siliconindia | | AUGUST 20229HEALTHY STRIDE, WEALTHY MINDprovide better care and help in relieving the torment of disease. The Government of India has taken some major initiatives regarding the Digital Healthcare, the National Health Policy, Ayushman Bharat Program 2018 that address holistic healthcare delivery. The Government has also allocated 1600 crore for five years towards the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission to propel India's digital healthcare. The digitization of India's Healthcare will inevitably enhance the practice of the doctors, improve the patient-doctor communication and improve patient outcomes. Besides the two evident stakeholders, the technological changes in the Indian Healthcare system can also be beneficial for the other members of the ecosystem. The Indian Government is planning to set-up a National Health Stack where all significant stakeholders such as hospitals, insurers, TPAs, government and HealthTech startups can come under one roof. These diverse stakeholders can facilitate the collection of comprehensive healthcare data electronically.THE VIRTUAL TIMELINE - STARTUPS, INNOVATION & PANDEMICDigital Healthcare has brought Telemedicine and virtual care models into existence, which have proved to be life-saving at the peak of a mortal pandemic. The pandemic was devastating but it has brought a few good things along, most significant would be the opportunities it brought for HealthTech startups. The lens with which the HealthTech startups are now looking into tele-health is crystal clear. The aim is to provide better services. From benefitting isolated patients with cloud based technologies to patients with chronic illness, who fear visiting hospital for routine check-up, these healthcare startups are accelerating the innovations. Solutions such as AR, Chatbots, and voice interfaces are encouraging the much needed healthcare for patients and providers. The pandemic has revealed various gaps within the healthcare infrastructure that has led to more emphasis on the adopting `cloud services' and `new-age technology'. According to the reports, 80 percent of doctors in North India have adopted telemedicine, 50 percent in Southern and Western regions, and 35 percent in East India, during the pandemic. AI and robotics can also improve accuracy, enable precise diagnosis and remote treatment.THE RENAISSANCE OF HEALTHCARE SECTOR OF INDIA- DIGITAL HEALTHCAREMoving forward, the Indian healthcare system is projected to witness a massive spike in demand as well as supply of digital healthcare services. An ecosystem of AI, robotics, telemedicine, electronic health records, IoT, and digital therapeutics among others will strengthen the country's healthcare backbone to overcome challenges in the monitoring of patients, healthcare accessibility, affordability, supply chain, claims settlement, and quality of care. The vast healthcare market in India provides ample opportunities for innovative startups. However, if the given opportunities are to be tapped efficiently, the challenges of payment, logistics and infrastructure need to be handled prudently. Given the opportunities, the healthcare startups will become an integral part of the economy.
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