Digital tech adoption in healthcare among highest in India

New Delhi: Digital technologies adoption by health and human services (HHS) organisations is among the highest in India, showed a new survey by global consultancy major EY and Imperial College London on Thursday (March 18).

The findings showed that 51 per cent of respondents in India have increased their use of digital technologies and data solutions since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The results are based on a survey of more than 2,000 global HHS professionals in six countries - India, Australia, Italy, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the UK and the US -- including 359 respondents from India.

While 74 per cent of respondents in India reported that digital technologies and data solutions have increased staff productivity, 75 per cent reported that digital solutions have been effective in delivering better outcomes for patients and service users.

"The response to the Covid-19 pandemic has shown that data and technology can make a real difference to the work of health and human services professionals in India, who have worked tirelessly and heroically in the face of this dreadful disease," Gaurav Taneja, Partner and Leader, Government and Public Sector, EY India, said in a statement.

"With adequate government support and incentives, India has truly set an example to the rest of the world that it can lead and pave the way for technology adoption in healthcare."

While health organisations have historically often lagged other sectors in terms of adopting digital technologies and data solutions, the response to the Covid-19 pandemic has driven a change in priorities.

Almost two-thirds of respondents globally report an increase in the use of data and technology solutions, as the industry adapts to new ways of working under pressure.

In terms of specific digital technologies and data solutions, the percentage of respondents using these technologies has more or less doubled across the board since the beginning of the pandemic; and mental health services are more or less equal to physical health and social services in terms of use.

According to the survey, phone and video consultations have seen the greatest uptake across all technology solutions, with phone consultations being offered by 81 per cent of HHS organisations (up from 39 per cent before the pandemic) and video consultations available from 71 per cent of organisations (up from 22 per cent before the pandemic).

Compared to this, the uptake has been higher in India at 86 per cent for phone consultation (up from 48 per cent before pandemic) and at 83 per cent for video consultations (up from 33 per cent before pandemic).

The public sector organisations in India preferred digital tools for self-help (92 per cent organisations) and online self-assessment tools (89 per cent organisations) over phone consultation and video consultation, said the report.

Also, in India, about three fourth of the respondents reported positive experiences with digital technologies and data solutions, leading to better collaboration and efficiency in the operating model, the results showed.