Healthcare in the Digital Age: Advantages and Challenges Ahead

Although the COVID-19 epidemic has shifted our perspective on healthcare digitization, the road ahead remains lengthy. Several themes, including shifting consumer tastes, fast-evolving technologies, emerging talent models, and therapeutic innovation, were accelerated by the epidemic.

In light of these changes, as hospitals and health systems attempt to adjust their businesses, a well-defined approach to digital technology adoption will most certainly be at the heart of healthcare transformation strategy. Before we get into the specifics of how digital transformation may affect healthcare, it's important to understand its role and problems.

According to a Global Enterprise, 92% of healthcare professionals and institutes improved their performance as a result of digital transformation. Isn't it fascinating to look at those numbers? It is now clear that digital transformation services play an important role. It enables healthcare practitioners to make the most of technology in novel ways.

Furthermore, according to a media distribution service, the global digital healthcare market is estimated to reach $504.4 billion by 2025. To revolutionize your healthcare sector, you'd need a thorough picture of the modern digital health platform.

This blog will lead you through every facet of healthcare's digital transition. Let's get started right now.

What does Digitalization in Healthcare entail?

Digitalization is revolutionizing healthcare and simultaneously improving its services. With technological advancements, patients are increasingly turning to the internet to gather information about their health, especially in cases of cancer and chronic illnesses. They return to their healthcare providers armed with fresh insights and numerous inquiries, thereby raising awareness and showcasing how people leverage the internet to enhance their knowledge.

Organizations can support patients in their quest for self-guided learning through digital health solutions like mHealth apps. These apps aid patients in improving self-management, resolving doubts, and, importantly, becoming significant allies for healthcare professionals in collaborative decision-making processes.

In an ideal scenario, the digitalization of healthcare has the potential to instigate a comprehensive cultural shift from traditional to collaborative care, making shared decision-making a standard practice.

Moreover, the incorporation of healthcare software development not only positions you at the forefront of digitalization but also ensures the delivery of precise and high-quality clinical services.

Examples of Utilizing Digital Healthcare Solutions

By now, you're likely aware that the comprehensive transformation of healthcare through digitalization involves a holistic assessment of how medical units monitor and manage patient health. One of its primary objectives is the implementation of innovative healthcare IT solutions, aiming to improve compliance, streamline primary task operations, and enhance patient care while minimizing costs.

Now, let's explore instances of digital transformation in healthcare:

• Automation:
  Automation stands out as a potent force in the healthcare industry. The global AI market reached a value of $119.78 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 38% from 2022 to 2030. This data suggests that artificial intelligence will become widespread in various industries, with healthcare automating tasks to streamline workflows.
  Automation benefits hospitals by enabling them to achieve more with a leaner workforce and fewer operational resources, resulting in time and cost savings. It also enhances patient safety, improves efficiency, expands access to care, and engages patients actively.
   
• Connected Ambulance:
  A connected ambulance serves as an invaluable assistant to healthcare providers. It collects and transmits vital patient information, gathered through wearable devices, sensors, and HD cameras, to the hospital while the patient is en route. The significant advantage of connected ambulances lies in providing doctors with timely access to essential information for necessary medical procedures before the patient reaches the hospital. Connected ambulances offer real-time care, transformative technology, constant connectivity to the hospital, and virtual transportation of doctors to the ambulance.
   
• On-demand Healthcare Solutions:
  In the modern world, on-demand services dominate sectors heavily influenced by technology, and the healthcare industry is no exception. As healthcare services rapidly evolve, efforts are being made to enhance their immediate availability. On-demand healthcare solutions address the need for instant solutions to health problems. Whether scheduling clinic appointments or seeking immediate access to medical care, these solutions reduce paperwork, eliminate hassles, and facilitate effective patient interactions.
   
• Telemedicine and Virtual Visits:
  The surge in virtual medical visits represents a major trend in the healthcare sector, allowing phone or video appointments between patients and healthcare practitioners. This trend contributes to improved health and convenience, making telehealth an integral part of health IT. The telehealth and telemedicine market are projected to reach US$ 912 Billion by 2033, growing at a compound annual rate of 24% from 2023 to 2033. Telemedicine and virtual visits offer comfort, convenience, control over infectious illnesses, better assessment, and support for managing chronic conditions and primary care.
   
• Patient Portals:
  Patient portals provide easy access to health records and offer benefits such as electronic prescriptions and online doctor appointments. They enhance communication between patients and medical professionals, enabling patients to access test results, ask questions, update profiles, and arrange appointments or payments online.Implementing a patient portal promotes rapid growth, increases office efficiency, streamlines workflow, supports telemedicine facilitation, and improves patient engagement.
   
• Health Wearables:
  Health wearables are another compelling use case for healthcare IT services. Designed to collect data on users' health and exercise, these wearables can transmit real-time patient information to doctors or other healthcare providers.
  The surge in wearable medical gadget sales is attributed to the growing concern among patients about monitoring their health indicators efficiently. Digital transformation enables health wearables to track multiple health parameters, provide reliable health data in real-time, reduce healthcare costs, boost patient engagement, and promote proactive healthcare, ultimately alleviating the workload of healthcare professionals.

Healthcare Market Outlook for Digital Transformation (2023–2033)

In 2023, the global digital transformation in healthcare market is expected to be worth $65.2 billion. The market is expected to reach US$ 253.6 billion by 2033, with a 14.5% CAGR from 2023 to 2033.

Digital health has become a popular word due to the increasing implementation of digital health platforms such as telehealth, mobile health, and other wireless technologies throughout medical facilities and nursing homes that provide patients with real-time medical treatment.

Advantages of Digitalizing Healthcare

Digitizing healthcare offers numerous benefits to both patients and healthcare professionals across various phases of the patient journey.

Typically, a patient's treatment journey involves the following stages: Diagnosis, making a treatment decision, receiving treatment, and monitoring.

• Enhances Accuracy of Diagnosis
  • Digital health technologies enable professionals to remotely diagnose patients' conditions.
  • Patient information, including treatment history and medication lists, can be stored, accessed, and shared in real-time among healthcare professionals.
  • This ensures a clearer and more accurate patient profile, improving diagnosis precision and facilitating clinical decisions.
     
• Improves Quality of Healthcare
  • The proliferation of digital health platforms facilitates easy access to medical data and healthcare services for patients.
  • Patients can monitor and track their conditions remotely, emphasizing self-care and granting them greater control over their treatment.
  • Healthcare providers, through digital platforms, can offer diverse applications in therapeutics, acute and chronic diseases, and detect changes in patients' conditions earlier for swift emergency responses.
     
• Enhances Access to Healthcare
  • In regions like Asia, where nearly 80% of the population resides in rural areas with limited access to healthcare, digital technologies extend healthcare beyond hospital walls.
  • Patients in remote or challenging-to-reach areas, including the elderly or those with mobility issues, can access medical services remotely, bridging geographical gaps.
     
• Reduces Cost of Healthcare
  • Approximately half of the global population lacks access to essential health services due to cost barriers.
  • Digital health technologies, such as telemedicine, empower patients to understand and monitor their health remotely, reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and transportation costs.
  • This cost reduction benefits both patients and service providers, making primary and specialty care services more affordable, especially in low- to middle-income countries.
     
• Increases Efficiency
  • The World Health Organization predicts a shortage of 18 million skilled healthcare professionals by 2030, necessitating more efficient medical services.
  • Full access to patients' medical data and history allows healthcare professionals to improve outcomes and provide quicker treatment.
  • Empowering patients with greater control over their health reduces the burden on providers, ultimately enhancing treatment efficiency across all stages of the patient journey.

Challenges Encountered in the Digitalization of Healthcare

Despite the numerous advantages offered by digital health technology, the introduction and acceptance of such products often encounter several challenges.

• Regulations and Legislations:

The Medical Technology (MedTech) industry grapples with a complex and fragmented regulatory and legislative landscape. Many regions employ multiple schemes and regulations rather than a unified legislation to address digital health technologies. These regulatory frameworks often fall short in accommodating the distinctive features of such solutions, hindering the development, launch, and adoption of innovative products. APACMed is actively collaborating with stakeholders in the ASEAN region to establish a robust workforce addressing regulatory needs and to advocate for the adoption of common regulatory frameworks within the industry.

• Reimbursement:

Even post-launch, numerous digital health solutions face challenges due to unclear, intricate, and inconsistent reimbursement pathways, particularly in public healthcare systems globally. Complications with reimbursement can impede the adoption of technology, limiting patient data access and making it challenging for innovators to demonstrate the value of their technologies against the investment required. In the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, APACMed is taking measures to address this issue by sharing best practices and creating frameworks tailored to the digital health landscape.

• Interoperability:

Lack of harmonized regulations and differences in data storage and coding pose ongoing challenges for solution providers and healthcare professionals regarding data interoperability even after product adoption. A considerable amount of data remains underutilized, hindering healthcare providers from leveraging it to enhance patient care. Efforts by relevant industry stakeholders to establish regulatory convergence, such as APACMed's proposal of interoperability standards for medical devices, aim to maximize the value of available data.

• Digital Literacy:

Low digital literacy among both patients and healthcare professionals can reduce the likelihood of product adoption, as many may face inertia in learning how to use new technologies. After adoption, stakeholders may struggle with maximizing the benefits of the product due to difficulties in usage and functionality. Addressing this challenge involves collaboration between public and private institutions to provide education through online courses, training sessions, and product demonstrations.

• Data Security and Privacy:

In the realm of digital health, ensuring data security and privacy remains a critical challenge. A data breach could lead to personal information loss, erode trust, foster scams, and disrupt patient care. Addressing these challenges requires closing loopholes in digital healthcare systems, educating users on preventive measures, and establishing a consistent policy framework for data security and privacy, as advocated by APACMed's Digital Health Functional Committee.

• Willingness to Adopt Technology:

The adoption of digital health technologies is influenced by factors such as ease of use, cost, and privacy concerns. The perceived value of a digital health solution plays a significant role in its adoption. To tackle this challenge, establishing new frameworks is crucial to effectively demonstrate the value of digital health products to relevant stakeholders in the industry.

Conclusion : 

At this point, it should be evident that digitization involves the incorporation of digital technologies into healthcare, encompassing digital health technology systems. This integration aims to provide an enhanced experience for patients and improve the efficiency of healthcare providers. Moreover, it extends beyond mere advantages, serving as a catalyst for a cultural shift that entails adopting novel business models and innovative perspectives with the goal of providing users with a transformative experience.

The purpose of the blog was to guide you through the process of digital transformation and elucidate its advantages for the healthcare sector. To fully capitalize on these benefits, a comprehensive overhaul of your processes becomes imperative.