening healthcare systems. It also prompted the initiation of large data-collection applications, such as the COVID-19 Dashboard of Johns Hopkins University (https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6), which initially delivered faster and more accurate data than many national health authorities. In Switzerland, the way in which pandemic cases are reported and information is shared between physicians, laboratories and the government has significantly evolved since then, and new digital communication channels have been established. Digital teleconferencing tools have been introduced, not only in healthcare, but also in education and many other sectors, and have since become established tools for immediate and everyday use.

However, both the second and this third Healthcare of the Future conferences have recognised that telecommunication tools can only partially replace face-to-face contact and dialogue. The second edition of Healthcare of the Future in 2022 [3] was entitled ‘Digital health – from vision to best practices’. It covered key topics such as new approaches to interoperability, evaluation of IT solutions, better support for research in medicine and medical informatics, and applications for patients and healthcare professionals.

In this third edition of the conference, we acknowledge the emergence of new treatment pathways such as ‘hospital at home’, which is being promoted in Switzerland and other countries. This approach allows patients to either avoid inpatient admission or to be discharged earlier by providing intensive support and hospital-equivalent treatment in their home environment.

Several pilot projects have been established, e.g. in Arlesheim [4] or Zurich [4, 5], and the canton of Bern has established a Swiss Centre for Care@home at the Bern University of Applied Sciences [6] to support research and networking activities related to integrated home-based acute care.

In addition, artificial intelligence (AI) has made great advances with the advent of generative pre-trained transformers, which were made available to the public via platforms such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT 3.5 in 2022, quickly reaching 100 million active users each month [7] and creating a new hype in the field. Since then, numerous AI tools have followed, and a search for ‘AI in medicine’ in Pubmed on 17 March 2025 yielded 208,519 results, which represents a huge increase in the last few years. The historical development of AI in medicine can be seen in [8].

The keynotes of the 2025 conference also reflect these recent developments and the respective demands for IT:

∙ Revolutionizing Healthcare: Integrating AI for Enhanced Patient Care and Clinical Efficiency

by Maxim Topaz, Professor at Columbia University, New York, USA.

∙ Delivering Hospital at Home for Acute Medical Care – the Role of Digital Platforms

by Daniel Lasserson, Professor at University of Warwick, UK.

∙ From Ideas to Impact: How AI, Smartphones, and Wearables Are Revolutionizing Diabetes Self-Management

by Stavroula Mougiakakou, Professor at University of Bern, Switzerland.

The 2025 conference is made up of four sessions covering the topics:

∙ Next generation AI solutions in medicine

∙ Young researchers’ track

∙ Connected care – the key to a seamless patient journey

∙ AI and social media: benefits and harms.

We look forward to an interesting event and hope that you enjoy these proceedings.

Biel /Bienne May 19th 2025

The Organising Committee

References

[1] Bürkle T, Lehmann M, Denecke K, Sariyar M, Bignens S, Zetz E, Holm J (eds). Healthcare of the Future – Bridging the Information Gap. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics 259, 2019. ISBN 978-1-61499-960-7 (print) | 978-1-61499-961-4 (online), available under https://ebooks.iospress.nl/ volume/healthcare-of-the-future-bridging-the-information-gap-5-april-2019-biel-bienne-switzerland?_gl=1*177qpux*_up*MQ..*_ga*OTY2NjUyODI3LjE3NDIzOTc3MDM.*_ga_6N3Q014 1SM*MTc0MjM5NzcwMi4xLjEuMTc0MjM5ODI1NS4wLjAuMA..

[2] Bürkle T, Denecke K, Lehmann M, Zetz E, Holm J (eds). Integrated Care Processes Designed for the Future Healthcare System. Stud Health Technol Inform 245 (2017), 20-24.

[3] Bürkle T, Denecke K, Holm J, Sariyar M, Lehmann M. Healthcare of the Future - Digital Health – From Vision to Best Practice! Studies in Health Technology and Informatics 292, 2022, ISBN: 978-1-64368-280-8 (print) | 978-1-64368-281-5 (online), available under https://ebooks.iospress.nl/ISBN/978-1-64368-280-8

[4] Koechlin S. Das Spital kommt nach Hause – neue Versorgungsmodelle. Schweizerische Ärztezeitung | 2024;105(1–2):16–19.

[5] Meyer M, Bobst S. So können Spitäler über 3 Milliarden Franken einsparen. Tages-Anzeiger Sonntagszeitung 26.5.2024, available under https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/hospital-at-home-so-sparen-spitaeler-ueber-3-milliarden-franken-147966993603 last visited Mach 17th, 2025.

[6] Senn C. In Bern entsteht ein Zentrum für die Pflege in den eigenen vier Wänden. Berner Zeitung 31.1.2025, available under https://www.bernerzeitung.ch/gesundheit-im-kanton-bern-in-bern-entsteht-ein-zentrum-fuer-die-pflege-in-den-eigenen-vier-waenden-520533984620 last visites March 17th, 2025.

[7] Hu K. ChatGPT sets record for fastest-growing user base - analyst note. Reuters 2.2.2023, available under https://www.reuters.com/technology/chatgpt-sets-record-fastest-growing-user-base-analyst-note-2023-02-01/ last visited March 17th, 2025

[8] Enslin S, Kaul V. Past, Present, and Future: A History Lesson in Artificial Intelligence. Gastrointest Endosc Clin N Am. 2025 Apr;35(2):265-278. doi: 10.1016/j.giec.2024.09.003.