Abstract

This article discusses how digitization can bring positive changes to the healthcare industry. With the global healthcare industry being the second-largest industry worldwide, generating $10 trillion annually, and less than 20% of the world’s population having access to affordable, high-quality healthcare, the need for change is crucial. The article explores two areas of concern: reducing medical errors to make healthcare safer for patients and making healthcare workers’ jobs more enjoyable. Digitization can play a significant role in achieving these goals. By implementing these technological tools, the healthcare industry can undergo a significant transformation, improving patient care and making healthcare workers’ jobs more satisfying.

Introduction

The healthcare industry is poised to undergo significant positive changes rather than being disrupted by digitization. This is especially important given that the global healthcare and wellness industry is the second-largest industry worldwide, generating $10 trillion annually, yet less than 20% of the world’s population can access affordable, high-quality healthcare. The first change we need to implement is making healthcare safer for patients, which can be achieved by reducing medical errors, a common cause of harm. Digitization is expected to play a significant role in this effort.

Making Healthcare Safer with Digitization

Consider the job of a nurse in a hospital ward in either India or the US. Each morning, the nurse takes a BP apparatus and a thermometer and checks the vital signs of each patient in the ward, entering the information on paper. This process takes around 15 minutes for each patient and becomes tedious and mundane when there are approximately 30 patients in the ward. As a result, the nurse often becomes unhappy with the job, despite it being relatively straightforward and not requiring much intelligence. These types of tasks are where digitization can make the most significant impact.

Imagine a scenario where a nurse is working the night shift and needs to check a patient’s vital signs, but the patient is fast asleep. If the nurse wakes the patient up to document the vital signs, the patient will likely be unhappy and may even scream at the nurse. This can lead to nurses feeling forced to bluff and document the data without actually checking the patient’s vitals. However, with an ECG patch that can collect vital signs such as blood pressure, temperature, and saturation automatically, nurses wouldn’t need to wake patients up to document their vital signs. Instead, a TV in front of the nurse’s station could have three coloured flags: green, orange, and red. Nurses would only need to check on patients whose flags change to orange or red, indicating a need for attention.

This automation would not only make nurses’ jobs easier and more enjoyable, but it could also help prevent sudden cardiac arrests by allowing nurses to intervene before a patient’s condition worsens. Analytics tools can predict a patient’s deterioration, allowing for quick transfer to the ICU and specialized care. This is just one example of how digitization can improve healthcare and address some of the issues that make healthcare workers unhappy with their jobs.

Improving Intensivists’ Job Profile

The second area of concern is the job of an intensive care physician in a Critical Care Unit. Nowadays, fewer doctors are interested in this job due to the demanding night shifts and the need for 24-hour coverage. However, with the expected increase in ICU beds, the demand for intensivists is expected to grow rapidly. To make this job more attractive, their work profile needs to changes

One solution is to invest in online healthcare, where intensivists work during regular business hours, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. After 5 p.m., they can be available in the ICU for only two or three hours at night to ventilate patients, register the ventilator, and align the centerline artery. They can take turns covering the early shift or early morning shift based on their age so that they can work from home while on duty. This change would make the job of an intensivist more appealing and improve the availability of critical care.

At three o’clock in the morning, intensivists who are at home with a cup of tea are better equipped to make clinical decisions about patient management compared to an intensivist who has been awake all night and is trying to make decisions in the early hours of the morning. These changes are expected to significantly reduce hospital mortality rates. However, the high cost of electronic medical records remains a problem, as most of these records are designed for desktop or laptop use and not for mobile platforms. To capture doctors’ attention in managing inpatients, electronic medical records need to be built on a chat platform like WhatsApp, where a large team can communicate and make collective decisions about each patient’s multiple problems. Any changes are automatically communicated to the entire team.

Our country is currently experiencing an increase in lawsuits. To protect medical professionals from legal action, it is suggested to record a video while taking consent from the patient, detailing all the possible risks. This can be stored in electronic medical records. Another important point is that when surgeons finish operating late at night and patients are extubated, doctors can fill in the electronic medical records, including mobile records, and record short video clips of the patient chatting and talking, which can be sent to their family. This is important in case of any medical emergencies later on, as family members may not believe that the patient was fine after the operation. By implementing these technological tools, such as seamless connectivity between all the hospital gadgets through a mobile app that provides real-time patient data, a significant transformation can occur. India has the advantage of having thousands of highly skilled software engineers who can create these electronic medical records.

Conclusion

Consider the job of a nurse in a hospital ward in either India or the US. Each morning, the nurse takes a BP apparatus and a thermometer and checks the vital signs of each patient in the ward, entering the information on paper. This process takes around 15 minutes for each patient and becomes tedious and mundane when there are approximately 30 patients in the ward. As a result, the nurse often becomes unhappy with the job, despite it being relatively straightforward and not requiring much intelligence. These types of tasks are where digitization can make the most significant impact.