Technology has improved our lives tremendously. The days of queuing up for hours at bank counters to perform simple transactions, for example, are long gone as customers have shifted to online and mobile banking. While information and communication technology (ICT) has taken various industries (such as business and finance) by storm, the healthcare sector only began to welcome ICT during the last decade.
Challenges With the Current Healthcare Market
Each year the United States spends an average of $10,000 per capita on healthcare. According to Health Tech Zone, this spending has not been reflected in a healthier population due to the inefficient delivery of healthcare services. The effects of inefficiency include inaccurate diagnoses and unnecessary prescriptions. In addition, there is a widening gap between the demand for healthcare and its supply. As a result, patients in the U.S. must wait days before being able to book an appointment with a doctor.
Such problems are also faced by many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. However, as people become more health-conscious, they are prepared to spend more on healthcare to receive better service. Some patients are even willing to travel elsewhere to meet their medical needs. An example of this is the many Indonesians who travel to Malaysia or Thailand each year for medical purposes.
An article by PwC Global Healthcare highlights that healthcare expenditures are increasing greatly due to a growing and ageing population. Traditional bricks and mortar healthcare centres are, inevitably, increasingly straining to keep up with the exponential demand for their services. This is a global problem affecting healthcare providers in many countries. As accessibility to and quality of healthcare services become major concerns among industry players, there is a need to integrate technology into the current healthcare system. The digitalisation of healthcare services can address gaps in the current market by improving the quality and accessibility of such services for the larger population at a fraction of current costs.
The Endless Potential of Digital Health Ventures
The use of various digital technologies and solutions will transform the healthcare industry in the years to come. Technologies such as SMS, video conferencing, web monitoring, and cloud and e-health apps can meet the demands of those with non-pressing medical needs, thus reducing high patient loads faced by traditional healthcare providers. New ventures that focus on the use of digital medical and health consultation platforms are gaining popularity among healthcare providers and patients alike.
A startup app called Nurx, for instance, which focuses on women’s health, allows registered patients to connect with doctors over the Internet. This reduces the need for regular consultations and paves the way for underserved communities to gain access to reproductive healthcare with just a few swipes of a mobile phone. Another mobile app called the Lark Health Coach AI (HCAI) is designed to monitor at-risk diabetes patients using a mobile health coach with artificial intelligence. A study of the app’s users published in JMIR Diabetes showed that more than 75% of participants lost weight after completing an average of 103 sessions over the course of 15 weeks. The positive outcome of the study signifies the potential of e-health services to substitute face-to-face coaching for visits to healthcare providers for at-risk diabetes patients.
Bridging the Gap with the Digitalisation of Healthcare Services
Vaughn Kauffman, PwC Global Healthcare New Entrants Leader, states that developing countries will need to spend billions on healthcare over the next decade. He stresses the importance of investing in technological advancements to leverage developed markets. This statement echoes with the notion expressed by Mahenthiran Thanapal, the Director of Business Operations at Prince Court Medical Centre Malaysia, that the Malaysian healthcare sector needs to leapfrog into the use of digital technology as a way to mitigate rising healthcare delivery costs.
The amount invested in digital health start-ups in the U.S. market has increased greatly over the past seven years as more consumers have embraced the use of digital products. The increasing popularity of digital healthcare is a trend that needs to be addressed by Malaysia and other developing countries as a means of containing the ongoing rise in healthcare expenditures. In the years to come, more apps and technologies will be developed to provide new ways of delivering healthcare services, and health and medical professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers will see the potential of increasing digitalisation in the healthcare sector. The future of digital healthcare provides patients with the prospect of fast and seamless experiences provided by e-health apps – from scheduling an appointment and booking a doctor, to tracking and managing symptoms in the comfort of one’s home.
