Digitalization of healthcare sector as a tool for implementation of competition policy

Abstract

Competitiveness of modern states is increasingly dependent on the method and scope of using information-communications technologies (ICTs) in the economy and in the implementation of the states' care functions. The application of information-communications technologies (ICTs) in health care is of special importance due to observed dynamic changes taking place in social structures. The main factors contributing to the widespread use of information-communications technologies (ICTs) in health care include demographic changes, the increase in the duration of human life, the increase in health care expenditures, progress in medical science and the increase in patients' ability to use automated devices. The aim of this article is to characterize the main ideas forming the architecture of the Healthcare 4.0 concept and to place this concept in a broader perspective of the Industry 4.0 concept.