Digital Health
Smartwatch is a common health device
In the future , our triage system will change with the introduction of chatbots , whereby the first point of contact will be with these — there ’ s no question about it . for them and expects them to comply . End-users should instead be given reasons to buy in to the latest treatment advances , rather than have them foisted onto them , especially when they ’ re uncertain about change .
It ’ s encouraging , therefore , that over the last year , patients have shown that they ’ re becoming increasingly comfortable with telemedicine and are starting to appreciate the added convenience of having healthcare available on their doorstep . This coincides with a time when patients are also becoming more demanding about the availability of healthcare .
In some ways , the current changes resemble a virtuous circle where healthcare providers , by providing innovations in digital healthcare , are letting society allow the system to evolve . Expectations have changed already , and with the door open to introducing new services , this can be done very quickly as patients are now much more receptive to new ideas .
All this also has an impact on the cost of healthcare , which is accustomed to growing year after year . It will also help mitigate the anticipated global shortage of health staff , which the WHO predicts will reach about 14.5 million medical workers by 2030 . “ This whole transformation has been about reducing costs and making the system smarter with fewer people involved . In the future , our triage system will change with the introduction of chatbots , whereby the first point of contact will be with these � there ’ s no question about it . These app scripts will take your details and work out the best way to progress ,” said
Dr Ahmed .
The next step of future triage , he predicts , will involve another chatbot to check symptoms and narrow down the diagnosis .
“ So that ’ s taking away the volume of work from the healthcare system while still allowing patients to be seen and managed appropriately . These are some of the smart solutions to overcome some of the problems of expenditure and a lack of healthcare workers ,” he added .
Dr Ahmed believes that some things , however , still cannot be done remotely , often due to cautious regulators dragging their heels when called on to rule on healthcare innovations . Technology tends to drive change , and so it can take some time for regulatory bodies to adapt accordingly .
More than a year of the pandemic , though , has changed some of the rules of oversight and enabled regulators to relax their regulations slightly . This has been helped by a clear change in public perceptions towards digital healthcare .
“ Some of the rules and regulations lag way behind ; they are prehistoric , almost . And to get official approval for taking a new course of action , it ’ s all about showing how money would either be saved or how you could bring better-quality healthcare to patients .
�Now both of these are taking place : healthcare is becoming better-quality , cheaper , more accessible , and with better outcomes . What we are seeing is all stakeholders coming together to influence change for the future ,” he said . n
62 AUGUST 2021 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com