With a view to transforming patient care, Indian healthcare is now focusing on virtual hospitals and advanced medical technologies adding convenience, efficiency and immediate medical attention to patient monitoring. Another area which is seen to benefit patients is home healthcare services.
Innovative technology and home healthcare services will enhance doctor-patient connectivity where it had not been previously possible, saving both lives and money.
India is faced with the triple burden of diseases. First is the communicable diseases (CDs). Second is the new and re-current bouts of infectious diseases and increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) or lifestyle-related diseases. More than half of all deaths are now attributed to NCDs like cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases. Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, vector borne diseases, water-borne diseases, and zoonotic diseases continue to be major public health concerns.
Factors which have a considerable effect Indian healthcare sector include income levels, innovations in medical domain, treatment methods and shift in diseases pattern. To enable accessibility to health care services, private sector has build up high-end tertiary care facilities to handle the lifestyle disorders. In order to address specific patient needs and provide convenience and efficiency are day-care medical centres, single specialty hospitals, hospice for terminally ill and online consultations.
Further advances in genomics, molecular diagnostics, targeted therapies, regenerative medicine are supported with latest medical devices-equipment support early detection and faster access to treatment.
Impact of e-healthcare on hospitals sector
Adoption of digital healthcare or e-health is still at nascent stages in India. There could be many application areas of eHealth – namely, in population health analytics and predicting disease trends in advance, in easy sharing of information allowing patients and hospitals to connect, in offering evidence-based care services thereby leading to better health outcomes, in driving efficiencies in hospitals and in decentralizing select patient care services away from the hospital, amongst others, said Kaustav Ganguli, Healthcare Lead, Senior Director with Alvarez & Marsal.
"Of these various potential applications of e-health, we are beginning to see greater action in only a few select areas. Using digital information to enable better patient-provider connect is an example with health marketplaces increasingly enabling that connect. Some sections of urban patients are starting to use marketplace platforms to find their care providers or get second opinions instead of solely relying on the recommendation of GPs or doctors for choosing their service providers. The other application area of e-health that is witnessing relative maturity in India is the usage of digital information and analytics by leading hospital chains to drive down their costs of operation. Usage of patient-centric applications and devices to decentralize care delivery away from hospitals holds tremendous promise, especially in a country that is expected to have relative under-supply of hospital beds even over the next several years. However, home care initiatives, including ones spearheaded by hospital groups, are yet to truly leverage the power of technology and informatics to drive reach and scale", pointed out Ganguli.
According to Dr. Govindiah Yatheesh, medical superintendent, Apollo Hospitals, e-health in India is being driven by commensurate developments in the IT & Med Tech ecosystem and is also a part of the Government's vision for 'Smart healthcare in Smart cities of India'. It is now set to change the face of health care delivery in the country. Since e-health for hospitals is a good way for utilization of their spare capacity. It ensures that health care online is offered at economical rates making e-health a suitable fit for 'Value based Healthcare delivery."
Apollo Hospitals has always been a pioneer in adopting the latest technology to generate more value for its patients. It is one of the first hospital groups to start tele-consultations to help patients located in remote geographies, pointed out Dr. Yatheesh.
Advanced medical technologies transforming patient care
Indian healthcare has witnessed several innovations on business models, many of them focused on providing affordable care to the larger masses.
Narayana Health is a great example in this respect. However, the country hasn’t seen too many path-breaking innovations on new medical technology. A lot of the innovations by Indian medical technology companies or by Indian offices of MNC organizations have focused on providing frugal solutions i.e. existing technology at lower price points delivered on a more efficient cost structure. Low-cost and low-price stents, valves, sutures and other medical consumables from Indian medical technology organizations are often viewed as reasonable quality products offered cost effectively. There are some very interesting innovations that are happening in the Point of Care (POC) space. Some of the POC diagnostic solutions by Indian organizations offer a large menu of routine tests and protocol-driven advice – all packed very cost-effectively into one smart box. Adoption of some of these technologies could transform patient care especially at the bottom of the pyramid, said Ganguli.
“One of the advanced medical technologies that have transformed patient care is the MICS-CABG or the minimally invasive cardiac surgery- coronary artery bypass grafting. This new multi-vessel bypass is one of the most advanced technology that helps in ultrafast recovery. Keyhole techniques are suitable for both valve surgery and multi-vessel bypass, said Dr. Yatheesh.
MICS is now the most frequently chosen option for both heart valve surgery as well as multi-vessel bypass. Small incisions without cutting any bones as against traditional surgery results in less injury to the body. This means faster healing, less infection and a quick return to normal life. Those working can restart as early as a week after heart surgery. MICS surgery is perfectly safe. The technique employed is similar to open surgery but without cutting any bone. The difference is that the operation is now performed with specialized instruments and a 3D camera for added precision. MICS is suitable for both valve surgery and multi vessel coronary bypass.