The Future of Digital Health: Realities vs Opportunities
Growing market investments indicate that digital health solutions are becoming more sophisticated and widely accepted.
In today’s healthcare, digital technology is becoming increasingly vital. As society faces an abundance of new healthcare concerns, such as an increase in the number of chronic diseases and an aging population, the rising role of digital health will surely enhance public health.
I. What is digital health?
Digital health, often known as virtual health, refers to technical advancements in healthcare that increase the ability to accurately detect and treat diseases, as well as the delivery of healthcare to patients. Wearables and connected health, telehealth and telemedicine, mobile health, and personalized medicine are all examples of digital health.
Healthcare providers all around the world are moving to digital health technology due to its tremendous potential to address critical industry concerns and improve healthcare quality. Companies that integrate digital health platforms into their service framework can use facilities such as doctor-patient video conferencing, telehealth services, diagnostic lab integration, remote patient monitoring, e-pharmacy, and many other virtual health possibilities. The multifaceted service platform is the solution to the industry’s key challenges.
II. Exploring the current ever-evolving digital health landscape
1. Machine Learning (ML)
ML is a technique that enables computers to more efficiently process and interpret data. It has grown in popularity as massive datasets have become more widely available. ML has various advantages over traditional statistical techniques, including its flexibility and capacity to handle enormous volumes of data, making it ideal for a wide range of applications such as prediction, diagnosis, and survival rate predictions.
Various algorithms have been utilized in the realm of medicine, including for the study of optical microscopic malaria detection utilizing ML approaches. By evaluating a variety of genetic and environmental factors, ML has also been used to predict the occurrence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
2. Digital app used for decision support and management
BlueStar was one of the first digital health applications certified by the FDA for controlling diabetes mellitus. Patients can manage their health outside of clinic appointments with decision assistance apps like this one. Because of the remarkable spread of such tools, national regulatory authorities have strengthened their recommendations, such as the FDA’s draft advice addressing concerns regarding the use of clinician and patient decision-support systems. The FDA regulates software that meets the standards for a device under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act.
By enhancing patient involvement in self-care and caregiver care, improving communication, and personalizing services to individual requirements, digital health technologies have the potential to enhance health outcomes. In 2018, venture capital and private equity invested more than $9 billion in digital health firms, a $2 billion increase over the previous year.
3. To obtain informed consent
Informed consent is a method that ensures research subjects are fully informed about the facts of a study and have the freedom to choose whether or not to participate. To preserve the rights of human subjects, this process is governed by ethical norms and legislation. The purpose of informed consent is to present potential participants with enough information in a clear and understood style so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not to join in the study.
Informed consent is an important part of patient participation, but as the process has gotten more institutionalized, it has also introduced some difficulties. Innovative technologies such as video consent, smartphone consent, and digital informed consent are being used to overcome these difficulties.
The Patient and Provider Assessment of Cholesterol Management (PALM) project, for example, collected patient-reported data on behaviors and attitudes linked to lowering cardiovascular risk and managing lipid levels using a tablet-based platform. The study also polled healthcare practitioners on their perceptions toward present lipid-lowering targets and hurdles to adequate cardiovascular risk reduction.
III. Major hurdles in Digital Health
1. Data security and privacy
Data security and privacy are two of the most difficult concerns in digital health. Previous years witnessed some of the most serious cybersecurity breaches in healthcare history, with over 22.6 million patients affected by healthcare-related data breaches in 2021.
These attacks encompass the theft of patient data, the blocking of access to management systems, and even the disruption of life-saving equipment.
As healthcare organizations transition to digital solutions, they must ensure the security of the data they keep and transfer. This includes ensuring that the data is encrypted, that access is limited to authorized persons, and that all access is logged. It is also vital to ensure that all data is stored in accordance with local and international laws.
2. Ease of use
Another difficulty confronting the healthcare business is making technology simple to use. To be effective, digital health solutions must be user-friendly, with an intuitive user interface, good user experience, and an easy-to-use system. It is also critical to ensure that users are adequately taught to operate the system.
90% of NHS Trusts will have an electronic health record software (EHR) in place by 2023, demonstrating the rapid adoption of this technology. While millions of pounds are spent on this new infrastructure, there is little training or time to become adjusted to the new system, which can have a significant impact on patient safety, time spent with patients, data quality, and governance.
3. Scalability
As more trusts implement this new technology, it is evident that digital health solutions must be scalable and robust. As healthcare organizations transition to digital solutions, they must ensure that the solutions can handle an increase in data and users, that they are reliable and resilient, and that they can adapt to changing requirements.
4. Quality of data
Maintaining data quality and reliability is an ongoing problem. The term “big data” refers to the use of massive volumes of patient-related data, such as EHRs or other sources, to better understand population risk, treatment outcomes, and patterns in healthcare utilization.
IV. What to expect in digital health solutions?
1. IoT and Medicine
IoT is one of the fastest-growing digital health trends, with a CAGR of 28.6% this year, according to DataProt. The global usage of cloud computing and mobile apps contributes to this rise.
Data storage and security are critical in the healthcare industry. Patients must be able to entrust sensitive personal information to healthcare providers. Aside from safeguarding personal information, IoT devices must be dependable in terms of connectivity, performance, and real-time data transmission. Healthcare workers may overlook important information about a patient’s health if there are any pauses or downtime.
The cloud era has numerous benefits for health care, but trust in data security and IoT capabilities is still developing. With this in mind, we may anticipate increased investment and financing to advance IoT technology in the coming years.
2. Apps for employee wellness
Limeade, which helps firms foster a culture of well-being and inclusion, and Vantage Fit, which lets employers develop simple wellness programs and challenges to help their staff stay fit and healthy, are two of the apps aimed at the corporate workplace.
According to Deloitte’s Future of Health research, wellness will remain one of the most important digital health trends over the next 20 years. By 2040, we can expect a fundamental shift away from treatment-focused medicine, with 60% of investment going toward promoting health and well-being.
Employers will focus more on marketing to consumers interested in wellness apps and practices, in keeping with this trend. Companies will use digital wellness initiatives to grow their teams and boost workplace morale and job satisfaction.
3. Ongoing advancements in Infectious Diseases Management
The fast advancement of healthcare software development in recent years has enabled mobile COVID-19 testing. We should soon be able to test for other infectious diseases outside of traditional healthcare settings, allowing providers to test people at work, school, and home.
Moderna, Inc. announced plans to increase manufacturing investment in February 2021, with the goal of producing 1.4 billion doses of its COVID-19 vaccine by 2022. We should also expect virtual healthcare to improve efforts to restrict disease spread.
Historically, vaccine development has been long — 10 years in certain circumstances — but mRNA vaccine production schedules might be as quick as three to four months.
AI and predictive analytics will be critical in the future for assisting medical personnel in developing a better scientific understanding of the incubation and transmission of infectious diseases. However, on a more fundamental level, the entire global health system is set for an overhaul of supply chains and logistics so that effective, affordable vaccines and healthcare can be delivered to whoever needs it, when they need it.
Final thoughts
The future of digital health looks promising, but there are still issues to overcome, such as privacy and security concerns, as well as a lack of industry standardization. Working together, the healthcare industry and technology leaders can contribute to ensure that the future of digital health includes greater health outcomes and lower patient costs.
