Digital Healthcare: A Game Changer
Hospital acquired infection is the most prominent threat involved while visiting a hospital for what so ever reason. During this pandemic year we have seen many COVID-19 infected cases whose history is linked with their recent hospital visit.
Traffic condition becomes the major determinant at times when disease type demands running against the time. People from remote and hard-to-reach locations are deprived of the modern medicine just because of long distance.
Let’s flip the coin and ask questions like:
Why do we need to go to hospital? Is there any substitute to avoid hospital visit for every medical issues? How to identify the situation that requires emergency visit to hospital? These are the area of discussion I would like to table for further discussions by the experts.
We should be able to understand the symptoms of following complications that requires mandatory visit to hospital and stay under supervision of Specialist Doctor:
a. Poisoning
b. Coughing and vomiting of blood
c. Heart Attack- symptoms like chest pain, cold sweat, breathing discomfort
d. Stroke- symptoms like numbness and weakness in the arm and leg
e. Heavy bleeding for some reasons
f. Injury, road accidents and bone fractures
They all are medical emergencies of equal importance seeking medical interventions.
Many Nepalese are living away from their parents; children worry about their parent’s health. Efficient way of sharing medical data makes easy to understand and visualize one’s medical condition. Medical history and the recent medical data plays pivotal role even in case of referring the patient to higher centers as required.
One of the vivid examples I have seen is Physiotherapy, something which becomes so difficult when the patient has to travel with a help all the way to center every day. They always fantasize about making it possible by training virtually. Patient can perform their exercises as per their convenience and yet the professional monitors their evolution at all times.
To keep check on health issues, we always emphasize on maintaining healthy weight and keep BMI in lower side; get screening test done regularly and adjust food and life style accordingly; have an active life style and exercise regularly, avoid use of any form of tobacco and curtail alcohol consumption; they all are first and the most important substitute to avoid visiting hospital.
Seeking medical attention without identifying the valid reasons, visiting hospitals or self-medication often can be avoided if we show some interest to learn to understand symptoms and its etiology; however, I insist on referring to reliable sources in this learning process.
Digital Healthcare minimizes the chances of getting into crowd in the medical centers. Data centric method always first analyzes the root cause of the disease and seeks recommendation based on the available information. There are numerous ways of collecting health data. The home use devices and wearable gadgets also generate a lot of data in chronological order. We can easily trace the Blood Pressure, Pulse, Spo2, physical activities, and Calorie in timeline.
When we have enough of data of medical history of each individual in electronic form, the team of clinicians can discuss about the patient and make the robust CARE PLAN and reduce the number of visits to multiple specialties, which is also called the team approach of treatment.
Doctor should learn the way how effective follow-up care can be managed without being patient visiting him. For so many instances I have realized that there was no need of patient’s visit during follow up call but for the prognostic test results for review.
The ongoing Pandemic has taught us to unlearn a lot of unhealthy habits and avoid unnecessary visits to hospital. Family Physicians and home visiting Doctors are doing much better job to manage so many diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension, Vaccination, blood tests and even some portable imaging equipments are also on use at home. We are learning many good habits about personal hygiene, disciplined life style, more civic sense in public and staying in line to wait for the turn.
Digitally controlled appointment system, queuing machine, online payment and shopping and the concept of home delivery has now got its larger space in our daily life. Medical consultation over phone, use of apps to share the medical records and images has changed the medical intervention for good.
Use of point of care devices for the test results to share among medical practitioner / Consulting Doctor increase the precision and confidence level to take clinical decision in spite of the patient being in remote location. The best part of medical intervention with this digital health care system is to hold the trust on Evidence Based Treatment.
There is a number of considerations that qualifies for special attention while bringing digital health care in practice, such as:
Health professionals must buy in the idea that digital transformation is just a tool to complement the professional’s service and not a replacement so they do not need to be extra alert about its popularity and successful implementation.
Health care economics and business model needs to be re-structured based on the readiness to adopt the new technology and embarrass the innovation. A little bit of extra cost as initial investment to ease the adaptation of the innovation into local level setting.
Digital Health Care Systems ensures fast response and sustainable health care in the context of increasing chronic disease burden and longer life expectancies.
Regular monitoring and each individual is enables to focus on preventive measures creates a situation where hospital visits requirements are nominal.
Since Digital health care system engage patients to their own health data so much that the relationship with their doctors becomes forceful and trustworthy.
Digital platform with full of self medical record makes health services more affordable, reduces duplicate investments during treatment and now Doctors can provide professional services to many more individuals.
National consolidated medical data gives a good insight to policy makers and local pharmaceutical companies. I urge Private and Government to join hands for taking forward Nepalese Health Care System in to A Digital Health Care- I am sure it is going to bring in a miracle in National Health Care System in the country.
