Healthcare and Technology: How to be a Doctor without Borders

HEALTHCARE&

TEC NOLOGYHHow to Be a Doctor Without Borders

CONTENTS.

HEALTHCARE & TECHNOLOGY: A WIN-WIN SITUATION FOR

BOTH DOCTORS & PATIENTS01

6 MAIN REASONS FOR USING TECHNOLOGY IN HEALTHCARE

DELIVERY IN INDIA04

TECHNOLOGY AND YOU: PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

AND DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES11

HEALTHCARE GONE MOBILE16

6 BENEFITS THAT HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY OFFERS19

01CHAPTER

HEALTHCARE & TECHNOLOGY:

A WIN-WIN SITUATION FOR BOTH

DOCTORS & PATIENTS.

A SNEAK-PEEK INTO HOW TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING

THE FACE OF HEALTHCARE DELIVERY

HEALTHCARE & TECHNOLOGY: HOW TO BE A DOCTOR WITHOUT BORDERS

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Everyday when you head for a day’s work, you see your kids busy chatting on their smartphones or playing games. Upon entering

your clinic, you find every single patient immersed in mobile, your receptionist is happily checking for clothes online and you

realise that technology has hacked almost every person’s normal life.

So, technology has made inroads in every vertical of life and healthcare is no exception.

Now, picture this scenario. People are using the same technology to get healthcare with the same ease they are buying cars,

laptops or clothes online and many doctors just like you are now taking an active role in this phenomenon. Role of a healthcare

provider!

In this era of technological advancement, when people hit Google as the first line of consultation and taking charge of their own

health, a large chunk of doctors are still oblivious to the massive change technology is bringing in healthcare.

“The need of the hour is to be right there where your patients are. It’s time to steer the technological evolution in your favour and

take this doctor patient engagement to the next level!

With technology, doctors are not just curing patients, but are becoming their

mentors and guides to help them prevent diseases. Technology helps to

maintain a continuous connection between doctors and patients. What’s more,

the multimedia technology makes your practice faster and more enjoyable.

Best of both worlds!


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The need of the hour is to be right there where your

patients are. It’s time to steer the technological evolution

in your favour and take this doctor patient engagement to

the next level!

This book will take you through the technological advancement that have surfaced in the healthcare delivery domain and how you

can capitalise on it to build your reputation as well as grow your income!

Let me first give you some insights and stats for a bird’s eye view of why technological intervention in healthcare is needed in a

vast and rapidly developing country like India and why adopting it is the need of the hour.

Best of both worlds!

02CHAPTER

6 MAIN REASONS FOR USING

TECHNOLOGY IN HEALTHCARE DELIVERY

IN INDIA.

TECHNOLOGY IS NO MORE A LUXURY, IT HAS BECOME A NEED FOR BETTER

HEALTHCARE DELIVERY


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Our country roughly has 0.6 doctors

per 1000 people, the majority of whom are

concentrated in tier 1 and tier 2 cities. 1700:

1 Availability/ Accessibility and Quality of Healthcare

India is a county where good doctors like you are rare to find. Despite achieving great growth figures, India is struggling towards

ensuring good and effective healthcare for all. Availability of adequate hospitals and doctors is still a challenge and accessibility is

even poorer. “Our country roughly has 1 doctor per 1700 people, the majority of whom are concentrated in tier 1 and tier 2 cities.”

Folks in rural India usually receive treatment from social health care activists rather than better trained medical personnel. Given the

poor distribution of specialists and emergency services, the need of technology can’t be emphasised any more. Healthcare delivery

and monitoring via technology can bring healthcare within reach of millions of Indians who do not have an access to Primary,

Secondary and Tertiary healthcare.

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Most of India’s estimated 1.2 billion

people have to pay for medical treatment out

of their own pockets and adequate care is

beyond financial reach of many. Less than 20%

of the population has some kind of healthcare

cover.

2 Higher Cost of Healthcare and Poor Healthcare Insurance Adoption

Coupled with inadequate health infrastructure and its poor availability, the high cost of healthcare keeps it out of reach of sizeable

population. Private hospitals are not always affordable and cost of medicines adds to the woes.

Have you ever come across a patient who told you that he has complete insurance facility to cover for all healthcare expenses.

Hardly! “Most of India’s estimated 1.2 billion people have to pay for medical treatment out of their own pockets and adequate care is

beyond financial reach of many. Less than 20% of the population has some kind of healthcare cover.”

The answer for health care debt that most Indians face can be searched by exploring potential use of technology to make

healthcare affordable.

20%LESS THAN

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3 Self Medication - The Rising Issue

On any given day, 8 out of your 10 patients come with preconceived notions of some random disease which they concluded after

reading a lot of medical information available online, the credibility of which is always questionable.

Surveys have revealed that a majority of the doctors have been struggling to deal with patients who use the internet to find out what

ails them. The survey reinforced the fact that patients are relying heavily on the internet for checking health care related symptoms

and self medication is then the next step in this process of self diagnosis.

According to an all-India doctor’s survey, the Internet is creating new-age hypochondriacs. Doctors say that most of their patients

are "overloaded with information" and consider themselves "medical experts" after reading about the ailments on the internet.

The increasing trend among people to take charge of their own health is for reasons like cost of healthcare, inconvenience of

access and ability to obtain the otherwise unavailable information. The problems could actually be the drivers of technology for

doctors in India, followed by an opportunity to provide health care consultation and reach previously inaccessible patients, that too

without disturbing the status quo.

The technology is clearly the modern vehicle with the potential to improve information dissemination and perhaps, change the way

healthcare is delivered. Doctors can tap the vast potential that modern technology holds, not only to improve their practice, but to

prevent the increasing trend of self medication among patients. Hence it is a win win situation for both!

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4 Inadequate Earnings for Doctors

Medical profession though elite and self rewarding, has its own struggle when it comes to income. Recent surveys have revealed

that over 65% of doctors are not satisfied with their profession in terms of the efforts made for current earnings and status.

“Over 61% of doctors would not want their children to join this profession. Over 45% of the survey respondents said it took them

more than 10 years of study (after 12th standard) to earn first Rs 25,000 per month.” The survey also revealed that less than 13%

of the doctors earn more than Rs 30 lakh annually, while 15% of the doctors said they earn less than Rs 5 lakh per annum.

Many physicians young and old are looking for an exit strategy. In surveys and articles that appear in many newspapers and online

blogs, a majority of physicians express diminished enthusiasm for medicine.

Though, technology can not eliminate the various troubles that doctors face in their profession, but it can certainly make the

profession a better experience. The multimedia options to interact with patients give doctors a feeling of staying engaged and

connected with the outer world. Sit and enjoy what technology has to offer - more income, more acknowledgment and a better

connect - all from the comfort of your clinic.

Over 61% of doctors would not want their children to join

this profession. Over 45% of the survey respondents said it took

them more than 10 years of study (after 12th standard) to earn

first Rs 25,000 per month.

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5 Deteriorating Doctor-Patient Relationship

How do you feel when a patient comes and lists down a number of symptoms, along with the possible number of diseases he is

suffering from?

Don’t you feel disgruntled and feel an unavoidable strain in your relationship with the patient. “Sometimes, they end up arguing with

you upon being told that their ailments are not even close to the worse diseases they had imagined. Matters get worse when they

doubt your treatment. Thanks to the Internet!”

With the active use of technology, doctors can meet the patients directly on the platform where they are active now and strike a

credible relationship. Patients would feel an adequate attention and a feeling of being in constant touch with you.

Sometimes, they end up arguing with you

upon being told that their ailments are not

even close to the worse diseases they had

imagined. Matters get worse when they doubt

your treatment. Thanks to the Internet!


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6 Patient Management

Patient Management is becoming a challenge owing to the increasing patient number, the cost of healthcare and quality delivery of

services to the patient. “You know already owning and running a clinic is not easy! Explore what technology can do to help you in

effective patient management.”

We have discussed why adopting technology is an indispensable thing for every doctor in India. Let us now see how can you use

the technology and make a big difference to your practice.

03CHAPTER

TECHNOLOGY AND YOU:

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE AND

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES.

UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT VERTICALS OF TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN

SPRUCE UP HEALTHCARE DELIVERY LIKE NEVER BEFORE.

SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT!

Technology is there to help you practice. Having discussed the necessity of technological intervention in health care delivery, let us

now figure out how can you put technology to good use. Whether it is to increase the ease of patient scheduling, eliminate

phone-based consultations, reach out to more patients or to grow your income - technology provides you with reliable solutions that

work.

“Technology has offered doctors some cutting edge resources to help them take care of the of the problems you are dealing with! A

smartphone powered with an internet connection is enough to make an experience of its own kind.”

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR DOCTORS

There is no denying the fact that the cost of running a practice is skyrocketing these days. Handling patient load, offering better

treatment and balancing between personal life is becoming quite a challenge to fare with.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that, in this constantly changing ecosystem you are looking for simple and easy solutions to

manage most of your worries and stay compliant in a fast-moving, digital world.

Technology has offered doctors some cutting edge resources

to help them take care of the of the problems you are dealing with! A

smartphone powered with an internet connection is enough to make

an experience of its own kind.


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“Practice Management Software is one such solution that can help you to streamline the day-to-day tasks of operating a medical

facility. A wide range of medical professionals are getting benefited” by the use of practice management software, including hospital

workers, independent practitioners, emergency room doctors, and specialty healthcare providers.

3 BENEFITS OF ADOPTING PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

A practice management software is like an electronic receptionist that handles most of your administrative tasks. “The ultimate goal

of a Medical Practice Management Software is to reduce the time a doctor spends on paperwork so that you can spend more time

with your patients.” Right from facilitating you to record patients information and schedule new appointments, it helps you in

electronic billing, create administrative reports, store health records etc. Overall, the major benefits of a practice management

software can be divided into three key areas:

With Practice Management Software you can easily overview your daily administrative details like patient appointments, staff reports

etc. The software can significantly help you manage multiple clinics, your daily workflow and serves as a helpful point of reference

that reminds you about the tasks yet to be completed. It caters all your need of having an assistant to manage your scheduling and

reminding you of all the tasks. You just need to focus on enhancing your practice while the software takes care of the rest of your

needs.


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1 Efficient administrative operations

A Practice Management Software stores digital records in a safe and easily accessible way. Patients health records, prescriptions,

medical bills and other important information can be stored and accessed remotely.

A Practice management software allows you to easily process bills and other claims. You don’t have to manage those messy paper

records anymore or track your finances manually. The merits of using a practice management software are many. Adoption of the

software helps you run your clinic more smoothly, improve your efficiency and accuracy unlike old and outdated manual methods

that are slow and tardy. Undoubtedly, it is a technology not worth missing!


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2 Easier Storage and Access to Records

3 Simplified Billing

Healthcare Delivery is moving online with the use of

Personal Computer, Smartphones, Social Networking,

Email, Cloud Computing, Tablets, GPS Devices.


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DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY

Gone are the days when a patient has to visit a doctor manually for every follow-up consultation. Patients can simply send you the

records and data on your smartphone. The old healthcare delivery model has now been disrupted by the latest technological

interventions. Disruptive Technology has transformed the way you have been delivering healthcare so far. Since the introduction of

information technology in healthcare, doctors have stepped up their practice to make healthcare increasingly affordable and

conveniently accessible for the needy ones.

Healthcare Delivery is moving online with the use of Personal Computer, Smartphones, Social Networking, Email, Cloud Computing,

Tablets, GPS Devices.

Innovations in the field of healthcare is an ever growing phenomenon. More and more doctors and patients are favouring online

consultation, telemedicine, tele-education and electronic health records. The latest trend in online healthcare delivery suggests that

doctors are becoming more proactive on the web to serve their patients better. Doctors are embracing the various platforms that

technology provides to strike a connection and stay available for their patient anytime, anywhere.

04CHAPTER

HEALTHCARE GONE MOBILE.

THE MOST LOGICAL NEXT STEP IN THIS HEALTHCARE-TECHNOLOGY

EVOLUTION IS “HEALTHCARE ON FINGERTIPS”. YOUR SMARTPHONE IS

MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE.


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India is among the leading countries in terms of smartphone penetration. This powerful medium has phased out the language

barrier in letting people connect with each other. SMS, Online chatting and videos are widely used by people to connect with each

other in English, Hindi and vernacular languages.

Medical professionals are no exception!

Medical professionals are buying into medical technology as it helps them meet some of their most important needs - connecting

and monitoring patient, offering treatment advice, remote access to medical records, communicating with colleagues, know latest

medical news and information about diseases and drugs and much more.

For patients, the opportunities that the medium provides in the healthcare domain are tremendous - making healthcare more

accessible, faster, better and cheaper. Their expectations from mobile healthcare is high and only growing.

It helps them communicate better with healthcare professionals, gather healthcare and drugs information. On the top of all, patients

want convenient healthcare access, for which no other technology can beat the role of mobile.

The necessity of mobile healthcare in a country like India is for the most pressing reason of greater need and fewer options. The

disparity and distribution of medical personnel in India, their scarcity, lack of healthcare infrastructure puts mobile health at the

center of the most potent tools available for the doctors. You can offer mobile based advice via telephone, text and video

consultation. It’s that easy!

Studies in India suggest that health monitoring via mobile phones can bring healthcare within reach of millions of those sections who

couldn’t have reached out to tertiary care centers. Present health care services can serve only a small proportion of India’s huge

1.2 billion population. However, with around 900 million people owning a mobile phone in India, the opportunities to extend the

healthcare to millions who currently have no access to even a general physician, let alone a specialist, are huge.

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A clinic on mobile is where doctors treat patients. You can treat patient with the same accuracy as you treat them

personally - patients can send you medical records, history and other information.

So, there is good reason to be excited over Mobile Health. The reason is - now every doctor can have his own clinic in pocket!

Now that we have seen what are the platforms available for doctors, let’s discuss what benefits can doctors draw by adopting

technology.

However, with around 900 million people owning a mobile phone in India,

the opportunities to extend the healthcare to millions who currently have no

access to even a general physician, let alone a specialist, are huge.

05CHAPTER

6 BENEFITS

THAT HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY OFFERS.

TECHNOLOGY HAS SIMPLIFIED HEALTHCARE DELIVERY TO A

MAJOR EXTENT. IT’S LOADED WITH BENEFITS THAT WILL CHANGE THE WAY

YOU PRACTICE.


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Time is money. For you, it is much more than merely earning. You would like to save time to be able to see more patients, more

time for clinical management, more time for social life and an extra time for your own knowledge enrichment. All this is easier by

introducing technology, not to emphasise how rewarding it is at the end of the day!

More time for your practice is more money. Earning money requires you to be on your feet all day long. It could be easier with

technology! By infusing technology in your medical practice, you can compliment your income by consulting more patients

anywhere in the country without having to visit them personally.

You practice to earn a decent living! That’s right. But would you not love to be

rewarded and appreciated for what you doing? Connecting with your peers, your

friends and students is not possible in your busy schedule. While technology

can make this task a much simpler affair. Staying in constant touch with them on

various platforms is now just a click away!

1 Time: The Most Abundant Commodity You Always Fall Short Of

2 Ensuring Income Matching an Aspiring Lifestyle

3 Build Your Reputation


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Ever wondered if you can offer treatment advice to a person sitting on the other end of the

country? Practicing in an urban city, you are miles away from your hometown and could

extend your services to a patient in a village. Technology is making it possible, you can

explore numerous such benefits by simply getting an internet connection.

You will not find it hard to acknowledge that the way patients used to treat doctors have

undergone a sea change with the arrival of technology and pool of medical information

available online. Most doctors are experiencing the straining relationship and the trust

deficit with patients for reasons like patient’s dissatisfaction with the amount of quality time

they are giving them.

Using technology as a medium, doctors can strike that confidence back in the patients by

staying in touch with them on the online interactive platforms. Patients feel connected and it

goes a long way in retaining personal reputation with them.

4 Exposure/Geographic Reach

5 Don't Just Cure Patients, Care for Them


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Hospitals and medical professionals are realising the importance of keeping their patient at the center. Over the time, doctors have

realised that their supply-driven healthcare model needs to be shifted to patient-centered system i.e. what patients need. Do you

think it is all possible between many of the tasks you are engaged in? Here comes the benefit of technology into play. Keep

yourself connected with them on technology. Stay Engaged - Keep patients happy!

6 Patient Centeredness

Using technology as a medium, doctors can strike that

confidence back in the patients by staying in touch with them on the

online interactive platforms.


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REFERENCES.http://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/India-has-just-one-doctor-for-every-1700-people/2013/09/22/

article1792010.ece)

1.

http://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/healthcare/mhealth/assets/pwc-emerging-mhealth-full.pdf2.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Doc-the-Internet-says-I-have-cancer/

articleshow/33815433.cms

3.

http://www.indiamedicaltimes.com/2015/02/12/over-65-of-doctors-not-satisfied-with-their-profession-survey/4.



Healthcare and Technology: How to be a Doctor without Borders

Healthcare

Transcript of Healthcare and Technology: How to be a Doctor without Borders