Digital docs: technology set to transform healthcare

Digital data is developing at an exponential rate, with the majority of all data today created in the last two years. The concept of the Internet of Things has made connectivity a focal point in our everyday lives and has opened up the possibilities of a connected home, workplace and city. This focus has transcended into the way healthcare is both viewed and delivered with emerging technology creating ways to utilise our everyday devices like never before.

Not so long ago, our watches helped us track the time and our mobile phones enabled us to communicate long distance but, through 3G and 4G networks, these devices are now also helping us store a greater amount of medical related information, simply by downloading an app. Speaking to The New Economy, Tim Wilson, a partner at PwC, said: “Emerging technology is going to utterly change global healthcare. In 10 years time healthcare will look completely different to what it is today.

The rise of mHealth is predicted to become one of the biggest technology breakthroughs to reduce the burden on chronic disease management

“Firstly access will be different with online doctors or face time doctors, secondly, knowledge will be completely democratised. Patients used to go to a doctor because they have more experience and knowledge and this has been the trend for years. Knowledge is completely different now, patients will know more than their doctors and, of course, patient data will be combined in a way they have never been combined before.”

The heart of the matter
The rise of mHealth is predicted to become one of the biggest technology breakthroughs to reduce the burden on chronic disease management. The prevalence of chronic disease and an ever-growing ageing population is putting increased pressure on healthcare costs, and global mHealth is expected to produce between $30bn and $60bn in revenue in 2015. Speaking to The New Economy, an EC spokesperson said: “mHealth can help citizens monitor their own health in collaboration with health professionals. Apps can remind you to take your medication, give you access to your medical records or connect you with your doctor. If, in 2017, its potential is fully unlocked, it is estimated that mHealth could save almost €100bn in healthcare costs in the EU.”

The development of mHealth to facilitate the delivery of healthcare is, at present, a booming business potential that has not gone unnoticed. Early this year, Novartis announced it will be partnering with Qualcomm to establish a joint investment company aimed at supporting digital medicine. These companies have allocated up to $100m to support early stage companies with digital technologies or services that can optimise the value of medical care. Incorporating technology into healthcare and encouraging the development of digital medicine can help bridge the gap between clinicians and patients, enabling them to change from passive healthcare recipients to consumers in control. Technology is actively being used to reinvent how care is delivered and as more and more healthcare companies connect their old systems with new innovations, digitally enabled care is becoming less of a convenience and more of a business necessity.

Customised care
Speaking to The New Economy, Vaishali Kamat, Head of Digital Health at Cambridge Consultants, said: “Smartphones and other mobile devices like tablets are providing a powerful new platform for care delivery and have the ability to completely change traditional healthcare models. Given the ability to gather and share data more easily, care models for chronic diseases can finally evolve to continuous monitoring rather than a five-minute doctor visit once in six months.”

Technology is replacing the one-size fits all concept with a more customised approach to healthcare through consumer-centred care and empowering patients to take control. Apple and Samsung currently offer health-tracking apps, with Apple Health allowing users to keep track of cholesterol levels and their upcoming Watch able to monitor heart rate and movement.

Google Fit and Samsung’s S health app also tracks users activity through their smartphones and wearables but AliveCor has taken this one step further and developed an app that measures ECG. The AliveECG app automatically analyses readings for atrial fibrillation, giving patients immediate notice and forwarding these results directly to cardiologists. This app is able to detect a serious heart condition, as AFib occurs randomly and is difficult to detect, AliveECG allows conditions to be identified at anytime and allows doctors to see the patient’s results before they arrive for medical care.

Diabetes sufferers can track their insulin injections, glucose levels and carbohydrate intake through diabetes apps and mHealth is even being used to slow to spread of AIDS. A small smartphone accessory has been engineered that detects HIV with a single finger prick and delivers results in just 15 minutes. This accurate device has the potential to make a significant impact to the spread of HIV through early detection.

Digital medicine and collaboration between patients and healthcare professionals may even reduce the need for conventional face-to-face diagnosis. Both PwC and Deloitte have forecasted that virtual physician visits will soon become the norm, with the latter stating that one in six doctor visits in the US in 2014 were virtual. HealthTap lets users access a network of 65,000 online doctors to obtain answers to medical queries. Users can store personal data about particular health issues and preferences that helps tailor the service, with paying users able to directly speak to a doctor through voice or video chat. This method of diagnosis is already happening in the EU where the €4m ELECTOR project allows arthritis patients in Denmark to be diagnosed and treated at home. These examples cut back on unnecessary doctor visits and help reduce global spending, particularly in the US where, in 2012, 17.9 percent of its GDP was spent on healthcare.

There is significant potential for mHeath in developing countries, where off-grid households, poor healthcare and a booming mobile market could see the concept soar. Wilson added: “The healthcare systems in developed countries are so established that they are hard to change but emerging economies have the chance to build on mHealth and become completely digital.”

In a world where more steps are counted, more tweets are sent and more users swipe left, a wave of innovation is rising to put this smartphone technology to good use and incorporate it into the healthcare industry. The explosion in digital advancements, coupled with increased accessibility, not only make hospital and doctor visits easier, but could eliminate them altogether, putting doctors in advisory roles. Now with everything from diagnosis to alternate treatment options available on smartphones, the future of medicine is only a tap away.