Satyendra Johari, Founder and Chairman, Johari Digital Healthcare opines that the major focus of the government should be to modernise our hospitals and healthcare system in this digital era which will not enhance our healthcare experience but also give a major boost to the economy
In today’s digital world everything has gone smart. From phones, watches, televisions and even our cars have gone smart. With the help of the internet of things (IoT) and connected devices, all our daily gadgets and equipment can be operated with a single device. The smart era has connected and optimised and improved our user experience. Clearly, the digital bug has bit the world. In this digital era, where technology makes our life easy, it can help track our health thereby increasing our lifespan, in the healthcare segment technology often helps save lives.
Smart hospitals a trend that is picking up pace in India. A smart hospital is designed to improve, rebuild hospitals, infrastructure management, and use of high-end medical devices. Adopting new-age technology helps in making hospitals completely aligned with clinical processes and management systems. Indian hospitals with basic amenities and infrastructure are embracing new ways and smart medical devices to improve existing patient care procedures. This will help in transforming the way healthcare is perceived in India with automation, precision medical advice, and telemedicine.
As per a study, the global smart hospital market is valued at over $22.2 billion and is projected to be over $83.1 billion by 2026. The trajectory is based on the rapidly growing demand for artificial intelligence services, modern machines, and better medical devices. Some of the technologies which are used in a smart hospital are Stress Detection and Alleviation system, Laboratory Information Management System, Electronic Medical Record, radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to manage personnel materials, and supply chain. Technology-oriented smart hospitals can help detect disease at a diagnostic stage saving lifetime earnings for some and most importantly saving precious life in the disease is life-threatening.
During the current pandemic, the demand for healthcare services has rapidly increased. Smart and connected processes in hospitals can help in maintaining social distancing between infected patients and non-infected patients which will help us control the growth and spread of the on-going virus. The demand from the patient is surging for better healthcare treatment which was not the case pre-COVID. Smart hospitals will play a vital role in providing better patient satisfaction, flexibility, and with the aid of new-age technology.
Digital India, a programme by the government of India can help expedite the process of migration of a traditional hospital to a smart hospital. Post the transformation of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital to a patient-friendly hospital under the Digital India initiative, the government has asked AIIMS to guide other public hospitals across the nation to replicate the transformation project of digitising services. As per move forward in the digital era, many daily activities are going online/smart, like paying railway/metro fare via Smart card, paying toll via a smart chip, RFID. The major focus of the government should be to modernise our hospitals and healthcare system in this digital era which will not enhance our healthcare experience but also give a major boost to the economy.
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