Since time immemorial, the healthcare industry has been driven by two factors; medical expertise and medical cost, with the patient and care-taker always having to toe the line. Now, with significant advances in innovation and technology, the patient is becoming increasingly empowered to actively participate in charting the course of his/her healthcare programmes.
Using a smart phone and mobile apps, it is now possible to search for the best doctor in town or city and book an appointment (ZocDoc, BetterDoctor) or get a free quick answer to your medical question on healthcare (AskMD and HealthTap). Add to this programmatic applications that help you monitor and share records of your vital signs (blood pressure tracker lite, diabetes logbook), and you have access to a plethora of healthcare services in an extremely cost-effective manner all within the comfort of your home.
Rightly said by Eric J. Topol, M. D. (the author of 'the patient will see you now'), “Medicine has not only become digitized, but also democratized.” Patients are more informed, want to make their own diagnosis, choose doctors based on their personal preferences and maintain their own health data. As innovative mobile technology enables individuals to better manage and track their health problems, the role of a physician/healthcare provider is bound to change.
A patient-centric approach to healthcare puts patients in the ‘driver’s seat’, ensuring that they are in control of their choices and creates a collaborative environment comprising individuals, families and healthcare providers. Treated as ‘partners’ in their own care, patients and care-takers are proactively involved in the planning, delivery and analysis of healthcare procedures.
A similar consumer-centric business model is being widely practised in sectors such as retail, hospitality, banking, travel, etc. and has succeeded with flying colours. However, inculcating such a culture in the healthcare sector will require a fundamental shift in the mind-set of the medical fraternity. As ‘information’ and ‘personalization’ grow from ‘want’ to ‘need’, healthcare providers will look at utilizing the following innovations to guarantee enhanced patient experience, cost savings and better quality of wellness and disease management.
Self-management with wearable devices and mobile apps – Smart gadgets and associated healthcare information technology applications are gradually creating the ‘DIY (do-it-yourself)’ era where individuals are encouraged to continually self-monitor their health and wellness. From Smartphone apps and fitness bands that help you maintain your fitness regime and count your calorie intake to medical products such as a pill bottle that glows red to remind you to take your dose, we are rapidly evolving towards a ‘doctor-in-your-pocket’ scenario.
Expansion of mobile health
As mobile communication devices such as Smartphones, tablets, computers and PDAs become increasingly prominent in a person’s daily life, it is but natural that these be leveraged by healthcare providers. From sharing share photos of your medical condition to having a doctor diagnose and provide video consultation, m-health advocates are paving the way for a highly effective and completely online doctor-patient communication channel.
Remote patient monitoring using IoT
Through the combination of motion sensors and wearable devices, the Internet of Things (IoT) is a boon in disguise for doctors, patients and care-takers. Vital signs of patients suffering from chronic/critical diseases can be tracked and programmed to trigger alerts in case of unusual patterns thereby facilitating family members and concerned doctors to swiftly take corrective action. Furthermore, seamless integration of patient-specific information repositories across the entire chain of healthcare providers (insurance, clinics, hospitals, etc.) expedites access to comprehensive electronic health records.
Information sharing for informed decision making
Today after a visit to the doctor, patients receive a detailed email outlining the visit notes and within minutes their medical e-prescription has arrived at the pharmacist’s computer. Fast, convenient and economical with no issues of illegible handwriting this new operational model will work wonders. In addition to this, digital disruption in the form of healthcare exchanges allows individuals to ‘browse’ through available health insurance plans, compare benefits and prices, and ‘shop’ for the one that's best for them.
Personalized medicine from ‘womb’ to ‘tomb’
Prescriptive analytics is a powerful tool which if used judiciously can help healthcare providers dramatically improve effectiveness of clinical care delivery and achieve better patient satisfaction and retention. In the not-so-distant future, it will be possible to gauge the probability of a person falling ill by examining his/her test results and comparing the same to terabytes of data collected for thousands of other patients with similar symptoms /results. It can even go a step further by recommending a treatment and showing its probable outcomes.
These innumerable benefits aside, technological advances in medicine are accompanied by a set of worrisome issues, the most important one being ‘data privacy’. Digitization and e-sharing of patients’ medical records gives rise to questions about data ownership and makes it imperative to reform laws to adequately protect sensitive patient-specific information.
Considering the rapid advance of healthcare apps/devices, availability of authentic online medical information and stringent health data privacy laws, organizations must earnestly adopt a ‘patient-centric approach’. Patients are most incentivised to do what’s best for their health and care-takers want to be a part of that process. Thus, it is no surprise that the future of medicine lies in whole-heartedly embracing this approach to drive innovation, development and reform of healthcare products, practices and services.
(Author is Founder and CEO, ABOVE Solutions)