Digital channels will play a huge role in the future of the delivery of healthcare services. The transition from traditional personal services to these digitally enabled services has already accelerated in the last two years. The last few years have seen a massive influx of technology-led solutions to provide better patient care. From government agencies to large private hospitals; From healthtech startups to individual practitioners; Adoption of technology by all stakeholders has led to a quick clip.
Use of artificial intelligence (AI), Machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, data analytics, blockchain and cloud computing are making deep inroads into the healthcare sector. Not surprisingly, global consulting major McKinsey predicts that the global market for digital health, which was about $ 350 billion in 2019 before the COVID-19 epidemic, is expected to reach $ 515 billion by 2024 at an eight per cent CAGR.
Back home, the epidemic has accelerated the pace of digital adoption. India’s national telemedicine service – eSanjivani has crossed the milestone by completing 3 million consultations by the end of March, 2021. Similarly, India’s flagship covid-tracing and vaccination status app has over 190 million registered users. Such widespread acceptance of technology-led solutions reflects that technology and healthcare are inseparable.
Deep penetration of digital technology:
Smart Healthcare is based on the proper application of digital technology in healthcare delivery. At heart, cases of use are on the rise. For example, with AI-powered software solutions, pattern identification, classification, inconsistency detection and prediction are getting better. Remote surgery technology now allows specialists to reach distant places in a matter of seconds. It only takes access to the Internet and compatible devices. Also, AI-powered solutions embedded with analytics diagnose diseases such as cancer at an early stage through medical imaging. This can easily detect abnormalities without early diagnosis and early treatment. Similarly, a combination of solutions taking advantage of IoT (Internet of Things), AI and cloud computing has been powering a range of smart healthcare devices in recent times.
The widespread acceptance of telehealth through teleconsultation platforms is proof of this fact. This advanced teleconsultation app is user-friendly with a simple interface that can be used on all devices in a variety of operating systems. They also remember the patient’s history with past treatment records, calling in specialists as needed to make the counseling process easier, faster and more economical as well as effective. Similarly, wearable devices like smart watch, fitness tracker, ECG monitor, blood pressure monitor, biosensor are powered by IoT solution.
IoT’s most complex application is found in the Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) space. IoT-powered software applications are successfully embedded in hardware devices to automatically collect health metrics such as heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and more such critical data points from patients without any physical intervention from ICUs. Such data, which is displayed on the dashboard on a real-time basis, helps doctors perform life-saving interventions. For emerging economies like India and many African countries, adopting RPM solutions is more important than developing economies. This is because of the low availability of healthcare professionals in these geographical regions. Digital technology makes it much easier to make these specialists available across the country; Even in difficult-to-reach areas, hilly areas and remote villages where timely treatment is rare. However, through the RPM application, doctors can monitor the importance of the body of patients living in remote areas and suggest hospitalization in case of medications or anomalies.
Therefore, the use of RPM solutions has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare ecosystem through active health delivery. In this way, information technology (IT) has democratized access to treatment in all geographical areas, removing critical time and distance barriers.
Cloud computing is another technological frontier, witnessing huge applications in the healthcare space. Organizations operating in this ecosystem are migrating to the cloud in crowds. This leads to automation of many processes, which saves time and cost for these ventures. Electronic Health Records is the most notable use case for taking advantage of cloud computing solutions.
The Government of India has launched an ambitious initiative to create a digital health ID for every citizen. Such a digital health ID initiative could help nations develop a universal healthcare system based on electronic health records (EHR) and e-health centers. Smart hospitals are also gaining popularity worldwide. These smart hospitals use RFID, infrared sensors, GPS, laser scanners and other information sensing equipment for better diagnosis, treatment and management of hospitals. Moreover, vaccine research and development are also witnessing the application of digital technology.
Contains security key:
The pace of digitization has multiplied due to the Kovid epidemic. The use of RPM solutions has gained popularity with telehealth platforms, e-pharmacy, wearable devices, cloud migration. However, deeper technical interventions come with their own risks. In most applications used by caregivers, patient data is stored in digital form. Any breach of such a database would endanger the privacy and confidentiality of patients. Therefore, with strong cyber security measures Zero Trust Network Sensitive data protection (ZTN) approach will be required.
Global healthcare is on a large scale in the coming years. The epidemic has shown that India is a leader in many aspects of digital healthcare. To maintain momentum, all stakeholders must work together. This could prevent the future of healthcare.
By Sanjeev Dahiwadkar, Founder and CEO of Cognota Healthcare.
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