Industrial Automation Magazine India

Digital health witnessed significant progress in India even before Covid-19, finds NATHEALTH survey

Published on : Friday 11-12-2020

Before Covid, 61per cent of the patients were scheduling appointments through mobile apps and 70% of patients were using digital technology methods to monitor their health at home

New Delhi, December 10, 2020: NATHEALTH – Healthcare Federation of India conducted a survey to understand the pre-Covid digital health scenario and provided insights into the current digital health scenario as well. The findings of the survey have implied that even before Covid-19 hit India, the move towards digital health was significant and Covid-19 has played a pivotal role in accelerating the pace and also made digital health usage non-negotiable in the present times. The survey also focuses on major challenges related to strengthening digital health footprint and identifying areas where interventions are needed.

Key findings of the survey highlight that consumers were already using digital health services and were demanding increasing convenience and control. Before Covid, 61% of the patients were scheduling appointments through mobile apps and 70% of patients were using digital technology methods to monitor their health at home. It also mentions that services like E- Pharmacy and Telehealth have played a pivotal role in making digital health a growing phenomenon in India and the Government has also worked in pushing and enabling digital health. It was also observed that, not only was there a significant increase in usage of digital health by the patients, but physicians also saw a significant jump in use of digital tools to deliver patient care. An important point that came out from the survey was that Government’s Swasth app was being used prominently by the public and private players, plus the patients.

Ms Preetha Reddy, President, NATHEALTH & Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals said, “The digital health survey results show that it’s paramount to put thrust on adoption and effective implementation of digital health programmes in the country. We know that digital health has a special priority place in the Ayushman Bharat roadmap of the government. Digital health is a globally successful phenomenon and India can adopt some of the best practices. For example, British Columbia, Canada, Estonia, Australia (esp. Queensland state), have achieved great levels of digital health and have found ways for the public and private sectors to work together and arrive at a win-win situation for digital healthcare delivery. We need to formulate a concise, precise, practical & futuristic digital health agenda together. To meet the need of the hour, a coherent digital pathway should be created, which can be useful for both public and private players.”