Societal assets for E-healthcare patient pathways

Balancing healthcare costs with the quality of care is a major challenge for health systems, particularly in the context of aging populations and the growing burden of chronic diseases. Digital health, and especially artificial intelligence (AI), o?ers promising opportunities to better organize care, support medical decision-making, and improve the e?ciency of healthcare systems. The SAFEPAW project investigates how these digital tools can be integrated into patient care pathways in a responsible and e?ective way.

SAFEPAW relies on an interdisciplinary approach that brings together researchers from medicine, economics, law, ethics, social sciences, and computer science. It considers a wide range of factors, including clinical, demographic, social, and economic aspects, as well as patients’ experiences and reported outcomes. By analyzing health data and patient journeys, the project aims to better understand how care pathways are structured and how AI-based decision-support tools can contribute to improving coordination and outcomes.

A key objective of SAFEPAW is to assess how digital health tools are perceived and used by di?erent stakeholders, including regulators, healthcare professionals, and patients. Particular attention is paid to data protection, ethical issues, and European regulations such as the GDPR and forthcoming AI rules. At the project’s midpoint, early results show contrasting views: regulators emphasize the complexity of applying data protection rules in practice, while healthcare professionals express strong interest in AI but also concerns about legal responsibility, data quality, and the potential loss of clinical autonomy.

In parallel, SAFEPAW is developing concrete tools and methods, including mathematical models to optimize care pathways at the regional level, realistic synthetic health data for testing purposes, and large patient cohorts focused on specific diseases. Overall, the project aims to support policymakers and healthcare actors in making informed choices about digital health, while preserving trust, quality of care, and ethical standards.