Retail

Healthcare & healthtech

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David Gross, Chief Growth Officer, Healthily

Healthcare & Healthtech

Technological innovations in healthcare are changing the face of the industry. Established healthcare organisations are embracing change and new players from technology; consumer products; consumer services and other sectors are entering the enormous global health marketplace. Key trends that are overhauling the healthcare industry are data sharing; 5G; supply chain & logistics; AI and last but certainly not least, changing consumer behaviour.

We are seeing rising healthcare costs, changing patient demographics, evolving consumer expectations, new market entrants and complex health and technology ecosystems. Healthcare stakeholders need to invest in value-based care, innovative care delivery models, advanced digital technologies, data interoperability, and alternative employment models to prepare for these uncertainties and build a smart health ecosystem.

With global healthcare spending expected to rise significantly, it will likely present many opportunities for the sector. While there will be uncertainties, stakeholders can navigate them by factoring in historic and current drivers of change when strategising for 2021 and beyond. Among these drivers are a growing and aging population, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, infrastructure investments, technological advancements, evolving care models, higher labour costs amidst workforce shortages, and the expansion of healthcare systems in developing markets. Healthcare systems need to work towards a future in which the collective focus shifts away from treatment to prevention and early intervention.

Digital giants and digital-first health solution disruptors are demonstrating that there could be an easier and more user-friendly way to conduct healthcare transactions. Technology-enabled patient engagement strategies are enabling increased financial independence for patients in their healthcare decisions, in addition to improving interactions with their healthcare systems. Patients are no longer passive participants in their healthcare; they are demanding transparency, convenience, access, and personalised products and services. Future-focused care models will likely leverage people, process, and technology to address evolving individual and group health needs. Healthcare systems can also link digital offerings to a strategically segmented customer experience and invest in core analytics to create a 360-degree view of the consumer, thus eliminating any operational barriers.

With digital finding traction, the healthcare systems will witness a shift in data management from storing data sets to extracting insights that can be monetised and support opportunity areas including population health management and value-based care. Amidst this growth, there are challenges to digitisation in healthcare, posed by outdated legacy platforms, cost and complexity of new technologies, and constantly evolving business needs and scenarios and cybersecurity will continue to remain a prime concern.

Technologies such as cloud computing, 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) can help streamline healthcare delivery and align it with changing consumer preferences. Increased use of Data-as-a-Platform (DaaP) to extract insights from patient data, will be area of interest for most healthcare players.