Will Disruptive Technologies Change the Future of Indian Healthcare?

Disruptive technologies can change the future of Indian Healthcare and will continue to propel

The Indian healthcare sector has been drastically transformed because of a variety of cutting-edge technologies such as telemedicine, electronic medical records, and home-based care transitioning from hospital-based care, drone technology, genome sequencing, digital tools, and artificial intelligence. In short, Disruptive Technologies in the healthcare industry help improve patient care while reducing costs.

Technology is the most powerful driver of many disruptive innovations in healthcare since every aspect of healthcare is dependent on some form of technology. Any new technology, from wearables and mobile phone apps to big data and artificial intelligence (AI) in diagnosis, has the potential to disrupt healthcare. The digital disruption in healthcare is fueled by consumer demand which includes wearable technologies, injectables, digital medication, organ development, stem cell deployment, 3D printing, etc. These disruptive technologies change the future of Indian Healthcare along with digital hospitals, Electronic Medical Records, robots, and Internet of Things (IoT). This aimed at improving the quality of outcomes and regulatory compliance.

Consumer devices, wearables and apps

Wearable technology (WT) and mobile applications (apps) are assisting in the continuous health monitoring of people suffering from a variety of diseases, both psychological and physical. WT and apps can be especially beneficial in the ageing population for tracking the progression of specific symptoms, providing motivational engagement, and assisting telemedicine with remote monitoring. WT and apps are two pillars of mHealth research. Apps can geolocate lost people with neurodegenerative impairment, compile patient-reported outcome measures and patient-reported experience measures, and automatically evaluate early symptoms of some neurodegenerative diseases by assessing features such as memory and track emotional evolution, as in the EmoPaint app. WT has the ability to monitor physical activity. It can track physical activity during the day by counting steps, which is useful in some rehabilitation or degenerative diseases, and also track heart activity to ensure that the wearer's activity keeps the heart rate in a healthy and risk-free range, and check sleeping patterns to ensure proper rest. WT and apps have boosted a number of solutions with the aim of improving the health and quality of people's life.

AI and ML in Healthcare

Machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and other modern statistical methods are opening up new avenues for monetizing previously untapped and rapidly expanding data sources for patient benefit. Potential applications include improving diagnostic accuracy, more reliably predicting prognosis, targeting treatments, and increasing health system operational efficiency. Examples of potentially Disruptive Technology with early clinical promise include image-based diagnostic ML/AI applications, which have shown the earliest clinical promise. For eg., deep learning-based algorithms improve accuracy in diagnosing retinal pathology compared to that of specialist physicians, or NLP is used as a tool to extract information from structured and unstructured text embedded in electronic health records. AI applications can handle patient intake, scheduling, and billing. Chatbots respond to patient inquiries. AI can collect and analyze survey responses thanks to its natural language processing capabilities. AI will most likely be used more to reduce healthcare costs and free up doctors and staff to focus on patient care.

IoT

As IoT technology advances, the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is transforming the healthcare industry by improving patient health and virtually connecting doctors and patients. The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is a network of interconnected devices that collect real-time data. The Internet of Medical Things is one of the key applications of IoT for healthcare, positively impacting the industry and having the potential to solve medical issues. IoMT will not only be able to prevent future diseases, but it will also be able to cure those that have already occurred. The technology has been designed as wearables so that patients can be monitored without having to visit the doctor.

Growth in Virtual Care

Electronic health records (EHRs) have become an increasingly important part of patient care. However, the massive amount of EHR data can be used for much more than just patient health records and can be used to conduct research, improve care, build AI applications, and create new business opportunities. As a result, healthcare providers must be aware of the issues concerning EHR security.

COVID-19 has undoubtedly accelerated telemedicine delivery, and experts agree that telemedicine is here to stay. If it works, doctors will be compensated for telehealth consultations, and many patients prefer it. However, telemedicine is heavily reliant on internet connectivity, and some areas of the United States remain underserved.

Security of data, billing transparency and access to medical records are all part of a major shift in healthcare that ensures patients have all of the information they need to make informed decisions. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, hospitals must make their prices more transparent by early 2021. (CMS). Other upcoming reforms include the implementation of online pricing tools that will allow patients to see their out-of-pocket expenses.