Healthcare’s Digitalisation

Towards a better future!

Prasanthi Sadhu

Prasanthi Sadhu

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Prasanthi Sadhu Editor, Asian Hospitals and Healthcare Management

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Digital health has been around for quite some time. Advancements in technology, rising demand for better care, and governments' focus on improved health economy have contributed to the digital transformation in the healthcare sector. Healthcare providers and professionals are continuously challenged to come up with innovative and cost-effective ways of providing effective care and better patient outcomes. In the past few years, digital technologies have changed the healthcare landscape into becoming more patient-centric, with care givers focusing on engaging patients and improving their experiences.

According a Deloitte report, global healthcare spending is estimated to cross US$10 trillion by 2022. As the global healthcare market embraces digitalisation, innovation has a major role to play. Healthcare companies have been investing heavily in digital technologies to drive innovation and value-based care, while making care giving more accessible and efficient. Digitalisation results in better usage of patient data by care givers enabling them to offer personalised healthcare to the patients.

With telemedicine, healthcare became more accessible for patients even in the remotest of areas. There are a host of digital innovations that help accelerate drug development, high-quality care, effective diagnosis & treatment: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Virtual health, Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR), and Blockchain. These technologies have led to a disruption in healthcare industry enabling high quality care with speed and accuracy, thereby resulting in improved patient outcomes.

Wearables have made patient tracking for healthcare professionals more seamless and effective. Tracking patient data and providing timely medical advice becomes easier with these applications. AI brings in chatbots, while robotics is being leveraged to make patient care smooth and safe. Meanwhile, big data is helping healthcare professionals identify potential risk factors for the patients leading to offering preventive medicine.

Implementation of virtual healthcare applications allows effective handling of patient care through better services using the telemedicine platform. This implementation will drive growth of the AR and VR usage in healthcare. According to Medgadget, AR & VR Healthcare Market valued approximately US$748.3 million in 2017 is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 30.1 per cent over the forecast period 2018-2025 to reach US$6141.78 million by 2025. Increasing use of AR and VR also helps reduce medical training costs and simplifies surgical procedures. Patient data stored on smart wearables allows data to be accessed from anywhere. Such advancements will enhance the development of AR and VR market in healthcare during the coming period.

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