X data analysis reveals the focus on digital health

The collected X data emphasizes digital health and patient safety, with frequent mentions of “digital” and “health,” indicating a focus on technological advancements. “Patient” and “safety” are also prominent, highlighting discussions on care quality. Networking and research are key themes, as seen in terms like “networking,” “technologies,” and “research.” The use of words like “share,” “study,” and “article” suggests a research focus and collaborative effort to improve health outcomes. Along the same line, mentions of “journal,” “book,” and “papers” reflect a commitment to academic contributions and knowledge dissemination (Table 1, Figure 2).

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Figure 2. Word cloud of the 50 most common words revealed from the X datasets analysis of the #DHPSP2024 posts.

Analysis of the word counts from Table 1 using the Lilliefors goodness-of-fit test reveals a departure from normality, which was additionally validated by using the Q-Q plot (Figure 3). The search for extremes, Figure 4, identified values associated with the words ranked on the first four positions (digital, health, patient, safety) as statistically significant extremes that proved the principal focus of the digital networking event.

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Figure 3. Quantile-Quantile (Q-Q) plot assessing the normality of word counts from Table 1.

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Figure 4. Box Plot highlighting extreme word frequencies from Table 1.

Thus, the results indicate that the networking events attracted focus on words related to academia and networking as well as digital health. Moreover, our 50 most common hashtag analysis supports the evidence that the networking event was successful in focusing on patient digital health.

The X hashtag data highlights a strong focus on digital health and patient safety, with #DHPSP2024, #DigitalHealth, and #PatientSafety leading the conversation (Table 2). The top hashtags emphasize the importance of healthcare innovations and patient well-being. Hashtags like #SciComm and #INPST underscore the value of scientific communication and research collaboration. The dataset also reveals discussions around specific health issues, with hashtags like #Telehealth, #Dementia, and #NutritionFacts indicating targeted topics. Overall, the data reflect an active community engaged in promoting digital health advancements and enhancing global healthcare practices (Table 2).

Analysis of the word counts from Table 2 using the Lilliefors test confirmed the departure from normality initially observed in Table 1 and Figures 3 and 4.

Our analysis reveals that the digital event created attention toward various networking aspects, such as healthcare innovations, scientific communication, with many underlying topics addressed such as nutrition and disease pathologies such as dementia.

Common co-occurring hashtags reveal various aspects of the networking event impact

The co-occurring hashtag data from the X posts reveal a strong emphasis on digital health and patient safety, with #DHPSP2024 frequently paired with #DigitalHealth and #INPST (Table 3). These combinations highlight ongoing initiatives in healthcare innovation and safety measures. Hashtags like #INPST and #SciComm are also commonly associated, underscoring the importance of research and scientific communication. The presence of #Gratitude and #WithRefugees indicates broader community engagement and support for global causes. This dataset reflects a vibrant X community actively discussing health advancements and social issues, fostering collaboration and awareness across diverse topics.

Interestingly, the event surpassed the boundaries of academic networking to engage with global causes, as evidenced by the World Refugee Day hashtag occurring alongside the networking event main hashtag.

Analysis of the word counts from Table 3 using the Lilliefors test also revealed the same departure from normality.

Analysis of the LinkedIn #DHPSP2024 posts dataset

The LinkedIn data highlights a strong emphasis on health and technology, with prominent words like “health”, “digital”, and “healthcare” leading the conversation (Table 4, Figure 5). The frequent mentions of “research”, “patient”, and “safety” indicate a focus on advancing healthcare practices and ensuring patient well-being. Terms such as “data”, “technologies”, and “AI” (abbreviation from “artificial intelligence”) reflect the integration of digital tools in health solutions. The presence of words like “journal”, “study”, and “information” underscores the importance of knowledge sharing and research dissemination. Additionally, “networking”, “platform”, and “professionals” emphasize community engagement and collaboration. Overall, the data showcases a vibrant LinkedIn community dedicated to exploring the future of healthcare and technology (Table 4, Figure 5).

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Figure 5. Word cloud of the most occurring words in the #DHPSP2024 posts on LinkedIn supports the diverse topic areas discussed during the networking event.

Analysis of the word counts from Table 4 using the Lilliefors test also reveals the respective departure from normality.

Interestingly, LinkedIn data analysis showed a considerable outreach toward practical topics related to medical research, such as “mental health”, “researcher”, “patient”, and “intervention”.

50 most common hashtags of the LinkedIn posts

The LinkedIn data showcases a diverse array of hashtags, with a significant focus on health and technology (Table 5, Figure 6). The most frequently used hashtags are #DHPSP2024, #DHPSP, and #DigitalHealth, indicating a strong emphasis on digital health and patient safety. Other notable hashtags include #PatientSafety, #ExplorDHT, and #healthcare, underscoring the importance of healthcare and patient well-being. Additionally, there’s a presence of hashtags related to professional and academic communities such as #INPST, #NPMND, and #IIST. The data also highlights interests in specific fields like #physiotherapy, #NutritionFacts, and #DataScience. The variety of hashtags, including those with just one mention, like #technology, #telehealth, and #AI, reflects a broad engagement with topics spanning health, technology, and professional development on LinkedIn (Table 5, Figure 6).

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Figure 6. Word cloud of the 50 most common LinkedIn hashtags of the #DHPSP2024 posts.

Similarly to the data from Tables 1–4, analysis of the word counts from Table 5 using the Lilliefors test also reveals the departure from normality.

Taken together, the data analysis of X versus LinkedIn data could indicate that although both events share a common theme, they also differentiate into distinctive areas of influence.

Qualitative analysis of the content revealed the dominant thematic clusters, among which the most frequent were telemedicine as a way to ensure continuous patient care, the use of AI in the diagnosis and prediction of diseases, the use of digital sensors in monitoring chronic conditions, and the introduction of digital pharmacovigilance systems and tools based on “digital twins” for modeling public health, etc.

Posts about personal research and new publications

Search for partners and vacancies in the scientific field

The networking event discussed finding collaborative partners and jobs, and featured research award opportunities such as the 2024 Young Investigator Award (2,000 CHF; Application Deadline 31 December 2024), a PhD position within the natural products research laboratory at the University of Strathclyde, a PhD studentship in the Centre for Skin Sciences, University of Bradford, the Patchwork Health Clinical Fellowship Program, and a project assistant position (Department of Biological Sciences & Biotechnology, Faculty of Science & Technology, UKM), and a PhD position in AI/ML Algorithms for 6G Telemetry Systems (Netherlands), and a specialist job opening in textual analysis for creating collaborations, etc.

Announcements of special issues and scientific journals

Participants in the network event paid special attention to the announcements of special issues of the journals, such as “Insight in Pharmacological Treatment of Pain” in the journal Frontiers in Pain Research, “Exploration of Digital Health Technologies”, Special Issue “Applications of Cheminformatics and Machine Learning in Predictive Modeling of Property and Toxicity Endpoints of Nanoparticles” in Computational and Structural Biotech Journal, Biomolecules Special Issue “Therapeutic Potential of Natural Products in Metabolic Diseases”; Pharmaceutics Special Issue “Computational Intelligence Tools in Applications of Pharmaceutics”, etc. In addition, book and patent publications were presented, as well as information on changes to the JCR list in 2024.

Announcements about scientific events and conferences

The network event posts featured announcements of seminars, lectures, and conferences such as AARM 2024, 1st International Conference on Autism Advanced Research and Management in Athens, 27th Annual National Convention of the Association of Pharmaceutical Teachers of India (APTICON-2024), and UCL Open Science Conference 2024, among others.

Other digital health solutions

Various digital health technologies and developments were also highlighted, such as Liminal VR virtual reality to improve learning and corporate health, the NaviCam system for non-invasive stomach exams, and the BMind smart mirror using AI to improve mental health. In addition, best practices in chemical characterization of plant extracts and safe digital health monitoring solutions [70], and a video regarding early detection of colorectal cancer, among others, were discussed.

Overall, the event posts referenced several cutting-edge technologies across various healthcare domains. For example, Liminal VR, a virtual reality platform for improving learning in corporate health training, illustrates how immersive technology can be leveraged in healthcare professional education and workplace wellness. Also highlighted was the NaviCam system, an ingestible capsule endoscopy device for non-invasive stomach examinations, reflecting an advancement in gastroenterology that enhances patient comfort and safety by avoiding traditional endoscopy procedures. Similarly, the BMind smart mirror, which uses AI to support mental health, was noted as an unobtrusive digital tool to monitor and promote wellbeing in everyday settings. Participants also shared best-practice guidelines [70] for safe digital health monitoring and a video on early detection of colorectal cancer. This sharing of resources demonstrates how the community used the #DHPSP2024 event not only to spotlight new technologies but also to disseminate knowledge and raise awareness about patient safety practices (for example, standardizing approaches to digital health research and promoting important public health messages).

Interpretation of key insights and practical implications

A key observation from the event’s data is the prominence of telemedicine and AI in the conversations. This suggests a collective recognition among participants that these technologies are crucial drivers for enhancing patient safety and healthcare quality. For instance, repeated references to telehealth initiatives indicate its established role in maintaining continuity of care and expanding access to services. Meanwhile, enthusiasm for AI-driven tools—from diagnostics in ophthalmology and oncology to decision-support in mental health—highlights the expectation that intelligent systems will increasingly support clinical decision-making and personalized treatment. These insights align with broader trends in digital health and confirm that global stakeholders are actively focusing on technologies with immediate practical impact.

Another important implication of our findings lies in the distinct ways different social platforms were used during the event. X and LinkedIn served complementary purposes: X facilitated rapid science communication and community building (e.g., sharing research highlights with hashtags like #SciComm), whereas LinkedIn was utilized for professional discourse and networking (e.g., discussions on data science applications and calls for collaboration). This dual-platform dynamic suggests that future digital health networking initiatives can maximize reach and engagement by leveraging each platform’s strengths—using the real-time, inclusive conversations on X to generate interest, and the more formal professional exchanges on LinkedIn to deepen discussions. For event organizers and communicators, understanding this distinction is valuable for tailoring strategies to better connect with the intended audience on each platform.

From a practical perspective, our analysis provides a snapshot of emerging priorities in the digital health and patient safety landscape. The wide geographic participation (posts from 38 countries) underscores that improving patient safety through digital innovation is a globally shared concern, and it demonstrates how social media can bridge diverse regions in health discussions. Readers can glean which areas—such as telecardiology, AI-powered diagnostics, IoMT for chronic care, and VR-based health training—are currently capturing the community’s attention and investment. Such awareness can help healthcare professionals and policymakers recognize promising digital solutions and identify opportunities for collaboration. For example, the strong interest in telemedicine even after the acute phase of the pandemic suggests that health systems should continue integrating virtual care into standard practice. Similarly, the community’s enthusiasm for novel AI tools may encourage targeted research funding and cross-disciplinary partnerships to further develop and implement these innovations.

Finally, we acknowledge the limitations of using social media content as research data when interpreting our findings. Our analysis captures participants’ engagement and perspectives during a networking event, which offers insight into community interests but does not directly measure the real-world effectiveness or outcomes of the technologies discussed. Accordingly, we have confined our conclusions to describing how the digital health community interacted and what topics were trending, rather than making broad generalizations about healthcare impact. This approach ensures our interpretations remain grounded in the available data and avoids overstating the implications.

Despite these limitations, we believe that capturing this moment in the digital health discourse is valuable. By identifying what experts and stakeholders found noteworthy during #DHPSP2024, our study provides an early indicator of where innovation and collaboration efforts are headed in this field. In adopting this balanced approach, we aim to offer meaningful insights to readers while maintaining appropriate caution.

Looking forward: advancing digital health through policy, ethics, and global collaboration

As digital health technologies continue to evolve, their integration into healthcare systems is expected to accelerate, transforming care delivery toward a more personalized, predictive, and participatory model. AI will likely expand its role in diagnostics, decision support, and administrative automation, while digital therapeutics and remote monitoring tools will enhance chronic disease management and early intervention strategies [29]. However, these advances bring complex challenges that must be addressed to ensure equitable and ethical adoption. Ensuring health equity—especially among underserved populations with limited digital access or literacy—remains a top priority, alongside safeguarding cybersecurity and data privacy in increasingly interconnected health ecosystems [6, 50]. Regulatory systems must also adapt to assess the safety, efficacy, and interoperability of rapidly emerging tools such as AI algorithms and wearable devices [34]. Furthermore, ethical concerns, including algorithmic bias, transparency, and patient autonomy, demand frameworks that promote inclusivity, informed consent, and accountability in digital applications [47, 71]. Global and cross-sectoral collaboration will be pivotal in addressing these concerns. Initiatives such as the WHO’s Global Initiative on Digital Health (GIDH) and the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) exemplify efforts to align digital health strategies, infrastructure, and policy at a transnational level [72, 73]. These platforms aim to support countries in moving from fragmented pilot projects to sustainable digital ecosystems, ensuring that innovations translate into safer, more effective, and more accessible care. The insights gained from the #DHPSP2024 event underscore the need to proactively anticipate these dynamics, enabling the digital health community to shape a future that is not only technologically advanced but also ethically responsible and globally inclusive.

Conclusions

Based on the results of the network event, the following conclusions and recommendations can be made. The networking event facilitated the exchange of ideas and experiences, providing opportunities for participants to find collaborators, collaborative projects, and to strengthen scientific ties. This stimulates the formation of new models of digital health and the introduction of advanced solutions to improve patient safety and quality of care. The data obtained can be used to develop educational programs, improve digital interfaces, implement AI solutions, and create patient safety monitoring platforms.

The application of the principles of open innovation within the event accelerated the process of finding and implementing new ideas, which might be significantly surpassing the traditional “closed” model of innovation in speed and efficiency. In addition, the event has become a source of motivation for researchers. The opportunity to present their scientific works to the scientific community will contribute to their wide distribution and increased visibility, which might have a positive effect on future citations of scientific publications. Messages about upcoming conferences will allow participants to expand their professional knowledge and improve their skills. The DHPSP platform benefited from the additional networking opportunities that will hopefully promote further fruitful cooperation, with the potential to contribute to the successful implementation of future digital health and patient safety solutions.