Digital health seems like a complex concept but in truth we have all been exposed to it in many different ways.
Are We Ready or Not?
Malaysians though have yet to see full and widespread telemedicine initiatives available to us.
According to Dr Raymond Choy, Co-founder and CEO of Doc2Us, the challenges of implementing a technologically advanced healthcare system lies in the readiness of the ecosystem, made up of the five P’s, i.e. patient, provider, policymaker, payer and platform.
One of the main challenges is patients’ acceptance and readiness towards digital health solutions. The public still sees healthcare as a face-to-face service, and this mindset makes it difficult to convert them to using virtual platforms. “There is skepticism and sometimes they don’t see the value of the consultation online,” said Dr Raymond.
The public’s wariness in sharing personal data also hampers the growth of digital health, especially the growth of artificial intelligence. However, Prof Zaharin assures that it is safe, “We collect headless data which is not connected to IC numbers and not attributed to individuals, so it is very safe as no one knows who the medical conditions belong to.”
Healthcare providers on the other hand are also grappling with teleconsultations. Dr Raymond explains that today’s doctors were taught in the conventional way, saying that students did not learn about digital health, how to use electronic medical records, or how to consult remotely. “What we were taught were bedside manners, how to pick up cues from the patient face-to-face,” shared Dr Raymond.
To support this technological drive forward, policymakers also have to be open to constant updates and evolutions. Questions that need to be asked include whether our policies are open to accept digital health innovations as well as whether the policies are relevant to today’s and tomorrow’s digital health solutions.
Prof Zaharin also adds that current diagnostic systems are only used to support doctors and are not readily accessible by the public because of legal and liability issues. For example, if the system misdiagnoses a patient, the legal landscape doesn’t cover any malpractice lawsuits that a patient might want to file adding, “The legal landscape must catch up.
There is also the readiness of payers (the people who pay for healthcare) which are the government, insurers, employers and patients themselves. Payers need to have the proper procedures in place to assess payments for virtual consultations, which lies in them seeing value of digital health.
The last hurdle is that of the readiness of platforms. This includes infrastructural support such as a stable and wide-reaching internet network as well as security and safety.
Pushing forward
Things are moving forward though especially with the pandemic acting as a catalyst to push the existing digital health agenda forwards. In the US, during the pandemic, 74% of doctor visits were virtual. While this dropped down to around 46% after the pandemic, it is still much higher than pre-pandemic levels.
What will healthcare look like as digital initiatives become more and more a part of our daily life? Dr Abu Bakar paints a scenario: A patient is admitted for an elective operation at 6am. At 8am, the surgery is done and by 7pm on the same day, he/she is discharged. At 8pm, the doctor or the nurse can check on the patient at home through digital devices. Each day, the nurse can check in by looking at the data (sent through home monitoring devices) and report to the doctor. The patient may not even have to go back to the hospital.
“This type of capability will make life very convenient for the patient,” said Dr Abu Bakar. “You can deliver services more effectively and more efficiently. And you’ve got the potential to reduce the cost of healthcare,” he adds.
Health innovations, the development of technology and the way it is integrated has the power to help individuals and families achieve their potential in health and maintain their wellness in their lives and will help them make good decisions regarding health. What we need, according to Dr Abu Bakar, is major investments in evidence-based research, more laboratory, clinical and field research and commitment from various stakeholders.
The dream going forward? Dr Abu Bakar answers, “To provide personalised, customised and patient-centered care, driven by precision health and precision medicine. That is our dream going forward.”
