The Coronavirus causing the pandemic COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in our lives. This efficient infection causing machine, SARS-CoV-2, is comprised of only 29 proteins with a genome 1/200,000 the size of a human being. It is remarkably evolved to trick human cells in its quick propagation causing innumerable deaths and sickness across the globes.
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India has been making steady progress in leveraging information and communication technologies in healthcare for over two decades. Efforts to build and act in the health information systems and electronic medical records in both public and private healthcare settings have been underway. For example, the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), a premier research and development organization of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) developed and deployed India’s first indigenously developed total hospital information system (HIS) software in the 1990s.
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The increased need for an acceleration in digital transformation in a post-COVID world is a no-brainer to understand. Healthcare service providers were rather compelled to adapt and digitally innovate to face the unprecedented pandemic in as less than two to three months, pushing hospital IT infrastructure to go above and beyond to find new ways of attending, responding, and treating to in- and out-patients remotely.
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The advent of Covid-19 has brought Healthcare Information technology to the forefront. Organizations across the globe have been forced to look at different options to keep their revenues (especially outpatient) going. Telemedicine was conceptualized in the 1920s, till a few months ago it was considered as a target market for only rural areas. In many countries it was still in the nascent stage. The current world situation has forced organizations to consider telehealth/telemedicine very seriously
…In her first artcile as the Consulting Editor of the Healthcare IT Experts’ Blog, Anusha shares a review of the NDHM’s proposed Health ODE to create a future ready digital health system.
The need for a future-ready digital health system has become even more urgent than ever before with the COVID-19 pandemic hitting us with a big bang. And to be future-ready, experts say that global healthcare systems need to be more open. Most countries around the globe are already convinced with this open source model, so is India.
The NITI Aayog, in 2018, had brought out the blueprint of the National Health Stack (NHS), which is a shared digital healthcare infrastructure, with a view to implement the Centre’s flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat and other public healthcare programs in the country.
In a nutshell, the National Health Stack (NHS) is a visionary digital framework usable by centre and state across public and private sectors. It represents a holistic platform that supports a multitude of health verticals and their disparate branches, and is capable of integrating future IT solutions for a sector that is poised for rapid, disruptive changes and unforeseen twists. When this was proposed in 2018, the aim to create digital health records for all citizens by the year 2022 was earmarked.
Chinmay Athaley reviewed and categorised the list of digital health startups from India. Presenting the Map of Digital Health Startups – 2020
Map of #DigitalHealth Apps in India by Chinmay Athaley, @chinmayathaleyRead More »
When it comes to IT adoption, Healthcare globally has at times picked up behind other industries, in comparison with manufacturing, banking/ finance and other mature service sectors. India has been no exception. Private sector health insurance is struggling and bleeding over a decade and Government health insurance is just making a debut, targeting BPL population. It is not a surprise that the Care providers work in silos and have own priorities ahead of larger good for the community as a whole.
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On Wednesday, July 29, HIMSS India Chapter provided written comments to National Health Authority (NHA) in response to the proposed National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) implementation based on National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB) and subsequent NDHM stakeholder discussions held by NHA.
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Digital health is using technologies to help improve individuals’ health and wellness. These technologies include both hardware and software solutions and services, including telemedicine, web-based analysis, email, mobile phones and applications, text messages, wearable devices and clinic or remote monitoring sensors. Really it’s about applying digital transformation, through disruptive technologies and cultural change, to the healthcare sector. Digital health is a multi-disciplinary domain involving many stakeholders, including clinicians, researchers and scientists with a wide range of expertise in healthcare, engineering, social sciences, public health, health economics and data management.
…Digital Healthcare – Laws & Regulations in India by Sujeet Katiyar, @sujeetkatiyarRead More »
In India culturally, we follow sick care as it is driven out of fear, not preventive primary care. We generally do not visit hospitals and get our regular tests done until a Doctor has advised to further investigate our symptoms. Sometimes we keep delaying our visit to hospitals until the disease has taken over and symptoms are prevalent.
…Telehealth is the use of digital information and communication technologies, such as mobile devices, Cloud, Fitness devices, Health devices & sensors, AI-powered Messaging & Chatbot systems and more, to access healthcare services remotely and manage healthcare. These may be technologies you use from home or that your Doctor uses to improve or support healthcare services.
#Telehealth and its play in Digital Healthcare by Ambarish Giliyar, @iamgiliyarRead More »
This report was first published by Invest India, its been re-published here with the Author’s permission.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront the critical need for cutting-edge technological tools and innovation in the areas of public health, medicine and wellness. It has reopened the realm of ‘digital health’ in the policy and public discourse, with consumers increasingly looking at the wide canvas of wearable gadgets, mobile health apps and Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as robotic carriers, sensors and to electronic records.
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#DigitalHealth in the Aftermath of COVID-19 By Ankita SharmaRead More »
The article was first published on the COVID-19 the India Story, and has been re-published here with the authors permission
The costs of the Covid-19 pandemic are well documented. The costs of the responses to the pandemic are yet to fully play out and could be equally devastating.
Lockdowns have varied nation to nation in intensity depending on the breadth of economy that was shut down. There have been millions more job losses than deaths to date. School and university disruptions, restriction of travel, unsettling of migrant labour, interrupted food and transport chains have all added to the burden. People have suffered other physical ill-health due to healthcare systems being focused solely on Covid-19. For example, delays in cancer diagnosis and heart disease may have led to otherwise preventable deaths.1
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During COVID-19 pandemic, terms like telehealth, telemedicine, remote-patient monitoring, virtual care and digital health are thrown around very commonly, though these terms have been around for years, but the recent situation is accelerating patient awareness and physician adoption of these technologies.
…Why #DigitalHealth will become the new normal by Sujeet Katiyar, @sujeetkatiyarRead More »
Healthcare systems world over are over-whelmed and struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic. The deluge of infected patients and suspects are stretching the healthcare ecosystem beyond their capacity. Telehealth & Virtual Care tools are being introduced to health systems to increase access and remote-screen people. This and more is happening in addition to the Consumerization demands that has been lurking for some time now.
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The current legal and regulatory landscape that governs Digital Health is scattered and ambiguous. To make matters worse, there is none or very little legal scholarship in the area of Digital Health in India. The scope of Digital Health is vast and covers various business models, which inherently makes it difficult to regulate as a whole.
This paper seeks to knit together existing laws and regulations into what may be called an “ad-hoc” legal framework for Digital Health in India. It is being written for those who are already invested in Digital Health as workforce or capital contributors as well as those who are still testing the waters. Since this is a research paper, it also seeks to raise questions and takes positions which are yet to be tested with the hope that it would set the tone for legal discussions in larger platforms
– An Excerpt from the document
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Is the Novel Corona Virus here to stay? The opinion is different among the experts! In the absence of a vaccine to prevent or medicine to cure, how effective are the lockdown and social distancing going to be in flattening the curve? While the world waits for answers, COVID19 has become one of the biggest mystery humankind has encountered in recent time. Lives of more than half of the world’s population have suddenly become uncertain.
…Aarogya Setu, India’s flagship COVID app has become the most downloaded contact tracing app in the world. Should an app with such a tremendous reach be limited in terms of its utility only for the current crisis – the COVID? Or, do we extend its use for an e-healthy connect with citizens?
Post Covid: What will change in healthcare: Tele tele everywhere
When we started Teleradiology Solutions over a decade and a half ago, it was unheard of. The concept was new, untested. Radiologists were raw, untrained, unused to this new way of reporting diagnostic scans which was very different than being in person in a hospital. Bandwidth was expensive, unreliable and weak. However, pre covid-it had become a well oiled global teleradiology healthcare practice with smooth and robust IT enabled, radspa enabled workflows. And Radiologists typically worked part or full time from home as per their personal preference. So when the 4 hour notice lockdown hit India, we could keep working-from homes in India, from homes in America, from homes globally. Suddenly, everyone realised the potential benefits of what we had been doing for what seems like forever!
…How a little virus has made a big change in Healthcare by Dr. Sunita MaheshwariRead More »
Before we talk about digital health tech trends, let’s look at what’s happening around us
Digital Health Tech Trends That Will Become Mainstream In 2020 by Madhavi KanumooryRead More »
The current onslaught of COVID-19 has brought to the fore numerous issues that healthcare systems face worldwide. India, with its COVID-19 case load trailing China, Europe and the US by a few weeks, is almost certain to encounter its healthcare system’s limitations in the coming weeks to months. Many countries today have witnessed a geometric rise in the number of cases of the virus owing to its infectiousness and unique transmission characteristics. Barring unknown climatic effects or significant mutations in the virus, it is likely to follow a similar course in the Indian population. The similarities unfortunately end here.
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India’s population is 1.3 billion as of 2020 based on the population forecast (1). India is home to 18% of the world population. As per the Mathematical Modeling of Infectious Disease Dynamics (EPI Model), at least 40% of the people are likely to be infected in the US. As per Prof. Lipsitch (2) a well-known Epidemiologist of Harvard school of public health, “40% to 70% of people worldwide are likely to be infected by COVID-19 in the coming year”.
…Is India ready to face the #COVID19 Pandemic? by Jeyseelan Jayaraj, @jeyaseelanjRead More »
Please note, this is not an exhaustive list, it’s being updated as and when we are coming across updates from various organisations. The list will be continuously updated. Rest assured there are many more Innovators working to provide solutions and services to Indians. We want to thank people working in healthcare organisations and others providing care and solutions during these testing times 🙏
…an approach for 2020 and beyond!
Healthcare Consumers’ biggest pain point today has been the difficulty in navigating the fragmented ecosystem! This fragmented ecosystem is leading to impersonal communication & transactions and complicated & time-consuming affair. Due to the increasingly personalized and convenient experiences with other sectors, Consumers have high expectations when it comes to the services they’re receiving from the healthcare industry, according to a new global survey from Salesforce Research.
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There is no denying the fact that healthcare costs very high. We all are just 1-2 Serious illnesses away from getting totally bankrupt and losing all your savings if luck goes bad and there is no insurance to cover it. Even if there is no financial constraint, getting access to a human physician and getting to satisfactory quality time with them is next to impossible for billions.
…The future of healthcare and medicine by Dr. Rohit Sharma, @ZinitheaiRead More »
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