Digital Health is An Opportunity Emerging Out of the Crisis

Rajendra: Thanks for having me. I have been in healthcare for close to quarter of a century! Time flies fast. I started my career with market research and then, moved to pharmacy retail, and then worked at the board level in hospitals , insurance, Healthcare IT, pharmaceuticals, Nutraceuticals, Disease management and also, worked on industry forums and in policy making as advisor to the health minister of India . I had a chance to work at some global roles in policy and standards. So, it has been a great learning experience to make an impact.

Rajendra: COVID-19 has bared everything. No one is superior, no one is inferior. Some spend a lot of money in healthcare, and some very less, but an invisible virus tested our science, systems and strategy and showed us that we, perhaps need to redo healthcare systems. Healthcare is more political than ever before.

Rajendra: For this question, we need to consider that the world has an aging population, people with chronic diseases and so, we will keep hitting the green cross more than often. `COVID or NO COVID. In that way, healthcare industry remains recession proof.

Also, the lobbies in healthcare are strong enough and they will get their share of the wallet one way or the other. Human race has short memory, we will be back to the normal in the next few years, off course. The use of sanitizers and soap will go up with no long term impact to payers and providers.

Rajendra: Once we have the interest from the government to push for digital health, the basics have to be in place, and that means, the standards for privacy, security and interoperability. So, it was logical for us to push for digital health standards, and the accreditation of digital health providers, so that the patients are not taken for a ride.

I had placed a proposal before the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and healthcare last year in October, and it was approved earlier this year. We started working on the same since May and have submitted the draft internally for putting in public domain on 30th August. Now, whatever time the bureaucracy takes.

Also, this team has representatives from 11 government department and ministries and we did consultation with global standard’s developers and regulators to gain insights before we finalized our approach to standards.

Rajendra: It means, that besides the road, there is a roadmap as well, so that providers and care-seekers must follow the roadmap to reach the destination safe and on time. Also, fly-by-night operators will be in check with the accreditation of digital health providers.

Rajendra: Bureaucracy is always a bottle neck- both administrative and clinical. So, we will have to overcome the same. Also, since these are technical standards, the clinical people will take time to understand it. I expect a lot of speed-breakers before we reach our destination.

Rajendra: I have just completed my latest book on Digital Health, and digital health has so much to offer for care-providers across specialties. So, the doctors and para-medics must learn, understand and embrace tools of digital health to become more efficient – administratively and clinically.

Rajendra: Everyone in the healthcare chain will be disrupted by technology and it will not be a marginal disruption, it will be a total disruption. Those who cannot foresee digitization and do not integrate it, will not remain in business. I always gave this example of Kodak and Fuji in photography, when they kept their focus and fight for the quality of their films, Canon disrupted the industry with their digital photography. This is exactly what is going to happen to doctors, pharmaceuticals and hospitals. We are at an inflection point, now.

Rajendra: The decade 2020-2030 is the digital decade and whether you are a standalone clinician or a pharmaceutical company or a large hospital. Start using technology to connect with your patient. The long standing role of customer (doctor) and consumer (patient) will fade with technology, and if you have to survive in this, be at the cutting edge, move digital!!!