Assisted Living Technologies and Digital solutions

The Municipality of Aarhus is the second largest city in Denmark with a growing population of more than 367,000 people. Since 2007 Aarhus has dedicated a great focus and effort to Digitalisation and Aassisted living technologies and aids. This investment has made Aarhus Municipality the leading public body in Denmark – and amongst the leading public bodies in Europe – within the field. 

The Municipality of Aarhus have been participating in R&D activities as an end-user organization/public authority for many years. We are constantly trying to find the best solutions in digital health and care, and this by using AI, VR, Machine learning, Data collection, systems etc. The primary task is in cooperation with other departments within Health and Care and relevant external partners to seek, test, develop and implement digital solutions/technological which can give the citizens increased independent living, quality of life and wellbeing, can improve working conditions and also improve the economy for the municipality.

The department has about 4.950 full time employees (nursing homes, home care, office workers, care professionals. 50 employees are working with development, a budget of 345 mio. Euros, 10.200 users for personal care, 4.000 units for older people and people with chronic disabilities and 60.000 senior citizens.

There is an increasing number of older people above 67 years from 43.337 in 2018 to 56.327 in 2040. There is a need for more employees and citizens have an increasing demand for living as long as possible in own home.                                                                  

Our 4 primary fields of experience and expertise are:

1. Development of digital solutions/technologies that meets the needs of the citizens and care workers in the municipality. This is done in cooperation with private companies

2. Testing of these technologies and aids in real environments to see how the technology actually works and benefits the citizens and employees alike.

3. Implementing digital solutions/technologies on a large scale in the municipality. When we have discovered and/or co-developed the technology we need, we then facilitate a successful implementation process.

4. Evaluation of the effects of implementing specific assisted living technologies; how the technology affects the quality of life of the citizens, the work environment of the staff etc.

 Aarhus Municipality is awarded as a 4-star Reference Site from the European Commission and member of several international networks as EUREGHA and , that promote independent living for older people.

www.velfaerdsteknologi.aarhus.dk/english  

 Ongoing Initiatives and Focus Areas

In addition to the strategic goals and technological advancements already outlined, Aarhus Municipality is actively engaged in several key operational and developmental areas to support citizens and staff within Health and Care services:

• Operation, support, and development of the citizen record system Cura – ensuring reliable and efficient digital documentation and case management.

• Documentation practices – establishing clear guidelines on what and how information should be documented in Cura to maintain consistency and quality.

• Development and implementation of digital solutions – continuously innovating and integrating new technologies to enhance service delivery.

• Development of e-learning – creating digital training modules to support staff education and upskilling.

• IT support – provided by dedicated IT consultants across the North, Central, and South districts to ensure smooth operation of digital tools.

• Digital self-help solutions – empowering citizens to manage aspects of their care independently through user-friendly digital platforms.

• IT security – maintaining high standards of data protection and cybersecurity across all systems and services.

• AI in Health and Care – exploring and applying artificial intelligence to improve decision-making, efficiency, and personalized care.