Today, healthcare faces a triple challenge. The costs are skyrocketing, and the number of patients with non-communicable diseases is growing. In addition, the various devices, solutions, and products in a health system typically come from different manufacturers, and integrating the various systems to provide comprehensive data can be quite challenging.
Dr. Samir Said, M.D., General Manager of Connected Care and Healthcare Informatics for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa at Philips, stated in an interview that the above reasons necessitate a structural change in the way healthcare is delivered.
Getting healthcare systems to talk to each other
“One of the issues that the industry must examine is how to integrate the various healthcare systems and make them communicate with one another. Interoperability is essential for the free movement of patient data throughout the health system.”
He emphasized that healthcare organizations must adopt a value-based approach in order to reduce costs and improve care. “For instance, we must ensure that these solutions provide a superior value and experience for the patient over time from the outset of product development. It must also provide a better experience for the caregiver and optimize all investments at a reduced cost, as explained by Dr. Said.
Moreover, he stated that Artificial Intelligence (AI) must be utilized more effectively in healthcare. AI is typically viewed as a product, but it functions almost as a system within the product. “Artificial intelligence must permeate the product. “At Philips, every single product line, whether it be a device or a piece of software, incorporates AI to augment the capabilities of physicians,” he added.
Patients are outgrowing doctors.
The prevalence of AI in healthcare is also advantageous in light of the global caregiver scarcity. Dr. Said explained that the growth of patients is significantly outpacing the growth of medical professionals. Therefore, it is necessary to automate redundant duties and free up doctors’ time so that they can focus on patient care.
When queried about the significance of sustainability in healthcare, Dr. Said emphasized that sustainable operations must be at the core of any healthcare organization in the present day. He stated that businesses must prioritize cloud-based operations to reduce electricity and energy consumption, thereby reducing costs and reinvesting the savings in something more beneficial for patients. 4
He cited MRI devices, which consume up to 1.5 tonnes of helium, as an illustration. “At Philips, we have an MRI machine that we refer to as “helium-free” because it only requires seven liters of helium. By using less helium, which is a finite and expensive resource, we are beginning our voyage toward sustainability prior to production,” he explained.
He concluded, “All of our investments and R&D are focused on health technology and informatics. We are aware that pervasive technology is necessary for interoperability and meaningful AI. Furthermore, while technology makes it possible, only people can make it a reality!”