Ventura

Currently, European health care systems face many challenges. In addition to financial and transformational problems caused by increasing patient number and rising of their expectations, the major problem is connected with the health workforce: • The High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic projected a global shortage of 18 million health workers by 2030. For Europe, the gap in the supply of and demand for health workers in 2030 will be at least 1.4 million employees, including 300k physicians, 700k nurses and 400k other health workers [ ]. • Health workers are exposed to a complex variety of health and safety hazards every day, including sharp injuries, harmful chemicals and hazardous drugs, back injuries due to heavy lifting and, first of all, highly infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, HIV/AIDS as well as emerging infectious diseases like SARS, H5/N1 influenza, COVID-19. Some statistics on occupational infectious diseases in health workers is needed. • 78 % of physicians and 38 % of nurses experience burnout and reduction of work efficacy due to the health care staff shortage, overworking, long shifts, excessive and prolonged stress [ ]. All these results in poor and wrong decisions, depersonalization, lack of empathy and, therefore, increase chances for patients to stay in the hospital longer and/or return with complications. The pressure rises exponentially in case of natural or technogenic disasters and, especially, epidemics. On-going COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates global unpreparedness of national health care systems and particular vulnerability of health workers. Data on cases/deaths among health workers… EU/national statistics. These challenges and pressures can be tackled by the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics solutions to the every-day operations of the health care facilities to support human workers.