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28 January 2025

Powerful partners build a digital future for everyone

A digital revolution is taking place in the healthcare sector: from scheduling appointments online to managing medical data. Although these innovations promise to make healthcare more accessible, more than 4 million Dutch people are struggling with this digital shift, which can be overwhelming for many people. This digital inequality does not only affect the elderly. People of all ages can use help with digital care. Whether you are young and have difficulty making an online appointment, or are looking for information for your child. The lack of digital skills or confidence can exclude people from the benefits of digital care. Stichting Helpdesk Digitale Zorg and Stichting Digisterker are taking up the challenge and are joining forces to bridge the digital inequality in healthcare.

Digital care for everyone
Fortunately, there are many initiatives to help people improve their digital skills and thus make digital care accessible to everyone. The Digisterker Foundation has developed the DigiVitaler teaching program, among other things. Libraries in the Netherlands can use this to provide courses and workshops. This allows people to learn how to work with digital care applications such as the patient portal of a general practitioner or hospital, or with websites such as Apotheek.nl and Thuisarts.nl. Or they learn what health apps and a video consultation are. As an educational publisher, the Digisterker Foundation wants to ensure that people learn to work independently, safely and with sufficient self-confidence with the digital services of social organizations, not only healthcare organizations, but also government organizations. By offering the DigiVitaler teaching program via libraries, people can learn to work with digital care under expert guidance, in small groups and step by step, under the motto 'learning by doing'.

Accessible and inclusive
To make the continuously changing care accessible and inclusive, everyone must be considered. Stichting Helpdesk Digitale Zorg therefore offers warm, technical support to patients, but also helps care professionals to simplify their work. Care organizations such as general practitioners, hospitals and mental health institutions also receive support. By familiarizing patients with apps for home monitoring or patient portals, for example, care providers have more time to focus on the core of their work: providing care. Helpdesk Digitale Zorg strives to support all Dutch people in their access to digital care services. In doing so, they act as a valuable link for care professionals in the second line. Helpdesk Digitale Zorg therefore helps both the patient and the care provider. Take the outpatient clinic assistants for example: the helpdesk offers the assistants support so that they can guide the patients even better in their digital care process. In this way, Helpdesk Digitale Zorg contributes to a broad and inclusive digital care landscape.

The power of collaboration
Helpdesk Digital Care and Stichting Digisterker complement each other perfectly by combining practical support with education. This collaboration ensures that people can enter the digital care world with confidence. For example, Digisterker provides knowledge and teaching materials via the Helpdesk Digital Care website, such as information folders and practice materials for DigiD, while Helpdesk Digital Care refers patients to local libraries for further learning about digital care, when applicable.

In addition, libraries and healthcare organizations are increasingly joining forces, with healthcare organizations referring patients to the library to learn how to work with digital care and for further support. Or healthcare organizations, together with the library, are giving substance to the range of lessons on their own digital care applications. In this way, they are building a bridge to better and more accessible digital care.

Digital health has the potential to transform healthcare, but only if we work together to bridge the digital divide. It is essential that everyone, from patient to caregiver, is given the tools and confidence to make the most of digital health.

Want to know more?
As a healthcare organization, do you want to provide patients or clients with practical support in using digital care and relieve your healthcare provider? Then read on our story For more information.

Are you interested in the DigiVitaler teaching program from the Digisterker Foundation, which is offered in most libraries in the country? Then visit the website digivitaler.nl for more information about the curriculum and/or the website digisterker.nl with more information about the Digisterker Foundation.

Do you have any questions about the collaboration between Stichting Digisterker and Stichting Helpdesk Digitale Zorg? Please contact:

Alexander de Jong, Manager Marketing, Relations & Business Development
Email address: a.dejong@helpdeskdigitalezorg.nl