Amongst others, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a lot of disruption to regular face-to-face medical services and jeopardised the provision of care. As part of the global response to this crisis, telemedicine is now being incorporated into the care continuum across the globe. The health authorities and the providers in the UAE were very quick to offer telemedicine solutions, including the release of the Remote Healthcare Platform by the Department of Health-Abu Dhabi. Being able to continue clinical care while minimising the risk of disease transmission was quickly achieved across the hospitals in the country as Dr Rahul Goyal will address in further detail at the HIMSS & Health 2.0 Middle East Digital Health Conference & Exhibition.

The growth of telemedicine consultations

Mediclinic was one of the organisations that quickly onboarded a telemedicine consultation solution that allowed clinicians to conduct teleconsultations with patients. What my colleagues and I immediately noticed was that the telemedicine consultations surprisingly mean more face time with our patients. Firstly, because it is human nature to look at a camera rather than looking at a computer screen, which we tend to do more in physical consultations. Secondly, we are now spending more time preparing for our consultations prior to the start of the video call as we can’t physically assess patients, which means the consultation is an even better dialogue.

Being deprived of the physical presence but having access to the patient’s medical history alleviates some of the stress experienced by physicians in this new telemedicine world due to the reduction of assumptions. This particularly applies in the instances where the patient has a Malaffi file that offers first-hand access to their longitudinal medical records and helps us be better informed about our patients and quicker understand the pertaining issues. In addition, having access to COVID-19 lab results in Malaffi even before the patient received the results, has a profound effect to the quality of care we were able to provide to our patients remotely.

Telemedicine has proven particularly useful with the management of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, including providing repeat prescriptions for chronic medications and minor ailments that don’t require the physical presence of a patient with a doctor. Mediclinic has also adopted a number of novel telemedicine applications for care such as lactation advice, cesarean wound check and baby massage classes.

Remote care and video-consultations

Through video-consultations, our paediatricians are also able to offer specialist advice on the management of chronic illnesses that require a visual check of the child, such as allergies and chronic gastrointestinal conditions. In cases such as these, the ability to conduct a video-consultation empowers all parties to remain actively involved in the child’s health and ensure that they are continuing to receive the appropriate treatment.

We have also found that COVID-19 may also be an enabler for the increasing application of home monitoring where we can extract the patient’s vitals remotely, regularly, and alert them if they need to seek further care.

The future of telemedicine consultations

When we move beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and envision the nature of how consultations will be conducted in the future, we would expect to see an increase in home care services from both the public and private sectors in the UAE. Although Mediclinic does not yet have long-term home care facilities, the digital infrastructure put in place by health information exchange platforms, such as Malaffi, where clinicians have full visibility of the patient’s medical history, including previous medical encounters and prescribed medicine, allows for the seamless delivery of care. Malaffi was also quick to adapt to the new ways of providing care and has ensured that teleconsultations are captured as a separate encounter type, so that details from those sessions are also available in the unified medical file in Malaffi, as they are recorded in the EMR system of the providers.

Finally, as the American Medical Association is calling for telemedicine to become a core competency of medical students, the same needs to be implemented in the UAE. Studies indicate that one of the main reasons clinicians do not practice telemedicine is lack of training and confidence and the success of telemedicine in the future will be primarily linked to the buy-in and upskilling of the medical community.

MedTech Europe published yesterday a report outlining the socio-economic impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare and the barriers to its adoption for new healthcare technologies in Europe.

“Artificial Intelligence in healthcare can solve pressing challenges for European healthcare systems, but there are critical barriers that need to be addressed,” said Michael Strübin, Director Digital Health at MedTech Europe. “With this report, we want to highlight what the benefits are if we succeed, for patients, healthcare professionals and for society as a whole.”

The study covers eight AI applications categories – wearables, imaging, laboratory applications, physiological monitoring, real-world data, virtual health assistance, personalised apps and robotics- that can be used across the entire patient journey.

It also looked into the socio-economic impact of AI on Europe’s healthcare systems through impacts on health outcomes, financial resources and time spent by healthcare professionals (HCPs). Estimating the socio-economic impact of AI on European health systems is fundamental to advancing the current discourse on the role AI can and should have in health. Through these estimates, this research suggests that:

• 400,000 lives can potentially be saved annually through AI.
• €200 billion could be saved annually, including the opportunity costs of HCP time.
• AI applications have the potential to free up 1,8 billion hours every year.

MedTech Europe commissioned Deloitte Belgium to conduct and execute the study. Koen Segers, a Life Sciences & Health Care Leader, added “Currently, several barriers must be addressed to foster AI adoption. We see these barriers in a lot of context including data, legal and regulatory, organisational and financial and social challenges.”

The study concludes that in order to unlock the full potential of AI in healthcare, European health systems and the broader ecosystem need increase collaboration and to make improvements in a number of areas, including the ways such technologies are evaluated and reimbursed, workforce skills and training, and data interoperability and ownership. Serge Bernasconi, CEO at MedTech Europe, sais “Artificial Intelligence can address many healthcare challenges and the EU has the potential to lead this area by building an advanced regulatory environment, enabling trustworthy AI and ensuring greater patient trust.”

The Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organisations (CAHO) that represents the healthcare providers of all shades in India, has recently partnered with Swasth to strengthen the digital healthcare ecosystem and provide quality healthcare solutions to every individual.

The partnership aims to accelerate the implementation of the National Digital Health stack and subsequently work towards nation-wide adoption of the platform. CAHO and Swasth will work together to enable healthcare providers, including small clinics and nursing homes, to be on the digital platform and further the reach of digital health in India.

CAHO and Swasth will collaborate on research and building digital technologies, help build standards for the digital healthcare ecosystem and work towards the adoption of standards and Health Stack implementation, all to enable healthcare providers to improve access, affordability and quality of care, especially to the underserved.

Dr Vijay Agarwal, President of CAHO, New Delhi said, “CAHO has always been committed to promoting the adoption of technology solutions to promote quality, efficiency and patient safety as well as leading healthcare quality improvement initiatives. We are optimistic that this partnership can further these initiatives and lead to improved quality of healthcare services in India.”

Yoon Dong-sup, who recently took office as president & CEO of the Yonsei University Health System (YUHS), emphasized words like future, people, and communication at his first press conference on Wednesday.

Having over 120 years of history, YUHS will make the next century focusing on people, Yoon said. “Through a sustainable innovation system, we will strengthen communication and connection, and help YUHS members work with pride and have fun,” he said.

As the YUHS is preparing for a futuristic healthcare system where all knowledge and digital resources are connected, Yoon vowed to realize next-generation precision medicine using open innovation infrastructure, along with IT, digital healthcare, and big data.

Yoon’s goals include enhancing IT infrastructure, digital healthcare and research, big data research environment, research support system, open innovation infrastructure, and support for developing medical devices and new drugs. He also said YUHS would build a collaboration platform among Yonsei University, YUHS, and an external institution.

As the first step, YUHS aims to become a data-driven hospital using IT, digital healthcare technologies, and big data. YUHS will collect all data from the Severance Health Check-up program, patients, affiliated hospitals, partner institutions, and researchers and create massive information under a big data center.

With a new R&D planning division, YUHS will utilize all medical assets — such as digital data, human-derived materials, clinical trial results, and intellectual property rights – for research.

YUHS will use research outcomes in various fields such as medical device, diagnostic testing, targeted therapy, and AI-based blockchain through a medical technology holding company and lead the future medicine, Yoon said.

To do so, Yoon said he would strengthen human resources and support for patent and legal issues for new medical devices and drugs so that research results can lead to commercialization.

Above all, YUHS will prioritize supporting talented professionals while boosting all the hardware and the hospital system, he went on to say.

Yoon plans to prepare a program to nurture doctors and help them obtain global competitiveness. He will actively support the Full-cycle Physician-Scientist Training Program and open more employment opportunities for excellent physician-scientists, he said.

In the long-term, YUHS plans to build a “Yonsei Cluster” through cooperation with various departments at Yonsei University College of Engineering, College of Science, and College of Life Science and Biotechnology.

YUHS will seek collaboration with Yonsei Cluster and outside institutions including other universities, businesses, and research institutions to achieve an integrated innovation on a platform that connects all the knowledge resources, Yoon went on to say.

Also, Yoon pledged to give customized support for five affiliated hospitals for their balanced growth.

For Severance Hospital, YUHS will help it become an internationally competitive, patient-centered, quaternary hospital by advancing the treatment of serious and intractable diseases. Also, Yonsei Cancer Center will get full support from YUHS to complete the construction of the Heavy Ion Therapy Center by 2022.

Songdo Severance Hospital in construction will be the base for YUHS’ research power in the future, Yoon said. Through cooperation with Yonsei University, the hospital is expected to focus on futuristic research, he added.

According to Yoon, Songdo Severance Hospital aims to become the center of the biotech and healthcare industrial belt of the western part of the Seoul metropolitan area.

“Within my term, I want to put all my efforts into making YUHS one of the top 50 medical institutions in the world,” Yoon said.

“If YUHS’ affiliated institutions cooperate for future medicine having their own autonomy, they will grow as internationally competitive institutions.”

One of Africa and the Middle East’s leading digital healthcare firms is expanding its operations with a platform that will allow people in Kenya to access doctors online via their smart phones.

Users can download the app, available for Android and IOS, sign up to the type of consultation they need, and add a region and type of insurance cover. They can then search for and select a doctor. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The app offers patients 30 specialty areas to choose from, including dentistry, respiratory, dermatology and orthopedics. Doctors are all registered under the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council.

Research has found shortages in Kenya’s healthcare system, particularly in chest specialists, hospital physicians and emergency care nurses. These are especially pronounced in rural areas, where 70% of Kenyan’s live, who largely rely on community health volunteers and nurses who provide primary health care services like vaccinations.

The Covid-19 pandemic has amplified these challenges. In a press release, Vezeeta Africa Vice President Nana Frimpong said that the app will allow people in Kenya to access expert medical advice from the safety of their homes, as well as receive guidance on identifying and dealing with the virus, without risking exposure.

“As the Covid-19 outbreak continues to present complex healthcare challenges to the public, we see our role and responsibility as a health-tech leader and trusted partner to ensure that the well-being and health of our patients remains uninterrupted” he said.

“We believe that through this initiative, we are supporting not only the Government of Kenya but also empowering Kenyans to make more informed decisions on their healthcare choices and improve access to doctors in general.”

Vezeeta was originally founded in Egypt, with the aim of supporting the country’s ambulance service with an online service. It’s since expanded to include online bookings in Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Lebanon and Jordan.

Manipal Hospitals, one of India’s largest multi-specialty healthcare providers, announced its intent to acquire 100% stake in Columbia Asia Hospitals Private Limited (Columbia Asia). The deal value is Rs. 2,100 crore. The transfer of ownership to Manipal Hospitals is expected to be completed post regulatory approvals. This makes Manipal the second largest healthcare provider after Apollo in terms of bed strength. Together, the combined entity will have 7,200+ beds as against Apollo’s 12,000 beds

The advisors for Manipal Health Enterprise was Allegro Capital and Columbia Pacific was advised by Morgan Stanley.

The strong clinical expertise and breadth of services of Manipal Hospitals, complemented by the strengths of Columbia Asia in clinical and service quality, will ensure that the integrated organization would be uniquely placed to improve access and address the growing demand for high quality tertiary and quaternary healthcare in the country.

Commenting on the deal, Dr Ranjan Pai, chairman, Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG), said, “Columbia Asia makes a compelling strategic fit to our core values of clinical excellence, patient centricity and ethical practices, and will help us advance our commitment to provide outstanding patient care. This is the start of an exceptional journey for us and together with Columbia Asia, we are now bigger, stronger and uniquely positioned to meet the growing expectations of the communities we serve across the country.”

Columbia Asia Hospitals commenced operations in India in 2005 in Hebbal, Bengaluru and presently operates 11 hospitals across the country in Bangalore, Mysore, Kolkata, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Patiala and Pune. The network comprises of over 1,300 beds, 1,200 clinicians and 4,000 employees.

Sharing his views on the transaction, Dan Baty, chairman, Columbia Pacific Management said, “From day one, we focused on building a culture of putting the patient first to deliver the highest quality healthcare with integrity and exceptional service. This combination of Columbia Asia and Manipal Hospitals is very exciting because of the strong cultural alignment between the two companies – and the opportunity it provides for continued growth.”

Columbia Asia is one of the first healthcare companies to enter India through 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) route. It was founded and is managed by Seattle, WA (USA) based Columbia Pacific Management which developed an oversees healthcare businesses in India, China, SE Asia and Africa. Early this year, Columbia Pacific announced the sale of the Columbia Asia Hospitals in Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia to a joint venture between Hong Leong and TPG. It began operations in India in 2005 and currently operates 11 corporate hospitals and a teleradiology business.