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The current global pandemic has led to many rethinking the way they do business and coming up with ingenuous ways to continue commerce while serving the needs of their customers. Almost every type of business has been affected in some way; the healthcare industry is no exception.

While there will always be need for care and medicine, the fact that people are urged to stay home as much as possible and avoid gathering in large groups means that there needs to also be an adjustment in how these types of businesses operate.

The use of robots across all industries is becoming more and more popular but is far from new. According to the International Federation of Robotics, “a total of 2.7 million industrial robots now operate in factories around the world. The ongoing automation trend and technical improvements rapidly change industrial production.” ( https://ifr.org/).

Continuing education is very important in the field of medicine. The medical professional is usually hard-pressed to find the time to dedicate to face-to-face sessions and may therefore appreciate a mix of options. Surely, there are instances where courses can be completed online. However, there is need for more of these, especially now that face-to-face interaction has been largely restricted and events have mostly been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has resulted in many opportunities for the health technology industry. Our usually technophobic population has been embracing technology more and more since the start of the restrictions due to the spread of COVID-19. This is understandable since people have been advised to shelter in place and remain quarantined if they have symptoms of the illness. They have to somehow access healthcare while at home.

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.