Gaurav Dubey
The Covid 19 pandemic created a psychological, psychosocial, and economic slowdown and has given rise to many challenges. Besides, the pandemic became a reality check for many aspects of healthcare systems, especially regarding the overall readiness.
The lack of availability of medical services, equipment, lack of medicines, and even lack of accuracy in reports were significant challenges faced during the pandemic. During these times, a dire need was felt to make everything more organised, accessible, affordable, and dependable. And technology quickly came to help.
Technology being a big part of our daily lives proves to be an asset in offering convenience, especially when it comes to healthcare and medical facilities. More than ever before, technology is now trying to expand its horizons and make our lives more convenient. Some of the key areas where technology is seen to improve healthcare are:
Integration of Health Technology and Big Technology: In the earlier times, the integration of these two entities resulted in many false beginnings. Since patient identification is challenging, a common PAS was established to make things easier and keep all the data in sync. Big tech companies have been trying to increase the use of health technologies for a long time, but it was only last year that this trend finally took hold.
Laying focus on Consumer Wellness Products: Consumer retail wellness products have gained a lot of importance. The pandemic undoubtedly has helped grow this space, specifically for health technology companies that target individual wellness.
Revolutionising the concept of Home Care: After virtual care, the ability to offer patients treatment from the comfort of their own homes itself is revolutionising the idea of quality care and accessibility. This is especially true in the case of Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, who were able to transfer a lot of their much-needed services out of healthcare facilities and into patients’ homes during the times of pandemic. This trend is only growing and is anticipated to grow in three years.
Increasing the use of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and Automation: Just like the merger of health tech with big tech, AI in healthcare helps health systems and practitioners eliminate tedious administrative tasks like patient monitoring, scribing, and many administrative duties.
Building More Sustainable Healthcare Systems: With much waste disposed of in hospitals and labs, waste management becomes a monumental task. Innovation in the healthcare industry will lead to re-evaluation, reimagining, and reinvention of sustainable efforts which will protect patient health beyond the examination room.
Making healthcare future-proof: Technology is doing the most in making the healthcare sector sustainable and more advanced so that healthcare services can become more affordable and accessible. During the pandemic, the rise of online consultations and testing helped the patients and the doctors maintain social distancing and save time and efficiency.
This is expected to grow in the future, ensuring more convenience and accuracy. Another aspect of medical technology that will help reduce healthcare costs is enabling doctors to focus on more critical aspects of their work. This will help in increasing clinical efficiency and bring down prices. The use of big data with the help of wearable smart devices and applications will also help in preventive healthcare by promoting positive lifestyle changes.
Gaurav Dubey is Chief Executive Officer, LivLong (a healthcare startup)
