JANUARY 201719Being concerned with human life, speed, and accuracy of delivery in a zero error environment is necessaryPatient histories, diagnostic reports, discharge summaries and other vital information regarding an existing patient will all be digitally stored so they can be accessed remotely by the patient as well as by any of the Fortis hospitals (with informed patient consent). Once this all comes together, it will be a useful tool in emergency situations where speed is of the essence. Directionally technology applica-tion on the one hand is starting to bring in efficiencies that can reduce the cost of delivering care while improving pa-tient convenience. On the other hand it is also improving predictability in medical outcomes. The deployment of the next generation Da Vinci Ro-botics system at our Fortis Memorial institute is a step in this direction. Pre-cise surgical operations can be carried out without damage to collateral tis-sue, thus minimizing recovery time. Moreover, precise doses of radio-isotopes can now be administered to targeted cancerous tissues under direct surveillance without the patient hav-ing to move to two different machines. The emphasis too is on catching the disease early, even before it is visible to the human eye, so treatment can be-gin in advance. Such Cancer therapy is available at our hospitals and pro-gressing rapidly. Being concerned with human life, speed and accuracy of delivery in a zero error environment is necessary. The robustness and fail safe nature of all equipment and tech-nology is therefore a high priority in healthcare delivery and the evolution in this space has been remarkable. Digital Convergence for Smart Healthcare SolutionsBecause of the enormity of disease and the lack of concomitant infrastructure which cannot be overcome in a "steady state environment", disruptive thinking is necessary in solving the healthcare dilemma. Smart IT solutions are proving to be a key differentiator, a source of going forward and a key enabler. Initially they focused more on improving efficiencies and productivity. However, they are now also focusing on improving access and reaching out to millions of patients looking for quality treatment and care.The emergence of e-Consults and e-ICU's such as 'Critinext', run by Fortis are examples where critical care can be extended to patients in smaller hospitals and establishments that are located in far flung and remote areas. These areas typically do not have access to local super speciality expertise. Critical patients at such remote hospitals can be wired up and connected real time through an internet connection to a monitored central hub manned by experts. Their vital parameters are tracked closely and appropriate interventions recommended real time so they can be nursed back to health. In this manner, several hundred critical care beds can be monitored at the same time by a central expert team of doctors. This is a great way, of exponentially expanding access to high quality healthcare and alleviating the problem.Additionally, many of the health problems we see today are a result of sedentary and poor lifestyle choices which can be corrected given notice and attention. This has led to the conclusion that equal effort must be made to reduce the problem by keeping our population healthy and well, as opposed to treating illness.Business models are now in evidence around the world where individuals are charged a fee for 24X7 surveillance of their vital medical parameters in-order to keep them healthy. An early preventive intervention with appropriate counselling is made by the provider should these be suggestive as being deranged.As technology helps to collect data of a particular patient over a period of time, it gives more personalized and appropriate care. It also helps to come up with demographic and clinical analysis. The potential of digital health technologies to therefore alter the healthcare landscape is tremendous.Looking at the challenges from another prism, that of providing com-plete and collaborative healthcare. We need systems that integrate and share vital clinical data with payers, pro-viders, plan participants and organi-zations that consider themselves ac-countable for providing collaborative care. Companies that can provide such platform based services and who have the relevant domain expertise will be able to deliver greater business im-pact ranging from accelerated speed to market to enhanced innovative-ness, stronger customer loyalty and top-line growth.This move to enhance clinical, financial and administrative outcomes will create several new opportunities to provide speedy and good quality healthcare at a cost efficient point. We should continue to innovate on ways to leverage new technologies to do so.And so, with all of that said, the IT transformation story in healthcare continues...
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