aneesh

The Indian subcontinent is home to over 1.3 billion people as of 2021, and the health challenges faced by its population are numerous and complex. Poor healthcare infrastructure, inadequate funding, and a shortage of medical professionals have hindered the provision of quality healthcare services to many Indians. However, technology acts as a beacon of hope with its palpable potential to revolutionise the way healthcare services are delivered across the subcontinent to improve health outcomes.

In India, technology is being leveraged to address some of the healthcare sector’s challenges and improve access to healthcare services for millions of people. From mobile health apps and wearables to artificial intelligence and blockchain, technology is transforming the healthcare landscape in India, enabling healthcare providers to reach patients in remote and underserved areas and provide them with quality care.

State of Healthcare Delivery in India

Despite significant progress made in the past few decades, India’s healthcare system still faces numerous challenges. Issues such as inadequate funding, unequal distribution of healthcare services across regions, poor quality of care, and affordability prevent many people from accessing necessary medical care. While some improvements have been made in recent years, there is still a long way to go in improving the healthcare delivery system in India.

HEALTHTECH SOLUTIONS:

The role of AI/Robotics in improving healthcare delivery

The application of Artificial Intelligence is enabling healthcare providers to improve processes, reduce costs, and enhance patient outcomes. By handling medical records and real-time transmission and analysis of clinical data, AI can enable healthcare providers to diagnose and treat patients more efficiently and accurately while also ensuring that healthcare services, especially in remote or hitherto underserved areas, become more accessible.

AI also improves patient experience, by providing patients with round-the-clock access to medical information and advice, reduces wait times, and helps reduce burnout among healthcare practitioners by automating routine tasks, AI algorithms can also analyse vast amounts of data from medical tests, making accurate diagnoses and reducing errors.

As AI continues to evolve and advance, its scope is expected to revolutionise healthcare delivery further. Meanwhile, hybrid models, which combine the strengths of both human expertise and AI, can play a crucial role in assisting doctors with diagnosis and disease identification while incorporating human clinical expertise to ensure that treatments are personalised for each patient.

The power of IoT: Revolutionizing remote diagnosis and treatment

Besides AI, IoT (Internet of Things) is also transforming the healthcare sector by enabling remote diagnosis and treatment, facilitating continuous monitoring of patient health, and improving the efficiency of healthcare delivery. IoT devices are a network of interconnected devices that can exchange data and perform tasks without human intervention. Wearable sensors and smart medical devices can collect data about a patient’s health, and transmit it to healthcare providers remotely for analysis and diagnosis. For example, smart medical devices, such as insulin pumps and pacemakers, provide quality care to patients at home while enabling timely interventions as necessary.

Telemedicine plays a key role in creating a huge impact on patient care

In all of this, the role of telemedicine is particularly noteworthy as it is leveraging digital technologies to provide remote access to medical care, making it easier for patients to receive timely and quality healthcare services. By connecting patients with healthcare providers in real-time and facilitating remote consultations and monitoring, telemedicine is improving access to healthcare services, reducing healthcare costs, and enhancing the patient experience.

Digitisation and digitalisation of healthcare in India

India is rapidly embracing digital health technologies to enhance healthcare delivery across the country. The Indian government has launched various initiatives to encourage the digitisation and digitalisation of healthcare in the country. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to create a digital infrastructure for the healthcare sector in India and provide universal health coverage.

The digitisation and digitalisation of healthcare in India have paved the way for the adoption of enterprise applications that can help streamline operations and provide better patient care to improve health outcomes for millions. Enterprise applications enable an entire ecosystem to manage complete patient care and hospital operations through a task-based healthcare information management system.

Building stronger health systems with data

The importance of data in healthcare delivery can hardly be overstated. Recognizing its value in healthcare, some innovative companies in India are aiding with data cleansing, aggregation, and integration necessary to get actionable insights that help decision-makers make forecasts using machine learning. Predictive analytics is being used to identify patients at risk of developing certain health conditions, allowing healthcare providers to intervene early and provide preventive care. Data sharing and harmonization are also being promoted through government-led initiatives like the National Digital Health Mission, which aims to create a digital health infrastructure that can be leveraged by various stakeholders in the healthcare industry.

Challenges to implementing healthtech solutions in India

Although health-tech solutions hold great promise for improving healthcare in India, it is important to acknowledge the significant challenges that exist in their implementation such as regulatory issues, lack of adequate infrastructure, and data privacy and security concerns. While the Indian government has taken initiatives to address some of these issues, much work still needs to be done to create an enabling environment for health-tech innovation to thrive.

Conclusion

The healthcare sector in India is at a crucial juncture, with the potential for transformational change through the adoption of health tech solutions. While there are challenges to overcome, it is essential to recognize the immense potential of health tech innovations. Therefore, it is imperative that healthcare providers, policymakers, and investors continue to invest in and implement health tech solutions to improve healthcare delivery in India. With continued efforts, India has the potential to become a leader in healthcare innovation and set an example for the rest of the world.

Views expressed by Aneesh Nair, CIO , Co-Founder, MyHealthcare

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