Jim O’Donoghue, president, S3 Connected Health, examines how last year’s events have impacted digital adoption, and how it will continue to unfold.
Despite its devastating impact on health systems worldwide, it’s unquestionable that the pandemic has acted as a catalyst for positive change. Nearly 47% of UK clinicians are now using telemedicine (17% in 2019), 69% are e-prescribing (61% in 2019), and over half (52%) are utilising medical apps to treat patients (29% in 2019).
Change isn’t just happening among healthcare providers. In Britain, face-to-face consultations dropped from 60% as a consequence of COVID-19 restrictions, with 10 million UK patients actively avoiding in-clinic care during the pandemic, for fear of contracting the virus, according to our research.
Now, with the Coronavirus vaccination programme gathering pace, the question is: will we go back to relying on in-person care, or is remote care here to stay? And, with providers and patients now more technologically adept, what other medtech trends can we expect to see in 2021?
The perception of in-clinic and remote care has changed
The need to facilitate remote care to prevent infections via doctor-patient meetings has undoubtedly accelerated the adoption of digital health, but it’s also set a precedent for how care can be delivered after the pandemic. Many patients only turned to telehealth last year with a view to avoiding in-clinic care, but this doesn’t mean they don’t recognise its long-term value: our research actually shows 71% of people are willing to use digital healthcare in the future.
Due to the pandemic, UK patients now realise in-clinic care doesn’t have to be the go-to solution. In fact, 23% believe that a virtual-first approach would improve the overall quality of care. It’s not about scrapping in-person health services completely, it’s about leveraging remote care when possible: for example, 34% of Britons feel remote-by-default care would lead to improving the healthcare experience, while 33% believe a more prominent use of digital services would save healthcare professionals (HCPs) precious time.
While 2020 forced patients to embrace remote care as a necessity, they’ve come to appreciate its benefits regardless of the pandemic. As a consequence, the groundwork has been laid for virtual-first healthcare becoming widely adopted from this year.
Connectivity will drive better care outcomes
As we strive to modernise healthcare systems to solve the challenges posed by the Coronavirus, connectivity will be the engine of successful innovation. In order to drive efficiencies, save precious resources, and improve outcomes, healthcare services will be increasingly designed around connected devices.
For instance, implantables and wearables will enable greater remote healthcare provision, allowing many conditions to be observed, and potentially treated, in patients’ homes. Symptoms can be tracked and monitored through AI-powered data analysis: meaning, clinicians can promptly spot any worsening of conditions, and identify and implement the right interventions without the need for face-to-face observation.
Meanwhile, connected devices will improve service delivery and take healthcare processes to new levels of efficiency in-hospital, too. Where care must remain tied to clinical settings, connected devices can help HCPs optimise resource allocation and delivery; think distribution of staff, medication, or equipment like ventilators, all particularly crucial amid the pandemic. This way, patients can continue accessing the care they need despite COVID-19 challenges and enjoy a better quality of care beyond the pandemic.
AI will enhance integrated health services
Artificial intelligence (AI) will play an increasingly important role in enhancing connected health services. Fresh from the success of fast-tracking COVID-19 vaccine research and detecting infections through thermal screening, AI will be increasingly used to streamline day-to-day tasks at healthcare facilities.
AI’s ability to quickly and accurately analyse data will be leveraged to support clinical decisions, complementing human expertise, enhancing care delivery, and affording overstretched clinicians time to focus on more complex or urgent cases.
2021 will be about unlocking the value of technology like wearables and AI through connectivity, yet these will only realise their full potential of improving health outcomes if they are part of re-designed care pathways, rather than isolated tools.
Medtech will pave the way for a brighter, post-COVID future
In 2021 and the years to come, technology and connectivity will empower healthcare organisations and professionals to provide better care across therapy areas, while maximising resources, relieving stress on pressurised systems, and ultimately ensuring better patient safety and wellbeing.
This is an incredibly significant time to be working in medtech; from the inflection point triggered by COVID-19, we have entered an era of innovation that will bring overwhelmingly positive change for the future of healthcare.
