Wants to get rid of paper piles

From research vessels and her own computer-company to telemedicine. Eva Lyshoel's background is definately versatile, and her views about the future of the healthservices are clear. Photo: Jan Fredrik Frantzen, NST.

In the master's programme, you meet people with a wide variety of experience. It is hard to find a better example of this than Eva Lyshoel. Not only has she been running her own IT firm in Finnsnes for several years. She has also worked as instrument chief on several research vessels. This enterprising woman would now like to learn more about the Norwegian public health service.

Less travel needed

Eva has strong opinions about the use of information technology and the way that patient information is sent between the various parts of the Norwegian public health service.

For several years she has lived in Finnsnes, a two-hour drive from Tromsø, so she knows how tedious it can be to travel to the University Hospital for an examination. And how much time could have been saved by using more technology in emergency situations.

"I am convinced that at least half of all the people who travel to hospitals could have been helped in other ways, avoiding the journey to the hospital, the traffic delays, and the waiting – for example by sending an email to the specialists."
 

Learning about the organization of the public health service

This is why Eva has now taken the step into a world which, at this stage, is uncharted territory for her. She enjoys new challenges, getting things going, and making technology work. 

"This is an exciting new field, and we have an outstanding academic community which is also very sociable," she says – and reveals that she already feels tempted to continue with a doctorate programme in telemedicine.

"It is especially interesting to learn more about issues that an IT person has not thought deeply about before, that the public health service is organized in different ways around the world – and that this has important implications for how new technology can be introduced," she concludes.