Reimagining Healthcare

In my earlier blog on Impact of Covid-19 on healthcare industry , I mentioned one of the key trends in healthcare is the increasing use of wearables and IoMT devices. The rapid rise of digitization and consumer involvement in almost all industries has led to huge shifts in the mindset of people to use technology in healthcare to reduce cost and increase access to care with less effort.  There has been a surge in use of fitness bands and associated mobile apps for weight management. Most folks use wearables for counting footsteps, activity tracking, sleep monitoring and fitness management. However, these are preliminary use cases. The use of wearables and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices has huge potential in changing the way you take care of your lifestyle, health and well-being. Some of the most common yet powerful use cases are self-care at home, chronic condition management and remote patient monitoring. In this blog, we will take a deep dive into the topic of Remote Pa...

In the previous blog — Impact of COVID-19 on India’s healthcare industry ( Part 1 & Part 2 ), we saw how technology and digital disruption are helping improve quality and accessibility of healthcare for all. In this blog, we will understand the importance of involving patients in their own health journey. This involvement where a patient actively participates in managing their own health is called Patient Engagement . What is “Patient Engagement”? Historically, a typical patient journey in simplest terms included — consulting a doctor when the patient observes some unusual symptoms and then undergoing specific treatment. A person consulted a doctor only at the onset of a disease or during an illness and did not care much about regular consultations or monitoring their own health conditions. This form of reactive care has many disadvantages and has proven to be fatal in many diseases. The term “Patient Activation” refers to a patient’s willingness to manage his or her own health. ...

In Part 1 of the topic "Impact of COVID-19 on India’s healthcare industry", we explored two of the top four anticipated trends as a consequence of digitization and COVID-19. In this blog, let's continue the discussion and explore the remaining two trends on Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Note: This article uses the term “provider” or “healthcare provider” which includes an individual health professional (doctor, nurse practitioner) or a health facility organization (hospital, clinic) licensed to provide health care diagnosis and treatment services. #3: Electronic Health Record Electronic Health Record (EHR) is an electronic version of a patient’s medical history stored and maintained by a doctor or multiple doctors (and possibly multiple hospitals) over time. An EHR provides a holistic, long-term view of a patient’s medical conditions; this helps providers to gain a better understanding of a patient's history to provide a well-infor...

India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing digital economies in the last decade. The healthcare sector in India has embraced digital transformation to improve quality of care and accessibility to more patients. The digital healthcare market in India was valued at INR 116.61 Billion in 2018, and is estimated to reach INR 485.43 Billion by 2024, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of ~27.41% during the 2019-2024 period1. The healthtech startup industry in India was growing rapidly even before the COVID-19. The pandemic has further accelerated the push to improve healthcare for all.  In my previous blog on leveraging technology to combat COVID-19 , I shared my personal experiences of using technology, cloud computing and AI to mitigate some of the initial challenges faced by hospitals in fighting against the coronavirus. In this blog, we’ll look at the latest trends in healthcare that leverage different aspects of technological advancements and changing needs of Ind...

The coronavirus pandemic shook the healthcare industry like no other event in the past 50 years. Healthcare workers were at the frontlines fighting like soldiers in wartime to protect patients. The sudden influx of patients with covid-19 and like symptoms, the unprepared hospital systems, non-availability of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), lack of testing facilities, non-compliance to wear mask and to follow other general guidelines - all this with many more reasons led to a widespread, mind boggling rise of covid-19 cases.  Few of the earliest challenges faced by hospital systems: Lack of PPE Slow and siloed testing process Influx of in-patient visits with covid-19 symptoms Influx of patient support/call center calls with questions Lack of awareness of general information on symptoms, guidelines, testing locations Being in the health-tech industry, I closely watched the horrific events unfold every single day. On the other hand, I also observed and participated in solving som...