Indian healthcare challenges can be effectively addressed by clinical decision support systems based on Big Data Analytics, according to Ravi Ramaswamy, senior. director and head, healthcare, Philips Innovation Campus.

Big Data and decision support systems is expected to usher in a paradigm shift in the Indian healthcare industry.

In India, healthcare data analytics is a $100-million opportunity and is expected to double within a couple of years. According to MarketResearch.com report, the total market size for Internet of Things (IoT) in Healthcare will reach $117 billion by 2020.

“This is touted to be a $1 billion outsourcing opportunity globally. Philips holds 50 per cent market share in the healthcare monitoring devices space and our hardware experience will help us do better in data analytics,” Ramaswamy told Pharmabiz.

In Indian healthcare, decentralisation is the key. One of the challenges for this, is paucity of trained human resources. There is a severe shortage of physicians and hospital beds. Currently, India accounts for a mere 600-800 intensivists which is well below WHO standards. This is further surmounted by poor access to healthcare in tier 2 and 3 cities which escalates inaccessibility to affordable diagnostics and treatment. Highest fatality in India is from non-communicable diseases led by cardiovascular.

“Now all of these issues can be effectively addressed by clinical decision support systems which are based on Big Data. By analysing trends and comparing existing data base, we can achieve a significant number of predictions and put in place proactive disease management protocols. Big Data also enables to identify gaps in the healthcare system and bring down costs. It can help identify patients based on their risk for serious health problems”, pointed out Ramaswamy.

India already has a staggering amount of healthcare data generated from its government-private hospitals, primary health centres and health insurers. This data needs to be classified to standard formats and ensure maintaining patient privacy. Therefore privacy, security, intellectual property and liability will need to be addressed in a big data analytics.

Philips Innovation Campus with its team of over 150 data analysts recently developed the Healthsuite Digital Platform which provides real-time information for healthcare industry and decision makers. The vast quantum of data collected on the platform adopts algorithms to improve diagnoses and figure out what works best for each patient, he said.

The company also has proven studies on the impact of digital remote monitoring which led to 57 per cent reduction in the number of nursing days as healthcare moved away from the hospital setting and into the patient's home. It also resulted in a 52 per cent decrease in hospital admissions and a 26 per cent reduction on cost-of-care saving per patient.

Use of technology models like remote intensive care unit (eICU) observed on 1,20,000 critical care patients, led 26 per cent of the cases to survive and 20 per cent leading to faster discharge, said Ramaswamy.

The company he said is now bringing these initiatives to India by building an open digital platform that can link all medical devices, allows doctors to tabulate patients information for better diagnosis. Healthcare providers can get immediate alerts during emergencies.