Every business seeks to remain sustainable throughout development and change in society. It’s no different for those in the healthcare industry. With the advent of and rapid development of technology, many healthcare-related businesses have either had to change to stay afloat or develop new areas of endeavour to remain competitive.
The coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected the aged, so much so that restrictions are still in place for persons over age 65 to remain in lockdown despite many aspects of life and the economy reopening. It was clear from the beginning that persons who mostly get severe symptoms are those within this age group, especially because they have a higher likelihood of having comorbidities such as non-communicable diseases. In China, for example, as at February 2020, cardiovascular disease was singled out as the condition that had the highest correlation with COVID-19 fatalities.
COVID-19 has put into stark perspective the importance and usefulness of health technology. Many persons would have used some form of telehealth – knowingly or unknowingly – especially during this period of pandemic. Telemedicine is perhaps one of the most popular forms, but it is only one of many ways that telehealth can be used to ensure continuity of care, especially if a patient is unable to visit a doctor’s office.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a new normal for many of us. Most people are simply not used to having to stay away from friends and loved ones as long as we have been during isolation and quarantine. Humans are, by nature, social creatures, so this is especially hard for a number of persons. I have seen more and more persons saying that they have been having feelings of anxiety and depression during this time.
Technology has been changing the way we do things in the healthcare industry for years. Every year there are more and more innovations intended to improve care as well as various processes. Digitised healthcare has proven to be tremendously beneficial for patients and healthcare providers. It has eliminated the barriers of time and space and allowed for increased access. Telemedicine is also poised to revolutionise care and will be central to the digital health revolution.
Not many Caribbean islands have invested in digitised healthcare. The information on this is scanty at best. There are, of course, private health facilities that have been using technology as part of healthcare management for years, but from a national perspective, nothing much has been happening on that front. Jamaica is not the only country in this hemisphere lagging behind. I believe Barbados is among the very few in the Caribbean region that has truly taken on digital transformation of healthcare and has been acting on it at an acceptable pace.
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are two technologies that are drastically changing the approach to healthcare management and delivery. These technologies were adopted from other sectors and have been successfully applied to hospital management, diagnosis, treatment and care across several health disciplines.
Jamaica is no stranger to electronic dispensing of prescriptions. The National Health Fund has put in place a Pharmacy Information Management System in their Drug Serv pharmacies, including those at several public hospitals across the island. The University of the West Indies is very far ahead in completely implementing their Hospital Information Management System and, within that, the pharmacy module, which is already in use and allows for the ability to digitally conduct all pharmacy-related activities from prescribing to dispensing and between that inventory and stock management.
The thought of having to go to a hospital, let alone a public one, would have many people opting to stay home as long as possible until their ailment turns into an emergency. In some ways, we face this reality here. There is a plethora of complaints – the waiting time is too long, customer service is not up to par, doctors are not available, dockets cannot be found, difficulty in finding beds or the tier system for triaging may not be efficient or effective enough.
Most medical office management systems include online patient scheduling, and with the increasing number of telemedicine platforms, soon this will become a preferred choice for patients.
