Kapa3 at HDHC: Bringing the Patient Perspective to Digital Health

Networking, knowledge exchange and new opportunities for collaboration

The monthly meeting of the Hellenic Digital Health Cluster (HDHC) provided another valuable opportunity for networking, knowledge exchange and the exploration of new collaborations within the rapidly evolving digital health ecosystem.

During the meeting, representatives of three new members — Kapa3 – Cancer Guidance Center, Reformer Business Optimization, and ERGOBYTE — introduced their work, expertise and capabilities to the wider HDHC community.

Kapa3: From real patient needs to the design of solutions

Kapa3 was represented by Aristea Archontidou, who presented the organisation’s work and the experience gained through its daily support of people affected by cancer and their caregivers.

A central focus of the presentation was one of the most significant challenges people face following a cancer diagnosis: fragmented information.

Alongside their treatment journey, patients and their families are often required to navigate a complex range of social, insurance, employment and administrative issues. Finding the right information across multiple systems and public sources can become an additional burden during an already demanding period.

This challenge is particularly important for people diagnosed with cancer while still of working age. Support therefore extends beyond treatment itself and includes helping people understand and exercise their rights, maintain their social and professional lives, and access the services and benefits available to them.

The numbers reflect a real need

Kapa3’s daily experience demonstrates the scale and diversity of these needs.

Between January and July 2026, Kapa3:

  • handled 1,251 telephone contacts,
  • sent 497 emails to beneficiaries,
  • managed 306 requests from 241 individuals,
  • covering 52 different categories of need, including disability certification, social benefits and employment rights.

Behind every number is a person seeking timely, understandable and reliable guidance.

These data reinforce the need for services and tools that do not simply provide more information, but help people find, understand and use the information that is relevant to their individual situation.

MYRTO AI: Technology supporting social navigation

A key part of the presentation was dedicated to MYRTO AI, the digital Social Rights Navigator being developed by Kapa3 for people affected by cancer and their caregivers.

MYRTO is designed to provide access to information and guidance 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in Greek and English, while also supporting voice interaction.

Developed with the support of the TIMA Charitable Foundation, MYRTO builds on Kapa3’s field experience and on the real questions and needs identified through the organisation’s direct work with patients and caregivers.

Its purpose is not to replace human support. Instead, technology is being developed as an additional tool for timely, reliable and more accessible navigation, helping people understand available options and identify the appropriate pathways for further support.

From field experience to digital innovation

This is where Kapa3’s participation in HDHC becomes particularly relevant.

Digital health is not only about developing new technologies. It is also about ensuring that these technologies respond to the real needs of the people who are expected to use them.

Through its daily interaction with patients and caregivers, Kapa3 can bring the end-user perspective into the digital health ecosystem and contribute to assessing the usability, accessibility, comprehensibility and real-world value of emerging digital tools.

In this way, experience from the field can become an integral part of the innovation and design process.

European engagement and new synergies

The presentation also highlighted Kapa3’s growing European activity through its participation in projects and initiatives such as e.Health4Cancer, MELODIC, MOVE-ON and PERIFORMANCE, alongside its continued efforts to develop new partnerships through European programmes and networks.

Participation in HDHC creates another meeting point between civil society, research, technology and entrepreneurship, opening new possibilities for collaboration focused on digital health and people-centred innovation.

HDHC: Building bridges for digital health collaboration

The monthly meeting once again demonstrated the value of connecting organisations, research bodies and companies that bring different areas of expertise to a shared digital health ecosystem.

For Kapa3, participation in such a network is not only an opportunity for networking and knowledge exchange. It also provides a platform for advancing a principle that lies at the heart of our work:

digital innovation creates real value when it starts with people’s needs and returns to them in the form of meaningful, accessible and trustworthy support.

Kapa3 joins PERIFORMANCE: From Information to Trust in Cancer Care

Kapa3 – Cancer Guidance Centre is pleased to announce that its proposal, “From Information to Trust: MYRTO Patient & Citizen Lab for Equal Access in Cancer Care,” has been selected for funding under the PERIFORMANCE Open Call for Bottom-Up Stakeholder Engagement Initiatives in Cancer Research & Care.

The initiative places patients, caregivers, healthcare and social care professionals, civil society organisations and local communities at the heart of the process, creating a participatory framework for the ethical, trustworthy and inclusive use of AI-enabled cancer navigation.

Putting patients and citizens at the centre

The project is closely linked to MYRTO, Kapa3’s AI-enabled digital social assistant designed to support people affected by cancer in navigating health, social care, administrative procedures and rights-related information.

PERIFORMANCE funding will not support the core technical development of MYRTO. Instead, the project will focus on building the participatory, educational and ethical layer around the tool, ensuring that its future development is shaped by the real needs, experiences and expectations of the people who will use it.

This approach reflects a key principle for Kapa3: technology should not replace human care. When designed responsibly, however, it can become a powerful tool for improving access, empowerment and equality.

From local communities to a national dialogue

The engagement pathway will include regional listening activities, a thematic focus on vulnerable and underrepresented groups, and a central MYRTO Patient & Citizen Lab in Athens.

Particular attention will be given to caregivers, older patients, migrants, people with disabilities, people with low health or digital literacy, socially vulnerable groups and people living far from specialised oncology services.

The Athens Lab will be integrated into Kapa3’s national conference “Equality in Access”, creating a space for synthesising regional experiences, identifying trust criteria and collecting patient and caregiver perspectives on AI-supported navigation.

What does trust in AI-supported cancer navigation mean?

At the heart of the project lies a fundamental question:

What does a person need in order to trust a digital tool during one of the most sensitive periods of their life?

Through co-creation and stakeholder engagement, the initiative will explore issues such as:

  • reliability and clarity of information,
  • data protection and privacy,
  • accessibility and digital inclusion,
  • responsible use of Artificial Intelligence,
  • prevention of bias and exclusion,
  • human oversight,
  • and clear referral pathways to appropriate professionals when human support is needed.

Bringing together science, civil society and lived experience

Kapa3 will coordinate the initiative and lead its design, implementation, facilitation, patient and community outreach, dissemination and reporting.

The project will be supported by a multidisciplinary academic and scientific collaboration network involving the International Hellenic University – Department of Nursing, University of West Attica – Department of Occupational Therapy, Democritus University of Thrace – Department of Social Work, and University of the Peloponnese – Department of Nursing. simasiaAI will provide technical support for MYRTO-related digital materials and the AI navigation environment.

The project is expected to produce practical resources including a Patient Guidance Toolkit, a Trust & Human Escalation Checklist, a Training and Dissemination Package, and an Engagement & Trust Report.

From information to trust

For Kapa3, participation in PERIFORMANCE marks another step towards ensuring that the patient voice is present not only when new services and technologies are evaluated, but from the very beginning of their design.

With MYRTO, the question is no longer simply:

“How can we provide more information?”

It is increasingly:

“How can we turn information into understanding, trust, safety and real access?”

Because responsible digital health innovation begins with people.