Healthcare
AI DRIVING HEALTHCARE
TRANSFORMATION Regional Vice President of Cloudera ANZ, Keir Garrett
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I
n a world where data has become the lifeblood of innovation and progress, there is one realm where its significance shines brighter
AU AND NZ RECOGNISE NECESSITY
urgent care centres and implementing
OF DIGITISATION
virtual care programs showcased how
The ability to leverage advanced, data-
digitisation enabled organisations to cater
driven solutions using AI and the cloud
to pressing healthcare needs.
will empower the healthcare workforce as
As a result, healthcare IT budgets
than ever — health care. Health data,
challenges related to supporting an aging
have increased, with spending focused
when harnessed effectively, becomes
population and labour shortage loom in
on enabling a flexible model of patient
a powerful ally in the pursuit of better
the near future.
support — and just in time, with an aging
patient outcomes. And it’s not just about
As highlighted by Deloitte, Australia’s
population calling for greater medical
crunching numbers and creating charts
population is estimated to reach 35.9
care. As AI and hybrid cloud adoption
— it’s about translating vast volumes
million by 2050, with the proportion of
continue to advance and more use cases
of information into meaningful insights
people aged over 65 increasing by 6%
become apparent, healthcare providers
that can bring hope to millions and even
to reach just under a quarter (22%) of
will be looking to invest.
save lives.
the population. At the same time, the
Leveraging this data, acting on it, and
workforce participation rate is expected
AI-POWERED ALGORITHMS SPOT
yielding results requires organisations to
to decline from 66% to 64%. According
PROBLEMS, SAVE LIVES
have access to all their data, regardless
to the analysts, this combination has the
Using AI-powered algorithms, doctors
of whether the data resides on the cloud
potential to have a catalytic effect on the
can now detect diseases earlier by
or an on-premise data centre. Artificial
healthcare system and workers, unless
analysing large volumes of patient data,
intelligence (AI), generative AI (GenAI)
something is done to support staff and
from medical history to laboratory results
and machine learning (ML) are crucial to
facilities.
and imaging scans. Accelerated by the
a successful data-driven health program.
While initially hindered by restrictive
cloud, this early diagnosis service allows
These tools are being integrated into
budgets and legacy systems, the
healthcare professionals to intervene
healthcare systems across Australia
COVID-19 pandemic proved to ramp up
promptly and provide personalised
and New Zealand, and they are bringing
the urgency of digitisation and kick-started
treatment plans built using ML, leading
about critical benefits for patients and
several digital healthcare initiatives.
to better patient outcomes and more
healthcare providers alike.
Integrating technology solutions into
lives saved.
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GOVTECH REVIEW Q4 2023 | 33