Broadband the enabler for digital health

Staff writer
26 Oct 2010
00:00
 
These trials show that private enterprise and governments can provide good healthcare while at the same time lowering the cost, Koh said. “The economics can become sustainable because you have increased the number of patients. Suddenly you can see that this is possible.”
 
But obstacles remain, such as the current limited use of digital technologies by healthcare organizations and doctors themselves. Governments need to take “active steps in pushing ICT into hospitals,” he said.
 
“This means that they have to start to view ICT as a basic infrastructure, like electricity and roads, and start to more actively include ICT as part of their national development plans.”
 
Digital health is not just a game-changer for emerging markets, however. Online health services could also help trim the spiraling cost of health in developed economies.
 
A McKinsey report for the GSM Association says healthcare spending has outpaced GDP growth by about two percentage points a year in most OECD countries, and shows no sign of slowing.
 
Half a dozen OECD countries could be spending more than 15% of GDP on healthcare by 2030, it warns.
 
The report urges healthcare organizations to apply the lessons of other sectors, such as banks and telcos, in deploying new technologies.
 
It says mHealth in particular has the “potential to make a huge difference,” citing remote diagnosis or the use of health monitoring (RHM) devices, which could save roughly 15% of healthcare costs. Initiatives like the Digital Health Initiative and the mHealth Alliance are becoming increasingly important, and aim at bridging the gap between the sectors, ICT and health.
 
Early trials have shown the promise of how ICT can be a powerful tool for development. It is now up to governments and collaborations in the industry to use these opportunities to shape a more sustainable future.
 
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