India’s digital health efforts are a silver lining from the COVID-19 pandemic

The so-called ‘pulse’ of ‘Digital Health ECG’ has increased dramatically since 2019 in key areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Telehealth, Medical Devices, Mental Health, Digital Therapeutics and Health IT, with funding exceeded Is. 27% of the total by 2020, according to data from CBInsights.

Turning the lens to India, the digital healthcare market is expected to reach $5 billion by 2023, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39%. Investment in the Indian health technology sector has shown significant momentum – from 2015 to 2018, there has been an increase in private investment and key funding in digital health.

The patient’s journey was filled with friction in the past. Let’s take the case of Rohit (name changed to protect identity), who is suffering from pulmonary disorder in a rural town. Rohit will have to go through at least six different touchpoints to start the first cycle of his care journey. He will reach out to his general practitioner through an insurance-provided network. He will then undergo testing in a laboratory, return these physical reports to the doctor for a follow-up consultation, and then collect the medication from his local pharmacy. Pharmacy may be out of stock. Rohit is then forced to visit several pharmacies to get prescribed medicines. A few months later, his health condition worsens, with the lung capacity score in red, and he is forced to move to a larger city for specialist care because physical access to a doctor is not enough for rapid treatment. is the only available method. The patient’s journey is clearly broken and fractured; For the critical need patient and their caregivers, the experience is disconnected, complex, impersonal and potentially harrowing.

Today’s patient journey delivers streamlined and connected care. However, in today’s digitally enabled journey, six completely unconnected geographically touchpoints have now converged to the minimum number of flows within an application on a phone. For many like Rohit, data accessibility and the increased capability of smartphones have been instrumental in breaking down the mental barrier against digital tools. Overall, telemedicine adoption has increased in India, with a 35% increase in monthly active users from 2019 to 2020 and 17% from 2020 to 2021 for some of the leading connected care applications. Thanks to this, sitting in a rural town, Rohit can virtually consult a Tier-I Pulmonologist across the country.

Within minutes of his home, he recorded his symptoms on a chatbot, logged his vitals and comorbidities for review by a paramedic, uploaded his past health records and event history, and contacted his doctor. Started with video consultation. During the call, his doctor noted down the past case history and started prescribing medicines. Her doctor then refers her to additional members of her global digital care team.

They create a closely integrated care plan tied to her insurance to help finance her treatment. For many, this previously would not have been possible without extensive tools and an adequate insurance network.

Tomorrow’s patient journey promises a personalized experience. Forced to adapt to the needs of a remote, contactless world, digital health has helped facilitate inefficient practices within traditional care delivery.

In many cases, faced with a shortage of physicians, physical restrictions, and the increasing prevalence of costly chronic conditions, technology became a prerequisite for access to care. With the increasing availability and affordability of wearable device data, startups can begin to cover a nearly 360-degree view through Digital Twin technology. Going forward, the patient journey needs to move towards ultra-personalized long-term care and intelligent disease management in an increasing number of medical fields.

Industry, large corporates and startups alike need to continue to innovate rapidly, with an emphasis on ease of use, price transparency as well as regional and individual offerings to accelerate and democratize care access across India . With the thought of the art of the possible, the pulse accelerates.

Rajeev Gupta is the Managing Director and Senior Partner of the consulting firm BCG. Platinian Associate Director Sripradish Kapikad and Platinian Senior Engineer Surya Giri at BCG contributed to this work.