Technology, Start-ups and the Indian Healthcare System Technical advancements are revolutionizing the healthcare industry

What is the one thing that has changed the entire narrative of human lives in the 21st century? If you're thinking technology then you've guessed it right. From education and entertainment to healthcare, there is hardly any sector that technology has not influenced or even transformed in a positive way.

Technical advancements are revolutionizing the healthcare industry all around the globe and our country is not far behind. Today, India is ushering in technological breakthroughs and the growing start-up culture has a lot to do with it. In an ever changing world of technology, the best strategy for a successful business is to innovate or adapt, learn new technologies and evolve. The healthcare industry is full of examples of companies that are front runners of this strategy.

Here are some of the technologies that are being incorporated and changing the face of Indian healthcare today.

Medical devices

Healthcare is no longer limited to research and development in treating diseases and drugs. Today, medical equipments with in-built technologies like IoT, AI, etc are solving complex global problems. From devices that can do early detection of lifestyle ailments and dispensers that can help you manage your medication to wearables that can help keep a track of your vitals, new and exciting devices are being built to solve the challenges and give better services to patients.

One of the more impactful disruptions we are witnessing today is the adoption of technologies now categorised as a part of "Internet of Things". The ability of IoT to be able to track and communicate with devices gives a completely different dimension to the potential application of such devices. We are and will see inventions and adoption of new applications and devices in the coming decades that will transform how information is collected, interpreted, and ultimately acted upon.

Automation

Integration of automation in healthcare is one of the biggest shifts we are seeing today. What's exciting is the broad spectrum of automation that is being used. From automating digitization of health records and data mining to complete processes for higher consistency. In addition to this, in-built quality control mechanisms negate possibilities of errors, which is essential in the healthcare industry. Another dimension includes technologies that provide continuous feedback loops linked with automated data mining that are being used for management, optimisation and improved services to patients and healthcare entities. Lastly, automation can also be used to develop innovative products and services to solve challenges or issues being faced by patients, payers and providers.

Personalised Health and Lifestyle Services

The profile of a patient is changing rapidly. People live more sedentary yet busy lives, which results in an increase in the need for personalised patient services that are accessible even from a distance. There are a lot of technologies available that close this gap but the exciting part is the shift of these technologies from purely software to a combination of hardware, software & IoT. First we saw platforms that allow patients to interact instantly with their doctors and APPs that allow input of vitals and sleeping patterns. But now we see devices that automatically customise & manage people's medication, send interactive reports of their consumption to their doctors or caregivers and also wearables that automatically track vitals and lifestyle patterns. This is still the beginning for personalised healthcare services and we will see an exponential growth in the coming years.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a crucial tool for healthcare professionals. The cloud makes it possible for individuals and entities, big and small, to access, manage and optimise information. This in turn allows them to offer the best care to their patients in economical options. To give an example, cloud computing allows doctors to access and compare patient data to be able to give better diagnosis and treatment to their patients. In addition to that, the cloud can also be used as a knowledge sharing platform by healthcare professionals all around the world, resulting in overall improvement of healthcare protocols.

E-commerce Platform

Although in play for a long time, E-commerce platforms enable easy distribution of healthcare products. They're also an essential platform that make products and now even services like medical tests available to patients from the comfort of their home. Mainly, these platforms have led to a massive shift in the mindsets of people, opening the avenue of easier adoption to other, more innovative technologies.

This is definitely the era of tech-enabled change. A revolution is brewing and the healthcare industry promises to be a front runner of this revolution. Today, organisations and professionals that evolve with and adopt technological advancements will be catalysts of growth in the healthcare industry and those who don't will perhaps be left behind.