How are digitization and mobilization making healthcare simpler and advanced?

The Indian healthcare sector has been witnessing a gradual influx of new-age technologies over the past decade. With the onset of the COVID pandemic, the use of technology to facilitate remote health care services has speeded up the process of digitization. Furthermore, healthcare organizations are also addressing the need for adopting comprehensive and robust digital structures; structures that can meet the futuristic needs of the patients. This results in ensuring a promising future of the sector as patients and doctors are accepting the benefits of digital health and medicine.

Digitization and mobilization of healthcare resources have transformed the way the industry functions. It has changed the way doctors and patients interact, empowering them to adopt a proactive health care management approach. To identify patients’ needs and demands, health care facilitators are leveraging new-age technologies such as analytics and big data and gaining actionable insights to deliver better outcomes.

Apart from this, the sector has seen a tremendous involvement of the government in speeding up the adoption process of digital health. Schemes like  Ayushman Bharat Yojna and many other government policies have accelerated the use of digital tools and mobilization of resources in healthcare. According to industry reports – the Indian digital healthcare market was valued at INR 116.61 Bn in 2018 in terms of revenue. The sector is projected to grow at a CAGR of 27.41% and reach INR 485.43 Bn by 2024.

Internet of things (IoT) for patients & healthcare providers

The adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the healthcare sector has increased sharply. Before the advent of IoT, the interaction between patients and healthcare providers was limited to physical visits and telecommunication. However, its adoption has made remote monitoring possible for health care providers to deliver the best outcomes that further prevents long stay or re-admission of patients in the hospitals. Furthermore, the sensor-based devices integrated with IoT help hospitals in tracking real-time data for important medical equipment. It even helps in inventory and asset management at pharmacies while keeping the temperature and other conditions under control.

Electronic Health Records

Doctors and healthcare organizations are making effective use of storing medical health records electronically. This has transformed the entire health care landscape by providing better management of care for patients. Many healthcare startups have come up with AI-integrated innovative solutions to enable quick access to patients' records. This improves productivity at the healthcare point by streamlining the process of its delivery.

Electronic Health Records automates every task ensured with efficiency and accuracy. For improved quality care, EHR increases the efficiency of treatment by eliminating the risk of misplacement, theft, or damage to sensitive medical reports. For instance, digital prescriptions are becoming a standard practice in the medical ecosystem to replace human tasks and storing error-free records.

Electronic data tracking

The connected wearable devices are driving up access to diagnostic care for patients and doctors. Integrated with digital, artificial intelligence, and data analytics, wearable devices transmit a person’s important records to doctors remotely. Devices such as fitness bands and other wireless devices provide important insights into a patient’s blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen, etc. That further facilitates personalized treatment to patients. Similarly, mobile apps are also disrupting the conventional health care ecosystem. These apps are taking over the healthcare sector while transforming people’s life. From easing the process of appointment scheduling, diagnosis, accessibility to prescriptions, and availability of medicines, healthcare apps play a significant role in simplifying the delivery of health care services.

Role of Big Data in healthcare

Big Data is known to unlock immense opportunities in the health care ecosystem. In the health care scenario, Big Data aggregates information from various sources. Some include hospital records, patient medical records, examination reports, frequency of visits, and even the financial transactions at the centre. It provides a variety of benefits to ensure advanced healthcare services.

The use of Big Data removes inconsistencies in patient’s health management. The data stored digitally helps in alerting the patient as well as the doctor about the potential risks. It aids in identifying what to do next to ensure preventive care. This further reduces the re-admission or re-visits of patients to clinics. Big Data helps doctors in creating a preventive care plan in reducing the chances of recurring diseases. Furthermore, Big Data, due to its predictive nature, helps medical hospitals and doctors in anticipating the number of patients’ admission in the future. This further assists in the deployment of staff to provide better facilities at the centre.

The widespread use of automation reduces the burden of conventional tasks that requires human intervention. With modernization in the industry, doctors and hospitals can deliver improved results even in sensitive cases. Additionally, the adoption of new-age technology shows remarkable results in the advancement of complete healthcare ecosystems in the country.