Digital Healthcare System Is Set To Become The Next Normal: Rajarshi Bhattacharyya

State of past and present public healthcare system in India

Thousands of years ago much before the Mughals and the British invaded India, Ayurveda- the science of health and long life, helped in establishing a robust healthcare system in the country. With Mughals came the Unani medicine, with Ayurveda taking a back seat. During the British rule, allopathic medicine was established but Indians did not enjoy the facility. Then came freedom, but it carried heavy baggage of exponentially growing population and deep crisis of the healthcare system. Hospitals were only 0.24 per 1,000 population. Other challenges included lack of relevant infrastructure and medical equipment, lack of awareness among people, shortage of trained medical professionals and very little focus on primary healthcare. Rise of communicable diseases as well as lifestyle diseases and delay in providing appropriate healthcare continued. However, the recent pandemic has stressed the importance of the health-tech industry where patients can get online consulting and leverage apps to maintain good health and fitness.

New-age technology is no doubt transforming India’s healthcare, but as a country we still have a long way to go

What are starkly visible gaps in the essential infrastructure in health facilities?

Delivering healthcare uniformly across the social strata is a major challenge. On one hand, we have sophisticated new-age tech to diagnose and treat the upper class in urban India. On the other hand, the same system fails to cater to the health needs of economically challenged and socially marginalized population.

Other stark differences could be due to lack of awareness on healthcare practices among new mothers and adolescent girls due to lack of education and functional literacy. A large percentage of the rural populations has no access to healthcare and in many cases there exists lack of awareness about such facilities. Sometimes, even though there are healthcare services in rural areas, the quality is much below standard.

Lack of skilled doctors, nurses and paramedics is another area of concern. This causes more crises. A study 10 years ago estimated India had 20 health care workers for 10,000 population. There is no significant difference in the numbers today.

Cost of healthcare cost is not affordable to the economically challenged class.

The government, many a time is also not accountable to the state of affairs and tries to ignore the responsibility by justifying the situation.

How COVID-19 becomes enabler and accelerator to revolutionize how populations interact with healthcare services and strengthen health systems?

We are already witnessing how technology is providing easy solutions for hospitals and clinics to treat people affected by the pandemic, at scale. In fact, COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation in the healthcare sector, the world over. Tele-health solutions and online consulting were very useful in arresting the spread of the pandemic to some extent, by providing primary healthcare in the confines of patient’s home. This was certainly revolutionary, and its implementation saved many precious lives.

The digital healthcare system is all set to become the new or the next normal. Hence, solutions in managing the crises, the financial impact of this, further establishment of virtual health care, equipping caregivers with digital tech and access to the internet and online consulting should be key focus areas.

Remote patient monitoring and treatment that will further strengthen digital transformation in healthcare will be the next normal.

How solution providers can make India's Public health system AatmaNirbhar?

Currently, it is said our overall healthcare spend is only a little more than 2.5 per cent of our GDP, which is considered one of the lowest in the world. Social scientists, virologists, epidemiologists and medical doctors have to come together to work towards a better public health system in India. COVID-19 has indeed provided the opportunity to address various challenges in public health.

An inclusive healthcare system is something that needs immediate implementation. There can be a further increase in the financial outlay to buy quality drugs in bulk.

Government should increase focus on the medical devices industry. The pharmaceutical industry must be encouraged and provided with the right policy measures’ environment for ease of doing business.

· Sufficient funding should be provided to pharma companies to develop drugs in bulk for the public to use.

· Training facilities should be provided to pharma workers with respect to the manufacturing of relevant drugs and vaccines.

· There should be enhanced co-operation between policy-makers, industry and public health system

All the above solutions have to be implemented immediately for a AtmaNirbhar Bharat.

7 major steps to be taken on immediate basis for improving the efficiency and efficacy of Public Healthcare across the country under digital transformation in public healthcare system

· First things first. At the outset, recognise and acknowledge all the loop holes that already exist in the public health system, with an aim to fix them.

· Develop an integrated digital health strategy by taking into consideration all factors for the successful implementation of the initiatives.

· Ensure all stakeholders are well-equipped to handle digital technology and digital transformation in healthcare.

· Promote the appropriate skillsets in digital technologies for health among the health care fraternity.

· Acknowledge and ensure commitment of country’s leaders for the institutionalization of digital healthcare.

· Promote global collaboration and transfer of knowledge on digital health.

· Develop relevant policies for implementing digital health across the nation, from metros to hinterlands.

What is the USP or futuristic approach of ProcessIT Global to bridge the healthcare divide between have's and have-nots in the digital healthcare system?

India has one of the largest smart phone using population in the world due to massive infrastructure improvement in telecom sector. ProcessIT Global has been working on a project called Seva60plus which is primarily built to connect citizens directly with caregivers and receive primary healthcare at any given point of time. In doing so, we intend to impart primary healthcare services accessible to all. This platform will be scalable to administer telemedicine/medical consultation to patients who need informed decision-making capabilities. This will take away a lot of load from the existing public healthcare system and allow them to have the much-needed time to build a more robust healthcare infrastructure. This transformation using digital technologies will significantly bridge the GAP between the have’s and have-nots.

ProcessIT Global’s Cybersecurity Practice, based on NIST 1.1 Framework will provide the much needed skills to design, implement and maintain robust, scalable and reliable security solutions around the digital heathcare system and ensure availability, confidentiality and integrity of the data. Our Services around IT-Operations Management and Intelligent Automation will ensure IT systems work as one and deliver availability, scalability and reliability of the digital heathcare system.