Is the Term “Digital Patient” Still Relevant in this New Era?

The term “digital patient” has been used for several years now.  So far, it appears to have  referred to the digitally savvy patient that wants to participate in his or her healthcare with the use of technology.  But is this term still accurate?

You may have heard or seen Shudu, the first digital supermodel.  She does not actually exist, but from her Instagram pictures, she seems real, and she has the potential of landing real paying jobs (and may already be getting some, but I’m not sure)! Although she has some critics, she does have a huge following and is getting a lot of attention from the technology industry.

This got me thinking about the term “digital patient”.  In the era of seemingly real characters such as Shudu, wouldn’t the term “digital patient” refer to a non-existing patient that was digitally created, however real that character may or may not appear to be. It might be time to switch to the term “digitally savvy patient” because sooner or later, the healthcare industry will get its own Shudu-like digital patients.  Some may already even exist.