India’s switch to digital mode for a robust healthcare system

India is among the few countries that have emerged the fastest-growing digital economies over the past few years characterised by 90 per cent growth in terms of digital adoption index between 2014 and 2017. With the increasing importance given to digital health and technology, the country is witnessing a significant growth in capital investment.

In the first quarter of 2020, the healthcare sector has witnessed a 50% increase in terms of volume (21 deals versus 14 deals in 2019) and 14% in terms of value (US$ 452 million versus US$ 398 million in the first quarter of 2019), according to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).

Digital health plays a catalyzing role in improving quality and accessibility of healthcare delivery system. Building healthcare infrastructure in the country is the need of the hour and technological advancements and digitalisation will contribute significantly to the growth and development of the healthcare industry.

Recently, the BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BRICS CCI) organised a Webinar and panel discussion on Exploring Opportunities in the Digital Health Sector in which chiefs of health tech service providing companies along with experts explored the opportunities in the domain and suggested the way forward.

“The development of information technology culminating in a phase where innovative procedures are steadily gaining acceptance. Healthcare technology is pushing boundaries, broadening its scope every day. Digital Health has the potential to revolutionize how populations interact with national health services and also strengthen the country’s health care systems,” says VishwasTripathi, Chairman, BRICS CCI.

New technologies is going to prove a game-changer and a great enabler. Dozee is India’s First Contactless Remote Health Monitoring Startup that tracks heart health, respiration, sleep quality and stress levels with 98.4 perc cent accuracy as compared to medical devices.

“Healthcare has two facets, one is mundane and one is humane. Mundane one has to be taken up by AI to bridge the infrastructural gap in our system and that is what Dozee does. It contributes to saving lives on time and compliments the kind of support required by our medical fraternity in such difficult times,” emphasizes MuditDandwate, CEO & Co-founder, Dozee.

India’s National Digital Health Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year. The Mission is a case in point for a stark shift in the Indian economy’s focus towards building a strong and affordable universal healthcare infrastructure. Technology will play a dominant role in ensuring a safe and smooth healthcare-related technology transformation.

Highlighting the contribution of mfine, the health-tech companies CFO NS Viswanathan says, “The two pillars of strong digital healthcare infrastructure are accessibility and availability. mfine is working towards providing doctors in remote clinics with network access so that more and more people in these areas can avail digital services including consultations. With this pilot project, we aim to reach the remote villages in every corner of the country.”

Several health-tech companies mfine are focusing on delivering an AI-driven, on-demand healthcare service across India, and they are also creating virtual hospitals with services across primary care, secondary care, acute, sub-acute and step-down care management.

India is now embarking upon a futuristic journey to strengthen its healthcare sector. The rapid growth of digital health in the country would pave the way for Universal Health Coverage and also make India a sought-after destination for foreign investment.  India is all set to emerge as a global leader in health technology sector.