Sajeev Nair, Founder and Chairman of Vieroots Wellness Solutions explains about the mega-trends aiding the emergence of preventive healthcare
Right now, there are numerous mega-trends aiding the emergence of preventive healthcare that include wearables, AI & data analytics, IoT based networks & devices for remote monitoring, personalised lifestyle management, generative AI based behavioural interventions, virtual lifestyle communities, healthcare super apps, telemedicine, lifestyle coaches and lots more. But before I delve into them, let me start by explaining two fundamental mega-trends driving the demand for preventive healthcare.
MEGA TREND 1:
Millennials & Gen X Prefer Prevention
The definitive mega-trend driving prevention is how this proactive form of healthcare is complementing and steadily upstaging the conventional or reactive form of treatments. This is happening right before our eyes now as the more health-aware generations including millennials and Gen X, that together include the 28-59 age bracket now, prefer to prevent diseases from happening rather than fighting expensive, painful and losing battles against them at a later stage.
Studies done on this subject during the past few years by leading global consultancies predict that preventive healthcare is all set to overtake and dominate reactive treatments 60:40 per cent by as near as the end of the next decade. This projection has been arrived at by considering the almost double pace of growth of the preventive & wellness sector, as against the conventional treatments domain.
MEGA TREND 2:
The focus now includes performance
The second mega trend that is driving the adoption of preventive health is ironically something that is not directly connected with diseases or their prevention, but the newfound focus among these generations in improving their physical, cognitive and emotional performance. In fact, this interest is shared by a wider population, including Gen Z (now aged 27 and below) and seniors (aged 60 and above), but for different reasons.
Two features have been unprecedented in today’s Gen Z, one being their exclusively white collar jobs due to the booming services sector, which however leaves them sedentary and thirsting for physical fitness. Secondly, as a recent study points out, Gen Z has never been this wealthy due to their high remuneration and avenues for wealth creation like ESOPs and mutual fund SIPs, which gives them more disposable income to invest in fitness and performance.
Seniors on the other hand are more concerned about fitness and performance than they ever have been due to the emerging dynamic of more working years with the retirement age getting pushed further into 65, 70 or beyond. Continued physical, cognitive and mental performance becomes an imperative for them as well as Gen X to remain productive and competitive in the workforce. For all of them, preventive methodologies including epigenetic lifestyle modifications and health wearables double up as performance enhancement tools too.
MEGA TREND 3:
Health wearables & IoT devices
Personal health wearables play a pivotal role in the emergence of preventive health. People themselves can monitor their physical activity, heart rate, breathing, stress levels, sleep patterns and more, providing valuable data for disease management and prevention. These can be common devices like smartwatches or fitness bands to more advanced ones like continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) patches and smart rings.
Wearables connected to IoT networks are a more recent innovation, through which doctors can do remote monitoring and manual or automated interventions. The best examples are the new versions of cardiac pacemakers, wearable cardioverter defibrillators (WCDs) and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs).
While conventional defibs can detect abnormal rhythms and automatically provide an electric shock to keep the heart beating, new versions can connect to a hospital cardiac system via IoT and take the cardiologist’s opinion before acting.
MEGA TREND 4:
AI based personalised epigenetic solutions
Some genetics based lifestyle management solutions have emerged as the gold standard in preventive strategies. Such solutions work by detecting hard-coded risks for developing any among hundreds of lifestyle diseases, years or decades before they develop, and then using research validated lifestyle changes spanning diet, supplements, exercise, yoga, breath work, meditation etc. to keep these diseases at bay.
Until recently, such systems were not practical due to the huge volume of data crunching involved. But the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have revolutionised this field. These technologies analyse vast datasets to identify patterns that improve user outcomes. From predicting disease risks to personalised treatment recommendations, such AI and ML based systems enhance preventive healthcare.
MEGA TREND 5:
AI & gen AI based health super apps
While 24X7 monitoring of health metrics by wearables is a huge innovation, it makes sense only in the presence of sophisticated software that can generate meaningful insights for the user.
PREVENTIVE HEALTH:
Challenges & imperatives
While preventive healthcare thus holds immense promise, there are some key challenges too that can be overcome with specific imperatives.
Behavioural change resistance is the number one hurdle as convincing individuals to adopt preventive measures is challenging. Education, awareness, and incentives like the corporate rewards programs are essential.
Data privacy and security is another challenge, as service providers in this field collect more health data, and safeguarding privacy becomes critical. Hence, striking a balance between data utilisation and privacy protection is imperative.
Integration with traditional healthcare is also a challenge. Preventive and curative care must coexist and complement each other. Achieving this is an imperative that ensures integrated and holistic health management.
Finally, just like how doctors, nurses and paramedical staff are available for delivering reactive treatments, there needs to be a new breed of healthcare professionals to deliver preventive strategies. In developed nations, this need is met by Certified Lifestyle Coaches, this has been introduced in India through Viegyan Certified Lifestyle Coaching program.