Arendalsuka: App on prescription – how long should we wait?
Digital health tools that work are rarely used on a large scale. Now the government wants to give them a place on par with pharmaceuticals and other health technology. How will this happen, who will pay – and how long will patients have to wait? This will be discussed during Arendal Week.
– We have digital treatment tools that can help patients and free up time for healthcare professionals. But the current system makes it difficult to put them to use. Now we need clear responsibility, funding and a willingness to increase the pace, says Kari-Jussie Lønning, CEO of Diakonhjemmet Hospital.
The treatment exists – but is not available
Imagine a patient with hand osteoarthritis. The hands are painful and stiff, and normal tasks have become more difficult.
Recommended treatment is information, exercises and advice on how to use and train the hands to function at their best. However, this is not widely available to patients in Norway today.
The Happy Hands app[1] has been developed to give patients access to precisely this help from home: It contains information about hand osteoarthritis and treatment, advice on self-management, and an exercise program for the hands.
The app can help patients get started with recommended treatment faster from home, without waiting – and regardless of where they live.
But the app is not available for general use, even though research shows that it works well. The path to the patient is tortuous.
As with many other digital health tools, difficult questions arise when the solution moves from research project to ordinary health service:
Who will be responsible for the app? Who will quality assure and update the content? And who will pay for operation and further development?
The government model
In the Health Personnel Plan 2040[2], the government announces that it will develop a model for digital self-help and treatment tools to be included on a par with pharmaceuticals.
The Directorate of Health has been assigned to start the work in 2026. The Directorate will, among other things, assess financing, quality assurance, prioritization, responsibility, introduction and evaluation of effect.
It could be an important breakthrough. But many crucial questions remain:
How will the model work in practice? Who will decide which tools are good enough? Who will pay for them? – And how long will it take before patients actually have access?
From political ambition to treatment
The Health Personnel Plan 2040 describes digital tools as part of the solution to the health personnel challenge. The government refers, among other things, to experiences with guided online treatment for anxiety and depression, where patients can have good health effects while the therapist spends less time per patient.
The question is no longer just whether digital treatment tools should have a place in the health service.
The question is how it will happen – and how long patients will have to wait.
How this should be solved in practice will now be discussed during Arendal Week.
Panelists
Cathrine Marie Lofthus is the Director of Health and heads the Directorate of Health. She is a doctor, has a medical doctorate and an economist's degree, and has previously been a ministerial advisor in the Ministry of Health and Care Services and CEO of South-Eastern Health.
Ragnhild Bergheim is a member of the Norwegian Parliament for the Labour Party from Akershus and a member of the Norwegian Parliament's Health and Care Committee. She was mayor of Lørenskog from 2015 to 2023.
Ståle Onsgård Sagabråten chairs the Norwegian Medical Association's professional board. He is a specialist in general medicine, a GP and has extensive experience in developing health services in rural areas.
Kari-Jussie Lønning is the CEO of Diakonhjemmet Hospital. She is a physician and specialist in general medicine and has a background in general practice, community medicine, hospital management and the Norwegian Medical Association.
Anders Austlid Taskén is a co-founder and AI engineer at Vidd Medical. He holds a PhD in artificial intelligence from NTNU and St. Olav's Hospital and has experience in research, technology development and entrepreneurship.
Siri Gulliksen Tømmerbakke is leading the conversation. She is a communications advisor at Nordlandssykehuset.
Practical information
Event: App on prescription – how long should we wait?
Time: Thursday, August 13, 3:30 PM – 4:15 PM
Location: Kulturkammeret
Klangkammeret
Nedre Tyholmsvei 6
Organizer: REMEDY, Diakonhjemmet Hospital and RECONNECT
Participation: Free and open to all/optional registration
Live broadcast: vimeo.com/event/6077100/6cabaa3e5f
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Hospital Director Kari-Jussie Lønning at Diakonhjemmet Hospital participates in several events:
Monday, 1:00 PM-2:30 PM: Is the health service able to reap the real benefits of new innovations?
Tuesday, 10:00-11:00: 72 hours in the dark, how robust is Norway's digital health preparedness?
Tuesday, 13:00-13:45: Input to the Minister of Health – conversation about health policy
Tuesday, 16:00-17:30: Personalized approach to the elderly in Oslo
Thursday, 15:30-16:30: App on prescription – how long should we wait?
Pål Ulvenes, head of the Clinic for Mental Health and Substance Abuse at Diakonhjemmet Hospital, will participate in an event:
Thursday, 14:00-15:00: "When minutes count" Co-creation of AI solutions for a sustainable municipal health service
Diakonhjemmet foundation is participating in one event
Wednesday, 10:00-10:45: Pensioners in work: a solution to the staffing crisis in health and care
[1] The app was developed at Diakonhjemmet Hospital and tested through solid research.
[2] https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/meld.-st.-11-20252026/id3164917/?ch=2#kap7
