Technology
A health technology is the application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures and systems which have been developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives. Health technologies are indispensable for effective and efficient prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation as well as the attainment of internationally agreed health-related development goals. The European Observatory’s work on technological innovation spans the spectrum of the health innovation system, addressing issues that range from how biomedical innovations are generated to how innovation systems can be better aligned with health system needs.
As defined by WHO, a health technology is the application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures and systems which have been developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives. This reflects the wider definition of an innovation as an idea, practice or object that is perceived as new – so a health technology can also be understood as a particular type of innovation for health.
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