Imagine this. Neelamma, an 80-year-old widow, lives alone in a remote village and her children work away from home. She collapses in the market. Will she get the care she needs within the golden hour?

Now, if that village has leveraged healthcare technology, the scene could play out this way.

An emergency response team approaches her, revives her with an Automated External Defibrillator. A portable ECG machine immediately sends the report to a cardiologist in Hyderabad, who diagnoses the arrhythmia and asks the team to attach a mobile care-giver device that continuously transmits ECG data, even as she is taken to the nearest ICU (intensive care unit).

There, the intensivist attaches her to the monitor, her vitals are automatically recorded and visible to the cardiologist who is at the e-ICU command centre in Hyderabad. She is stabilised and shifted to tertiary care! Technology has the power to make healthcare accessible even to the remotest corner of the country. And the future of healthcare is bright only if the most-needy citizens get the necessary care at the right time.

Healthcare should not exist as islands of excellence sporadically peppering the huge Indian landscape. It should not mean that a patient, if lucky, will get a suitably trained physician or surgeon to diagnose and treat the problem, while others are left to fate! Hence, there is a need to move towards an integrated healthcare delivery system that leverages technology, keeping the patient at its centre.

Future Health Index

To assess India’s readiness to address these challenges, build a sustainable and fit-for-purpose national health system, Philips India undertook an exercise where it analysed the prevailing healthcare scenario on parameters including the use of technology, access to healthcare services and efficiency of the healthcare system. From this exercise was born the first edition of Future Health Index (FHI) report.

Predictably, the Index listed out paucity in the healthcare infrastructure and professionals, especially in tier II and tier III cities as a key problem. The only way we can make a difference to these numbers is through adoption of technology.

Interestingly, the survey also found increased awareness on the role of futuristic technologies in aiding healthcare delivery among health practitioners in India. Seven out of 10 were knowledgeable about connected care technologies and one out of seven said they are extremely knowledgeable. This readiness to adopt technology can be a key driver in delivering care.

The healthcare industry in India is slowly adopting technologies such as Robotics, Artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented and Virtual reality (AR/VR) and more, which could enable the implementation of connected care solutions.

Connected care means a seamless flow of data from the connected Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres and District Hospitals. With this available clinical data, the healthcare providers can then develop clinical intervention strategies that would reduce longer hospital stays and costs. For instance, insights based on AI can help make existing healthcare infrastructure more efficient thereby enhancing doctor productivity and subsequent care management.

The government has recognised this and NITI Aayog has set out a vision and strategy for AI. Healthcare is one of five areas identified for AI application. This is a nascent field globally, but we need to ride this wave, given the potential to develop solutions for India and globally. Will AI replace doctors? Definitely not. It will only complement and make accurate clinical diagnosis easier.

The Government’s Ayushman Bharat programme is also looking to address healthcare challenges. Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), aided by technology, can create a sustainable health diagnostics network in the country, making healthcare more accessible to the masses besides boosting implementation of various government schemes. Healthcare is a collective responsibility and all stakeholders of the ecosystem have to work together.

I do believe India is poised to take the technology quantum leap, making intelligent healthcare available to all, anytime, anywhere!

The writer is President, Philips India Healthcare. Views expressed are personal

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