Dr Pallabi Roy
Does the Public Health Industry need a Digital Makeover?
Have you heard of buzzwords like ‘Tech Trends’?
Blockchain, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Things?
As a Healthcare Professional, you might have heard of these digital tools.
Aren’t sure about what they mean? You’re not alone!
We often ignore the technical aspects of a project.
We deal only with the core Biological Sciences.
But this approach needs some amount of tweaking. With the heavy penetration of digital tools in Healthcare, we must embrace the digital era. There is no going back to Pre COVID-19 times!
Isn’t population health management a well-known concept in the Public Health domain?
Yes, it is, but digitization is changing the face of this sector.
Public health challenges like tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, and other communicable diseases still exist. India’s healthcare industry is going through a transitional stage. The disparity between the rich and the poor is becoming more clear. This gap creates poor health outcomes and using digital tools, we can bridge this.
Why should healthcare professionals bother about these tools?
It’s because they are going to be the harbingers of change!
The Finance Minister allocated Rs 69,000 crore for the healthcare sector. The 2020-21 Union Budget looked better than last year. This is another spectrum where digital tools can come in. FinTech can help divide funds according to the needs of our country.
80% of our fund allocation can elevate health promotion and disease prevention. Using digital tools, we can deliver these healthcare services to the rural parts of India. The public health workforce is working hard and adopting these measures. How can you leverage these tools for research and evidence-based treatment protocols?
Technology has made it easier to reach out. This holds true not only for remote areas but also for an international ecosystem. Doctors can use this approachable network as a reference. Digital tools are facilitating knowledge and implementation, in new-age India.
The Government of India has come up with training and guidelines for telemedicine. Tele-Consultations in specializations like Ophthalmology, Radiology, Mental Healthcare, and Obstetrics-Gynaecology have created waves. ASHA workers (Accredited Social Health Activists) are warming up to digital tools. These include virtual training and EMRs (Electronic Medical Records). We are observing a gradual improvement in primary levels of population health management.
Mother and Child Care programs are improving since e-governance is possible. There are online registries that get updated every week by these healthcare facilitators.
We use them for tracking data like child mortality rates and cases of tuberculosis. Cases of COVID-19 are being monitored through similar means.
National Digital Health Mission has an agenda that we cannot sideline. Our government is centralizing healthcare. This gives us time to catch up with tech trends. It gives us time to understand these digital tools and make the most of them in our clinical practices.
Which are some digital tools that you have used for population health management?
About the Author
Dr Pallabi Roy is a dentist and works as a marketing professional, podcaster and an influencer in the area of digital health. She can be reached on Linkedin- https://in.linkedin.com/in/pallabiroy27