From hype to reality: How deeptech health technology is changing investor sentiment

Pearl Agarwal, Founder & Managing Director, Eximius Ventures highlights that as India experiences an aging population in the next 5 to 10 years, the only way to expedite access to healthcare is to utilise the scalability that digital solutions provide

The Indian healthcare industry is worth $372 billion. However, in spite of the gargantuan market size, catering to a clientele of 1.4 billion scattered over an area of 3.29 million km square is no mean feat. While the resounding inadequacy of infrastructure, particularly in tier 2+ regions, has been a persistent problem within the sector, it has never been highlighted as gravely as it was during the pandemic.

During the crest of the COVID wave, the problems associated with the availability of beds, oxygen cylinders, ventilators, and other imperative healthcare equipment laid bare how insufficient the current infrastructure in the country is. Since there was a severe lack of visibility on the availability of resources, the responsiveness across the system was gravely affected resulting in immense casualties. Moreover, the conditions emerging from long COVID impact requires a more holistic approach towards value-based care with a prime focus on preventive care as opposed to curative care.

While the lack of infrastructure would need heavy investment over years from both private and public players, using technology-led solutions can help stakeholders  plan better and cater to the growing population more efficiently, at least in the near term. Moreover, in a country where over 70 per cent of the population resides in rural areas with limited connectivity, ensuring that these regions are better assimilated within national healthcare frameworks is critical. With rapid penetration of internet in the rural areas over the last 5 years, it has never been more opportune to utilise digital and deep tech-led solutions to cater to the needs of the last mile better.

Deep-tech solutions such as remote monitoring solutions, post-surgery care equipment, and disease detection solutions also solve for the lack of doctors, nurses and lab technicians in remote areas. As India experiences an aging population in the next 5 to 10 years, the only way to expedite access to healthcare is to utilise the scalability that digital solutions provide.

The cumulative funding received by health tech companies in 2022 was $1.4 billion. Much of it was driven by innovative tech-led companies that sought to both increase the ingress points for healthcare services and also redefine the patient experience to make seeking treatment as convenient and seamless as possible, specifically for sections of people who were traditionally disenfranchised from this capability.

While there are several innovations that are crucial to improve accessibility of healthcare in the country, a couple in particular are promising in the near term : –

Omnichannel teleclinics

Telemedicine-led solutions have already been accepted quite favourably across the country with 80 per cent doctors in North India, 50 per cent in the Southern and Western regions, and 35 per cent in East India utilising telemedicine during the pandemic. Further, while they grapple with significantly lesser internet penetration, rural regions are adopting online consultation modules at a considerably quicker rate than their metro peers. This is expected to witness further growth as more legacy healthcare providers are looking towards an omnichannel approach that can allow them to maximise penetration across markets and demographics. They are primarily utilising deep tech solutions to reduce dependency on availability of doctors and technical staff.

To combat lack of infrastructure, we expect to see further development across emerging e-monitoring solutions that can provide a healthcare provider with 24X7 visibility into their patient’s condition and allow them to bypass the infra restrictions. This coupled with point-of-care diagnostics solutions will play a key part in integrating tier 2+ regions better with the broader healthcare system and expand the utility of telemedicine for people looking to seek treatment.

Vertically integrated platforms

A significant reason for the lack of visibility into healthcare conditions plaguing deep India is the lack of data. This combined with the disjointed healthcare access points across the country make it difficult for citizens to access personalised healthcare services and for authorities to act nimbly against emerging issues. To solve for this, comprehensive platforms digitising a patient’s complete treatment history will make it easier for them to access precise treatment swiftly.

The government has already taken a significant step in this direction by launching the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (or National Digital Health Mission “NDHM”) which seeks to enable consent-based access and exchange of longitudinal health records of over 1 bn+ citizens via a centralised health repository. Such platforms, will need to be integrated with AI and ML frameworks to increase the state’s ability to predict common illness platforms across demographics and create solutions for the underlying causes. Now that the emphasis on preventative care is on a tremendous rise across the globe, advanced predictive models based on the data that could be collected through such platforms will be a huge step in the right direction.