BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
‘FUTURE HEALTH INDEX’ REPORT SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON TELEHEALTH Despite proven benefits, there are challenges in accelera ng its widespread adop on. Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, has announced publica on of the latest Future Health Index (FHI) report. ‘Telehealth: delivering value across ins tu onal and geographical borders’ is an independent analysis, commissioned by Philips, of the roadblocks and challenges in the deployment of telehealth services around the world. The report shows that despite the ever-growing number of case studies linking telehealth to more effec ve care and lower costs, the adop on landscape is mixed. Telehealth, the provision of healthcare remotely through telecommunica ons networks, has the poten al to increase access to healthcare, drive be er outcomes, reduce costs, ensure healthcare professional sa sfac on, and improve the pa ent experience - five factors that indicate the success of value-based care systems. The latest Future Health Index report shows that connected care technology is already a reality in specific parts of the healthcare system, offering notable benefits in radiology (tele-radiology) and pathology (tele-pathology), where it allows the secure and seamless sharing of medical images for be er diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and workload distribu on. It is also beginning to be used in general prac ce (telemedicine), remote pa ent monitoring and the tele-Intensive Care Unit (tele-ICU). The ‘Future Health Index: delivering value across ins tu onal and geographical borders’ report highlights many inspiring successes in telehealth, such as its role in implemen ng the tele-ICU - an intensive care unit where cri cally ill pa ents, who could benefit significantly from the opportunity to detect adverse events earlier, can be remotely monitored 24/7 or on a consulta ve basis, by clinical experts located within regional or na onal networks, or in different me zones. However, it also reveals that the rate of adop on of telehealth solu ons worldwide is s ll rela vely slow, even in the radiology community where less than half (39%) of the radiologists surveyed stated that they use connected care technologies in their prac ce. This slow rate of adop on is also evidenced by World Health Organiza on (WHO) figures which indicate that only 22% of countries have na onal telehealth policies, and by the 2018 FHI report finding that only 31% of the countries surveyed by the FHI had clearly defined rules governing the collec on, protec on and sharing of data. Yet these policy decisions are essen al precursors to na onal telehealth ini a ves. In total, the report iden fies five key factors that are poten al, though not insurmountable, barriers to widespread telehealth adop on: outdated reimbursement and payment models, cultural a tudes, lack of financial incen ves, restric ve policies, and 38
THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER November 2018
inadequate technological infrastructures, such as broadband access. Drawing on the results of academic studies and in-depth interviews with key opinion leaders, it puts forward a set of ac onable recommenda ons to overcome these barriers. The report ends with a clear statement that, as with other aspects of connected care, success in telehealth will ul mately be based on the involvement of mul ple actors - healthcare professionals, the general popula on, payers, regulators and the private sector - together with the recogni on that healthcare is, at heart, a human field that depends on people.
The Future Health Index The Future Health Index (FHI) is a research-based pla orm designed to help determine the readiness of countries to address global health challenges, such as the ageing popula on, and build sustainable, fit-for-purpose na onal health systems. The FHI survey data was collected from 18 January 2017 to 3 March 2017 for 15 of the 16 countries analysed in 2018 (Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the UK and theUS). The survey had an average length of 25 to 30 minutes. A combina on of online, face-to-face (computer-assisted) and phone (computer assisted) interviewing was used. Survey data for India was collected during 16 February 2018 to 26 March 2018 in a manner consistent with that for the other countries in 2017. The total sample from the survey includes 3,244 healthcare professionals (defined as those who work in healthcare as a doctor, surgeon, nurse prac oner, registered nurse, licensed prac cal nurse or nurse, across a variety of specialisa ons) and 24,654 adults (representa ve of each country’s respec ve adult popula on).
A doctor reading the FHI report on a tablet.