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Below are some of the learnings from the discussion on “Ecosystems as Catalysts for Healthcare Innovation” from the NASSCOM Technology and Leadership Forum (NTLF) held in February 2022

In the post pandemic world, the healthcare sector has undergone major upheavals in the last 2 years. It is only through innovation that the sector could accomplish many breakthroughs. Ecosystems that are collaborative, effective, simple, and secure can act as catalysts for innovation.

The covid pandemic has changed the way we work. It has accelerated the role technology plays in connecting people to the care they need. One of the biggest trends accelerated by Covid-19 is the centre of gravity shifting away from large hospitals and physical care locations to places closer to our homes. Use of tele-health is currently 38X higher than what it was pre-pandemic, and this convenience is here to stay.

83% of patients are expected to use tele-health post pandemic as well. Many consumers have educated themselves on care for Covid-19. The attention on mental health challenges due to remote working has increased the focus on digital therapy. As patients grow more active in managing their care, the consumer has become the centre of healthcare decision making. As these trends continue, healthcare organisations must keep pace and become more consumer focused and connected, supporting them in simpler and more cohesive ways.

An ecosystem approach requires building out the system’s connective tissue, as true innovation in technology isn’t about designing another app to fix one problem, rather it is about connecting people to care teams, and connecting various disconnected systems and help serve the consumers. Today, the healthcare sector has the data and the analytical abilities to make care more precise, more effective, and more equitable, ranging from integrated platforms and data that help physicians deliver more personalised and outcome-driven care to an ecosystem of virtual care and services that take care of the patients’ needs as well.

 

How do we build a connected, resilient, person-centric ecosystem that healthcare needs?

There are 5 key components –

Healthcare

 

  1. The first component is Intelligent data streams that deliver informed insights by combining shared data, predictive analytics, AI in clinical expertise, etc. This calls for creating consumer centric platforms that uses intelligent technologies in a rich inter-operable data library to enable equitable care for people across their entire healthcare journey. Best practices include predictive digital signals that fire intelligent alerts to identify when a meaningful clinical event occurs. For example, when remote patient monitoring data can be used to predict negative patient events. It also calls for integrating mental and behavioural health, medical and pharmacy solutions to give clinicians a holistic and comprehensive view of the patients and their needs.

 

  1. The second component is Digital workflows that can co-ordinate across segments in real time using shared clinical, claim, and patient data to optimise existing experiences. One way of doing it is integrating technologies into the clinical workflow. For example, using clinically intelligence guidance to deliver care delivered at the point of care. This decreases turnaround time and operational costs and optimises patient experiences. State-of-the-art ecosystems also use real time data to generate qualitative and quantitative insights. For example, NLP enables clinicians to conduct surveillance and intervene with patient panels before, during, and after clinical interactions. This enables to predict patient needs in real time and actively intervene virtually and in physical care settings. Integrating unified clinical data and technology is the key to drive value-based care models focused on best outcome for each person.

 

  1. The third component is Care channels that provide consumers access to care services and pharmacy information including virtual visits. Integrating physical care, virtual care, home care, and behavioural care in new ways. For example, companies like Optum have virtual care platforms. These platforms use ongoing advances in AI and analytics and build custom models which are predictive on an individual level. These models can also predict insights on the likelihood of a patient’s ability to accept a given treatment. With high cost of medications, AI is also used to offer proactive prescription savings alerts to help people save money on medications. This type of care addresses all kinds of a patient’s needs.

 

  1. The fourth component is the financial pathways that access health savings accounts, cost estimators, financial planning tools, and digital payment options. Financial side of healthcare creates friction for everyone due to the complexity and lack of transparency. An unexpected healthcare cost is the one of single biggest drivers of financial crisis for many families today. By bringing the same convenience to payment that people already experience in retail environment, by integrating technologies and applying knowledge of healthcare to simplify payments, one can deliver value to everyone. Taking paper out of the process and making payment instant helps improving cash flows, resulting in less complexity and greater efficiency for the provider. For the customer, convenient and trusted payment options help them manage how they pay for care.

 

  1. The final component is wellness portals that provide consumers access to health assessments, education, coaching and other tools to stay healthy and connected to others. For example, companies like United Health Group partner with Peloton and Apple Fitness to keep people engaged in their health. Some companies also offer hypertension coaching programs. Elsewhere, remote patient monitoring technology is driving real results reducing inpatient admissions and deaths and increasing lifesaving interventions. In future, companies are expected to come together to form ecosystems that will compete and collaborate with other ecosystems. Through new collaborations and innovations, true healthcare transformation can be driven.

A patient-centric approach to healthcare is rapidly becoming a cost of doing business. Today, more providers anticipate their patients’ needs, involve the patient in their healthcare journey, and provide the best care at the most convenient location. Providers can no longer wait for patients to come to them. Instead, companies must use technologies to better serve people, guide them, expand access, and design products and services around their needs. Before organisations can address the needs of the people, they must understand who they are on a clinical, financial, and social level. Much of this data is already accessible to health leaders through EMRs and claims data. However, they also need to take into account the social factors that impact a person’s health. Platforms supporting home and community care will gain much more traction in the near future. The integration of healthcare and technology is accelerating at a pace never experienced before. In the future, healthcare will be defined by the interplay between people and systems, applications & tools, created by engineers and developers. Companies have the responsibility to transform the healthcare sector at scale by using advanced technologies like AI and put them to work for the betterment of people.

 

Read the latest NASSCOM “Resilience to Resurgence – Technology Sector in India 2022: Strategic Review” report, please click on the links below –

NASSCOM Community – https://community.nasscom.in/communities/bpm/technology-sector-india-2022-resilience-resurgencestrategic-review

NASSCOM Website - https://nasscom.in/knowledge-center/publications/technology-sector-india-2022-strategic-review


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Vandhna Babu
Chief of Staff - President's Office

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