FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION CHANGING HEALTH SECTOR: PM
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday stressed the need to find ways and means to generate funds to take care of people as they will live longer when the fourth industrial revolution changes the health sector. Prime Minister made this point at a seminar titled ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution and Healthcare’ organized by WHO, Ministry of Health and College of Medical Administrators of Sri Lanka in Colombo last evening.
People are living longer, societies are changing what do you do when you are 60? We have to look at careers, how economy would change what the people are going to do
“People are living longer, societies are changing what do you do when you are 60? We have to look at careers, how economy would change what the people are going to do. People could work till they are 70. Whole lifestyles will change.
Our pension was devised with the notion that you will not live beyond 70. Now most of the people want to live well into their eighties and 90s. We now need to decide on how we are going to do the funding for this change in attitude. This is where healthcare leads to new economies,” the Prime Minister said.
“A person who had turned 90 told me that they had a good ayurvedic physician who was useful when they were sick and they went to the main town to consult a doctor when necessary. Look how the world has changed in eight and a half decades. Look at the services available.
He said one can now get a diagnosis via email. One can get information from a doctor in America now. In every field you find this. With the impact on the fourth revolution economies are wandering as to what to do with automation. A friend who had gone to China and saw automated equipment was told that the factory owner had not only replaced human resources but was using automated power to light up the factory.
How is this change going to affect the health sector? In healthcare there is a massive improvement where you are moving towards personalized healthcare. There are new delivery systems as well. You don’t necessarily have to go to hospital to be treated any more,” he added.
He said the government had just prepared the policy of national economic digitalization strategy and it will be out in a few weeks time. The Prime Minister said it will be presented to Parliament soon.