If you could skip the
long hours of waiting in your doctor’s office and instead consult with her
through Skype or FaceTime in the comfort of your own bed, would you?
If the market could produce a wearable device that monitors
your vital signs, including the quality of your sleep or the air around you,
and automatically send this data to your physician on a regular basis, would
you buy it? If a robot could perform precision surgery on you, would you let
it?
In a report entitled “Healthcare and Life Sciences
Predictions 2020: A bold future,” the Deloitte Centre for Health Solutions
posits that we are not very far from this new world of healthcare. Looking at
trends, developments and small but bold steps in the healthcare marketplace,
Deloitte researchers have made a number of exciting predictions that patients,
healthcare professionals and life science organizations would find interesting.
1. Patients will
become partners in their own healthcare
Even now, individuals are already better informed about
their health and wellbeing, with some going as far as subjecting themselves to
genetic profiling in order to learn about their possible future health issues.
This abundance of data will give rise to patients who
expect a wealth of options from their healthcare providers – from the
treatments available to them, to the timing of the treatment, to the place
where they can receive these treatments, and the cost. In short, patients will
become more like consumers. Related to that, Deloitte researchers expect a
shift in the way healthcare providers relate to patients: from a paternalistic
approach, there will be a more patient-centered approach to consultation and
treatment.
2. Even medical care
is going the digital route
Thanks to advances in digital communication, by 2020 much
of medical care will take place at home. Web-based portals will allow
doctor-patient contacts to happen in the virtual world and digital diagnostic
tools will facilitate physical examinations at a distance. Locally, we are
already seeing evidence of this future state in the likes of Globe’s
KonsultaMD, which allows users to consult with trained medical specialists just
by dialing a hotline.
The digitization of medical care will revolutionize
healthcare productivity, reducing traveling and waiting times for patients, and
will be particularly advantageous for the Philippines, where many people living
in remote areas are medically underserved. In fact, the Department of Science
and Technology has already made headway in this direction with the RxBox, a
device that can store and transmit patient data electronically to allow health
workers in remote communities to consult with physicians in urban areas.
Several units of the RxBox are already in use around the country.
3. Wearables and
mHealth, or mobile health, applications will help shape quality of life
Deloitte researchers predict that by 2020, the tipping
point for broad adoption of wearables will have been reached. By this time, the
devices will be interoperable, integrated and engaging, and the technology will
be more sophisticated and yet much cheaper, allowing more people to opt in.
With the capability to monitor a broad range of physiology
– from posture to brain activity – wearables will allow clinicians and patients
to focus on self-management and prevention strategies.
One wearable that is expected to hit the market soon, for
example, is designed specifically to detect falls as a result of an ailment and
immediately alert family members and attending doctors to send help. Its
inventor, Filipino-American Angelo Umali, got the idea for the device after his
own grandmother fell and hit her head while at home. She eventually passed away
due to an undetected blood clot.
4. Big data in
healthcare will be pervasive
Now that there are more ways to generate, store and share
healthcare data, clinicians and healthcare professionals will be in a better
position to transform diagnosis and treatment to improve outcomes and
healthcare productivity. Deloitte also sees pharmaceutical companies
collaborating with patients and healthcare systems and using data to develop
better treatments and launch them faster.
With the healthcare system recognizing the value of
healthcare data, the regulatory environment for patient generated data will
also improve, and consumers will have more control over how their data is used.
5. New regulations
will encourage innovation through the convergence of science and technology
In 2014, most regulatory processes laid down by concerned
agencies centered on the science behind drugs. With the pervasiveness of big
data in healthcare, Deloitte predicts that by 2020, regulators will have
adopted a more data-driven approach – based on patient outcomes – in assessing
the quality, safety, and efficacy of prescribed medicine.
Deloitte also sees regulators investing in new capabilities
to manage data and technology regulations. For companies in the healthcare
sector, Deloitte predicts rising costs of regulatory compliance as more engaged
participants – particularly patients – lead to a more rigorous approach to regulation
and patient safety.
These are just some of Deloitte’s predictions for the
healthcare and life sciences sector, but already we can see a world of
developments and improvements that could literally spell the difference between
life and death. It will be interesting to see which of these predictions fully
take shape in the country and how that will make healthcare for Filipinos so
much better,
The author is an
Audit & Assurance Partner and the Technical Research Head at Navarro Amper
& Co., the local member firm of Deloitte Southeast Asia Ltd. – a member
firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited – comprising Deloitte practices
operating in Brunei, Cambodia, Guam, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Wilfredo a. Baltazar
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