“[By 2022], the Healthcare Information Management Services industry could be making $5 billion in revenues with 210,000 direct employment or 14.8% growth.”
expanded types of services of the industry, like telemedicine, which is the remote diagnosis and treatment of patients by means of telecommunications technology, could allow patients to access medical expertise in more convenient ways, providing ease of access and a potential cost savings for the patient.
Aside from Telemedicine, Ms. Coronel also pointed out the potential of innovative work in voice, non- voice, information technology, and ana lytics coming from the pharmaceutical businesses, health IT, and from the provider-and-payor- centric processes.
Technology and innovation are also providing a buffer against the rise of chronic, or noncommunicable diseases that continue to put undue strain on the country’s taxed health care systems. According to the World Economic Forum, the five leading noncommunicable diseases — cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic respiratory disease, cancer, diabetes and mental ill-health — will cost the global economy $47 trillion by 2030.
To comb a t t h i s , GE Hea lthca r e ’ s Susta inable Healthcare Solutions ( SHS) for emerging markets seeks to develop technologies that are clinically and economically relevant to countries like the Philippines.
Myra Eskes, president & CEO of GE Healthcare ASEAN, said in the Hospital Management Asia Conference in 2017 that they are aiming to engage in providing skills training for medical personnel as they bel ieve that having good equipment does not automatically mean having good patient outcomes. GE Healthcare also provides financing solutions that are viable and sustainable in the long term to address the issue of funding for players in the industry.
El i s abe t h St aud i nger, president o f Sieme n s Healthineers, Asia Pacif ic, l ikewise, said dur ing the conference that her company is using artificial intelligence to help interpret radiology images, whether it’s X- ray, CT or MRI scans.
“We see oppor tunit ies helping hospital providers to become a lot more efficient by utilizing information coming off equipment they’ve installed in the hospitals. Then there’s also this greater vision of creating information which is available globally and can be utilized no matter where you are in this planet for determining the best care for a patient,” Ms. Staudinger said.
In the advanced field of biopharmaceuticals, impressive work is being done on immunooncology, gene therapy, and personalized medicine, all of which can be used to treat fatal diseases like cancer. Immunooncology, for instance, aims to coax the body’s own immune system to fight the disease. Unlike traditional approaches such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy, which kill healthy cells along with cancerous ones, immunotherapies target cancer cells by enhancing the body’s own innate ability to fight off rogue invaders.
“Rapid ch a n g e a nd unprecedented opportunity are now the hallmarks of the biopharmaceutical industry. But the future of hea lth won’t just be defined by the innovat ions we set out to create; it will be equally shaped by how we respond to — and anticipate — the challenges and consequences of each great advancement. The more we know, the more “known unknowns” a re revea led. The boundaries of areas left for researchers to explore constant ly expand, whi le possible applications of new technolog ies prol i ferate,” Albert Bourla, chief operating officer of Pfizer, Inc., wrote for the World Economic Forum.
The mos t mea ning f u l changes in health care, Mr. Bourla noted, will come from the right blend of innovation and del iberat ion. As new d i s cover ies i n med ic ine push the boundaries of what was thought possible, there should also be an equivalent and simultaneous ef fort in bui lding mechanisms that ex plor e each innovat ion through a prism of social, economic and political filters t o bet ter ant i c ipat e the consequences of progress.
“As we map out new health care territories, we must make sure each route leads back to patients. Large- scale changes driven by tech innovation are only as valuable as their impact on individual people’s lives, lives we are constantly striving to improve and extend. I believe that the best way to protect and treat the people we all serve is to identify the potential benefits and the potential challenges of each new breakthrough. Leveraging innovation wisely will let us help more patients than ever before.” —