| |JULY 20229ing, pilot programmes around telemed-icine, mobile health (m-health), and the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) have been making advancements in the Indi-an healthcare ecosystem. Over the last few years, many hospitals both public and private have moved to online pa-tient registration and service delivery systems, and mobile apps for online payment, appointment booking, test reports and analytics, sharing health tips, and others.Moreover, the advanced tools and technologies are transforming the industry with the use of data and personalised member outreach and engagement. Technologies like telemedicine are helping bring patients and doctors together, bridging the care access divide. According to the Global Telemedicine Market Analysis, the global telemedicine market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.85 percent, reaching $80.61 billion by 2024. Many healthcare institutions are leveraging social methods to improve communication and collaboration between doctors and patients and also, patients themselves. This is helping in creating self-service based community support groups for various diseases.Why Technology Integration is Important? Technology is the most efficient way to achieve the vision of a connected healthcare ecosystem. The latest technological advancements can facilitate the healthcare industry in adopting disruptive technology led service and business models, enhance accessibility and affordability, and move towards making India a global healthcare hub.Mobile care applications, telemed-icine, medical devices in hospitals/clinics, wearables and sensors are all different forms of technology that are dramatically transforming this ecosys-tem. These tools provision the health-care service providers to perform their roles more easily, faster and efficiently by automating the logging-on mech-anism, real-time updates of patient vitals and providing insights into ear-ly detection of diseases. Additionally, technologies help to collect, safely store and share critical patient data. With the help of analytics, caregivers are able to provide a much better analysis of the condition and recommendations to the patient.Leveraging Technology for Powerful InsightsThe purpose is to empower healthcare providers with the tools and techniques to deliver better care or eliminate current challenges. For example, AR and VR, in addition to holograms are being used by surgeons for precise surgeries with the help of 3D models of the patient which can be analysed in detail before performing the actual complex surgery.The system is experimenting with technologies that could think, sense, and act like humans. For example, aspects like NLP are being used to structure the unstructured data entered by clinicians in e-prescriptions. Other key measures include piloting speech to text technology for enabling accurate capture of clinical information in systems, point of care diagnostics in smart ambulances, transfer of vital patient information from point of care to the command center to provide timely assistance to patients in transit.AR is increasingly being used in medical education, especially to reduce the count of actual dissections, and to study human anatomy, embryology and histology better. As the focus of healthcare is shifting to personalised care,the adoption of AI assistants and chatbots could help in reducing the workload of doctors and ensuring better service and convenience for patients, in addition to helping them with 24x7 support.Summing It All UpThe healthcare sector will continue to face multiple challenges, including public health programmes, greater access to health insurance coverage, a fast-growing ageing population, and reduced margins. As advanced technologies start gaining traction in the industry, we will welcome many innovative use cases that can help organisations address these challenges. The industry needs to leverage the opportunities that digital technologies bring to them and build a structured approach to digital transformation. POThe industry needs to leverage the opportunities that digital technologies bring to them and build a structured approach to digital transformation
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