Perspective

Digital Health: The Next Chapter

Digital technologies are transforming healthcare, just as they have reshaped many other industries. As these technologies further advance and converge, they make new use cases feasible – applications that can improve health at individual and societal levels, across access, quality, and cost dimensions.

The exhibit below explores some ways in which selected enabling technologies might transform many aspects of healthcare in different settings and geographies. A range of stakeholders stand to benefit from this revolution, including patients / consumers, carers, healthcare providers, insurers, employers, pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

Digital technologies also bring risks, which are explored in other articles in the MMC Digital Health Compendium.

Technology convergence is transforming healthcare
Emerging Application

Automated triage

Accelerated drug development

Personalized drugs and devices

Proactive prevention and early detection

Simulated training and planning

Supply chain optimization

Remote surgery

Crisis response

Artificial
Intelligence

3D printing

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

Edge computing

Sensors & the Internet of Things (IoT)

Fifth generation mobile network (5G)

Drones

Robotics

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Automated Triage

Rapidly advancing deep learning algorithms can read and interpret images quickly and consistently, and can help radiologists and pathologists prioritize cases for faster diagnosis and with fewer errors. Symptom checkers are another increasingly popular application, offering potential diagnoses, guidance on next steps, and reassurance to patients / consumers.

Accelerated drug development

Machine learning is helping researchers find new disease targets, identify promising new drug candidates, and find new uses for existing drugs. 3D printing could further speed up clinical development by facilitating trials of multiple variants of drugs for different sub-populations. By cutting R&D costs and timelines, digital technologies can boost pharma innovation, improve patients’ health and quality of life, and lower healthcare costs for insurers, employers, and governments.

Personalized drugs and devices

3D printing has the potential to create customized medications and devices that suit individual patients or population segments, increasing convenience and compliance – for example, tailored size, structure, or dosage; extended-release tablets that reduce dosing frequency; tailored ‘polypills’ that combine all of a patient’s medicines in one pill; and ingestible electronic pills that can image organ structures and/or deliver and monitor medication.

Proactive prevention and early detection

Wearable and ambient sensors can continuously monitor many health and activity indicators. These devices can help patients and consumers spot early signs of disease and manage chronic conditions; they can also prevent and detect falls to enable elderly users to live independently.

Simulated training and planning

Using realistic 3D models of human tissue and disease scenarios, AR/VR applications can help physicians practice surgical techniques, and plan and guide procedures to reduce surgical time, error, and cost. Therapeutic applications of virtual reality include immersive, interactive simulations for pain management, rehabilitation (for example, stroke recovery), and smoking cessation.

Supply chain optimization

A network of sensors and edge computing can help secure pharmaceutical supply chains by tracking and verifying products, and and ensure drug safety by monitoring and controlling temperatures in real time during transport and storage

Remote surgery

Assisted by surgical robots operating over a 5G network, physicians can perform some surgical procedures on far-off patients with accuracy, precision, and few complications. Telesurgery allows healthcare providers to bring a broader range and higher quality of services to rural and poorer populations, facilitating timely care, better outcomes, and reduced disparities for patients, as well as lower costs for payers.

Crisis response

Drones already transport blood and medicines to hospitals in remote regions. The same technology can deliver critical supplies like drugs, vaccines, and protective equipment to people during disasters and disease outbreaks, particularly in poorer and remote places with weak health infrastructure.