EXPERT CORNER system along with ease of use and lower memory requirements has been considerably gaining importance across the healthcare industry over the past few years. Pocket PCs: Microsoft first developed an operating system for hand-held devices which was very similar to the well known Windows version. This was known as Windows CE. However, these require larger storage capacities when compared to Palm OS and hence are less preferred as opposed to the easy to use Palm systems in healthcare. Laptops: These are similar to the desktop PCs in terms of functions and appearance. However, these are easily transportable in a hospital environment and if connected with a WLAN, can enhance functionalities in both administrative and patient care environments. Tablet PCs: This is a relatively newer development and carries the same function as a laptop but is equipped with a touch screen and a pen based capability. This enables the user to directly write prescriptions instead of the more tedious process of printing the entire document and later writing on it. Microsoft again has been a major provider of tablet PCs.
Key Technology Adoption Trends Some of the key trends which have gone in favor of adopting mobile and online healthcare technologies are outlined below.
Mounting Healthcare Costs A rising concern across public healthcare systems and healthcare insurers is the rising costs of delivering care to patients. With the ever escalating treatment and therapy costs, it is indeed favorable for the industry and hospitals to adapt to mobile and online means of patient care.
Increased R&D Spending Pharmaceutical Industries
in
A considerable amount of investment in pharmaceutical industries goes into drug discovery and development. Although several drugs are being developed, only a few get into the market while others still remain at the research and development phase. Implementing wireless applications
into these stages of clinical R&Dcould significantly reduce time up to 30 percent whilst also saving costs.
Increased usage of EMR/HER Realizing the benefits of wireless technologies, several healthcare providers are resorting to using Electronic medical records (EMR) and Electronic Health records (EHR). The e-prescription and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) markets are estimated to reach $166.7 million in 2013. (Source: Frost and Sullivan)
Reduced Administrative Burden Wireless and online technologies considerably reduce burden on nurses and therapists. Technologies such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant), smart phones and Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) can also aid in patient-centric healthcare by providing details of patients including clinical histories, lab reports, ongoing and past treatments and so on.
Opportunities for Online and Mobile Healthcare in Asia Pacific Asia Pacific has been characterized as a region that has significantly low quality healthcare when compared to the Western World. There are opportunities galore in the aforementioned areas due to the deprivation of quality health to those in the underprivileged areas. • The introduction of web cameras and internet in rural areas along with other mobile technologies can aid in extending health services in these areas. • Another area would be to improve healthcare surveillance in rural areas. With the advent of mobile technology in the rural areas, efforts can be taken to provide realtime monitoring of health related issues. SMS alerts can be used to target people in areas where clinics and healthcare workers are limited. • Data collection is yet another area that is of vital importance in healthcare. Data collection programs can be offered through smart phones, mobile phones and PDAs than manual entry which can contribute to bridging the gap that exists in the current scenario.
• Implementation of remote monitoring applications can improve the outcome of various chronic diseases whilst also opening newer avenues of treating patients in an outpatient setting. • Usage of mobile phones can also be helpful in improving communication amongst the healthcare providers to enhance patient care. This can also be used to monitor the incidence and outbreak of infectious diseases. • The use of mobile phones as a point-of-care device can enable patients to receive diagnosis and treatment assistance at their homes and villages itself thereby averting expensive hospital visits.
Few Prominent Developments by Companies in the e-Health Space • In 2007, Intel launched a lightweight tablet PC known as mobile clinical assistant to document patient information on a minute to minute basis. • Mobile electronic prescription service by Ascribe enables a pharmacist to receive a doctor’s prescription written from the patient’s bedside. • Kaiser Permanente provides healthcare services to consumers in order to enhance patient care. The services provided are region based and include emergency care, immunization programs and screening diagnostics to name a few. • Aeroscout Solutions provides WiFi based RFID for healthcare, logistics and other applications. Several hospitals worldwide have incorporated Aeroscout’s RFID solutions as a part of their patient monitoring activities. Although the implementation of online and mobile health technologies seem appealing and impressive, their proliferation into several fields of healthcare could take time due to issues like security breaches and difference in opinion amongst healthcare professionals. Nevertheless, this technology in future could contribute to improved patient care, increased healthcare efficiency and most importantly reduce healthcare costs overall. July 2009
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