Despite the potential of Health 4.0 to improve healthcare systems, current research does not properly explain its main emerging technologies, the application areas and the primary barriers to its implementation in practice. Therefore, this study aims to identify the main areas of application and the barriers to implementing Health 4.0 in healthcare systems in practice.
To address these issues, this study conducted a systematic literature review following the PRISMA protocol to identify the main applications and barriers to implementing Health 4.0.
The research findings enhance our understanding of the current advancements in Health 4.0 research and the principal challenges that must be tackled for its practical implementation in society. Based on these findings, we proposed a novel framework that assists healthcare decision-makers in overcoming obstacles to achieving Health 4.0 through the establishment of Smart Hospitals.
The study concludes that implementing Health 4.0 necessitates an interdisciplinary approach and the adoption of disruptive technologies, which must be customized for the varying social, economic and technological contexts of health systems across different countries.
The article demonstrates that adopting emerging technologies is crucial for the transition, as it highlights the importance of safeguarding data security and patient privacy. An interdisciplinary research agenda is developed, outlining priority directions for researchers, practitioners and policymakers to advance Health 4.0 realization.
