Mumbai, January 23, 2020: The year 2020 has taught every person on earth to realize the value of health and care delivery in every aspect of life. Going by the experiences of 2020, healthcare experts and leaders have predicted that in 2021, the sector would transform itself to a large extent to meet the new challenges which have origins in the pandemic and restructure itself to cater to the growing needs for quality healthcare.
According to experts, in 2021 the Indian healthcare sector would undergo unprecedented transformation to create a new healthcare ecosystem with higher spending in population health management. Along with the strengthening of health systems with the cohesive public-private partnership, virtual care and telemedicine would dominate the healthcare delivery system. A paradigm shift in the healthcare sector is quite visible.
“During the lockdown and even post-lockdown period in 2020, we addressed both our old registered patients and new patients with Video or tele-consultancy. Even we organised e-OPDs or Tele-consultancy for Oncology, Cardiac, Neurology, and other Super Specialities in different cities of North India. Our experience with virtual care shows the way forward and we are confident that baring critical cases and surgeries, a large number of cases can be handled remotely with tech-enabled measures such as virtual consultancy and remote monitoring,” said, Dr. YK Mishra, Chief of Clinical Services, HCMCT Manipal Hospitals, New Delhi.
“Appointments for minor and routine cases had gone up during the pandemic-induced lockdown and in a new normal situation, we can predict that in 2021 it can go even higher to make a record. Virtual care would also help in reducing the risk of infection and it also addresses the issue of doctors’ shortage in the country,” he added.
Technology is expected to make healthcare more accessible and innovative. Health-tech companies have been addressing the challenges of inaccessibility with digitally enabled patient protocols, and care pathways to patients and families across the globe for both pre and post-procedure care. Going beyond clinical issues, methods demonstrated by a global health-tech company- DayToDay Health (DTDHI) manifest innovations in acute care management through a healthcare App.
“In 2021, we will be taking our innovative tech-enabled solutions to the next level in terms of expanding our footprints in India and adding more value to our programs. We will be partnering with leading providers and health plans around the world to transform the patient experience in acute care management. To combat and manage COVID-19, we have built a virtual healthcare system for the patients. Now this program is widely being used by leading organizations in e-commerce and industrial engineering sectors and by civic bodies,” said Prem Sharma, Founder & CEO of DayToDay Health.
“The virtual healthcare system for COVID-19 care management program is designed for patients who are not in immediate need of hospitalization. The program offers comprehensive, individualized, and holistic support that addresses a patient’s clinical, physical, and not to forget emotional needs on a day to day basis. The program facilitates the seamless transfer of data, handholds patients throughout the journey, and is capable of extending the services after the discharge as well,” he added.
According to experts, virtual care system can mitigate avoidable complications, improves clinical efficiency, and enrich the patient experience. It is predicted that home care, mental health, general medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, and paediatrics as the specialties would witness a very large number of virtual visits in 2021.
In 2021, health institutions would integrate digital solutions into care models and business operations. Moreover, they would be investing more in cloud-based technologies and analytics that can pull inpatient data, including social and lifestyle, from several devices and sources, allow clinicians to access them in real-time, and use machine learning to arm clinicians with suggestions and recommendations for patient care.
“2020 was a landmark year and a litmus test for healthcare ecosystems across the world. The change in healthcare regulations and the adoption of new technologies were fast-forwarded by many years. NitiAyog published the Telehealth guidelines in March 2020 which are probably the most advanced and futuristic in the world. NeuroEquilibrium, the world’s first chain of Vertigo, Dizziness and Balance Disorder Clinics is an example of how the new regulations and innovative technologies will help deliver cost-effective super-speciality healthcare across geographies leveraging cloud technology and Artificial Intelligence,” said Rajneesh Bhandari, Founder NeuroEquilibrium.
“The fight against COVID 19 brought various technologies to the forefront including 3D printing, wearables, electoceuticals, digital therapeutics, virtual reality (VR), clinical decision support systems, remote diagnosis, computer vision, artificial intelligence. Health-tech Startups are integrating these cutting edge technologies to provide a better patient outcome,” he added
Overall, in 2021 the Indian healthcare sector is poised to witness disruptions in its delivery system, infrastructure improvement, insurance coverage, supply-chain management, human resources, adoption of new technology, and funding & financing spending. It is expected that the sector would be reinventing itself in 2021 with a sustainable and innovative patient-centric healthcare model. The year would play a catalyzing role in achieving the goal of Universal Health Coverage before the target schedule.
