{"id":17244,"date":"2022-05-18T10:40:20","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T10:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/?p=17244"},"modified":"2025-12-01T13:28:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T19:28:54","slug":"digitalization-in-health-and-the-new-role-of-the-patient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/ghi-analysis\/digitalization-in-health-and-the-new-role-of-the-patient\/","title":{"rendered":"Digitalization in Health and the New Role of the Patient"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This is the second piece in our series of articles titled <a href=\"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/ghi-analysis\/medical-devices-in-latin-america-opportunities-after-the-crisis\/\"><em>Lessons Learned from the Pandemic<\/em><\/a>, a review of the issues that we have dealt with in the healthcare industry over the past two years. Health crises and their economic consequences, social impact, new ways of working, virtuality, and new forms of health care are some of the big issues we will be looking at in this series. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this second\ninstallment, we will be looking at digitalization in health and the new role of\nthe patient, both of which are topics tied to the digital transformation the\nsector has been experiencing, but which the pandemic has made us rethink.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">LESSON 1: DIGITALIZATION IN HEALTH IS HERE TO STAY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The changes and the digital\ntransformation that the industry has been through have been accelerated by the\npandemic: virtual health care; patient follow-up through apps; deals struck in\nmeetings on Google Meet or Zoom; trainings for physicians on how to use devices\nthrough virtual-reality sessions; the list goes on. However, despite having\nadvanced a great deal in the way patients receive treatment and the way the\nhealth system helps keep everything running, there is still much to be done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In one of our studies conducted through HospiScope, we classified <a href=\"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/ghi-analysis\/telemedicine-an-area-of-opportunities-in-latin-america\/\">telehealth<\/a> (TH) into four main categories: participation in TH when the hospital has a telehealth program; TH centers when there is a center with specialists that the hospitals connect to, such as centers of excellence in other disciplines; medical monitoring (<em>spoke <\/em>TH), when the hospital has a system connected to the service provided by the TH center at which the specialists are located; and international TH, when the hospital takes part in international TH. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In HospiScope we have extensive data about equipment and technology for almost 90% of hospitals in Latin America, so our figures should be fairly representative of the resources available in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to our analysis,\napproximately:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>15% of hospitals\nin <a href=\"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/ghi-analysis\/free-report-the-best-equipped-private-hospitals-in-latin-america\/\">Latin America<\/a> have a\ntelehealth (TH) program<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>9% of hospitals\nin <a href=\"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/ghi-analysis\/2022-latin-america-hospital-data-portrait\/\">Latin America<\/a> are connected to\na TH center<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>6% of hospitals\nin Latin America provide that service to patients through a system of medical\nmonitoring <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>1% of hospitals\nin Latin America form part of international TH<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These data remained stable\nbetween 2020 and 2021. There is clearly a big opportunity in this segment. In\nline with our analysis, <em>Meet Technology\nReview<\/em> has conducted a survey in which 95% of those interviewed say that\ntelehealth is a fundamental element to take into account in the transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Health and\ntechnology have been working together for some time, but the need to speed up\nthese processes in order to expand access to health has led to the automation\nof tasks, which meant that human involvement could be used in cases where it is\nnecessary. So, for example, apps have been created to\nprovide monitoring on patients with non\u2013life threatening illnesses, and\nimprovements have been seen in user experiences with regard to chronic patient\nmonitoring and hospital appointment systems. This in turn meant that\nhealth-care personnel, nurses and doctors, would provide their time and\nknowledge to those who really needed it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another of the opportunities\nwe have identified in the health digitalization process is the use of analytics (data analysis), key to\ninformation-based decision making, which in many cases is generated by the\npatients themselves.&nbsp; However, we\nstill have a long way to go: for example, according to data from Global Health Intelligence (GHI), 36% of health companies\nin Latin America already have some kind of strategy for prevention and\nvigilance, while the other 64% are still at the initial stages of developing\nthis strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have a great window of opportunities before us for\ntechnology companies to start out on a pathway we have already seen in several\nsectors. Xsensio has developed a device for monitoring athletes\u2019 sweat and\ndetecting potential health problems, while HEMOTUNE promises to regenerate\nblood to prevent the death of patients from infections and intoxication.\nDespite these advances, as we mentioned in the first article in this series, to\nachieve an effective health system in the long term, the focus of attention\nmust be on preventive diagnosis and a primary-care strategy. In addition to\nheavy investment in development, data are key when it comes to knowing where to\nmake investments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At GHI we believe there are great opportunities, as\nhealth digitalization is one of the most important links in the chain moving\nforward, and the transformation should not become a missed opportunity. However,\nour data unfortunately show that, for many organizations, TH has just been a\nband-aid that has helped at a difficult time, rather than an opportunity to\nbring about real change.\nTime will tell why a qualitative leap could not be achieved, but at a glance it\nappears that it could be down to our cultural habits.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"736\" height=\"325\" src=\"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/digitalization_in_health_and_the_new_role_of_the_patient_secundaria.jpg\" alt=\"Digitalization in Health and the New Role of the Patient\" class=\"wp-image-17248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/digitalization_in_health_and_the_new_role_of_the_patient_secundaria.jpg 736w, https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/digitalization_in_health_and_the_new_role_of_the_patient_secundaria-300x132.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">LESSON 2: THE PATIENT IS NO LONGER A SPECTATOR AND NOW PLAYS A LEADING ROLE IN THEIR OWN MEDICAL HISTORY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/ghi-analysis\/the-best-equipped-hospitals-for-hosting-patients-in-mexico\/\">patient<\/a> has\ntaken on an active role, both in their diagnosis and their treatment, and their\nempowerment forces us to change our communication strategy. The ways in which\norganizations and physicians relate to patients are completely different than\nwhat we were used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today,\nit is easy to google a symptom and draw conclusions about it\u2014as an enormous\nnumber of people do\u2014but the misuse of tools can lead to a number of problems.\nAre we ready to assume this change?&nbsp; Is the excess of information positive\nor negative?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Integrating\nthe technology and the patient into health systems speeds up the clinical\ninvestigation process, achieving greater efficiency and increasing the\ndevelopment of medical devices and drugs that cover unmet needs. On the other\nhand, along with technology we are seeing the rise of <em>medfluencers<\/em> (social influencers concerned with medical topics), a\nnew channel in which different health professionals share their knowledge\nthrough the various social networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At GHI, we have found that most multinational health companies\nhave patient-education programs and campaigns ranging from fundamental\ntopics like obesity to more technical questions such as laparoscopic\nprocedures. These programs tend to be\nlong-term, as their main goal is to change habits, and none of them are carried\nout in isolation. People in the industry talk about the 5 Ps: Patient, Physician, Purchase Manager, Payer, and Policymaker. The\nmost successful patient-education programs look for points of contact with each\nof these players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a\nlong time, the patient was not part of the conversation about their own health,\nand one of the main challenges today is for doctors, who feel they have power\nover the health of their patients and do not want to let go of it, to release\nmedical histories and allow the digitalization of medical files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Patients\nnowadays want to have a bigger role within the health sector, not only to give\ntheir opinion about their own condition, but also to help and protect those who\nare newly diagnosed.&nbsp; In this context they have set up groups to share\nexperiences and lessons learned, generating a space for positive exchange that\nchallenges traditional medical care.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\nare clearly at a pivotal moment with respect to the health sector that has <a href=\"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/5-mega-trends-in-latin-american-healthcare\/\"><strong>never been so exposed<\/strong><\/a>. The\nindustry needs new standards, and technology can provide that leap of quality\nand integration that is required by putting the patient center stage and\nreinforcing ethical considerations.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Next Steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Contact us if you are interested in exploring further how these lessons are being applied (opens in a new tab)\">Contact us if you are interested in exploring further how these lessons are being applied<\/a>, perhaps through a personalized study that will help you outline new strategies for your business or create new initiatives. We can also provide you with subscriptions to our data services, such as HospiScope, SurgiScope, LatAm Hospital Monitoring, and others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two new lessons we have observed from the medical world in Latin America and their implications for the industry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":17245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6487,6489,6491,6493,6496,6497,6499,171,898,788],"class_list":{"0":"post-17244","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ghi-analysis","8":"tag-1-of-hospitals-in-latin-america-form-part-of-international-telemedicine","9":"tag-15-of-hospitals-in-latin-america-have-a-telehealth-th-program","10":"tag-36-of-health-companies-in-latin-america-already-have-some-kind-of-strategy-for-prevention-and-vigilance","11":"tag-6-of-hospitals-in-latin-america-provide-that-service-to-patients-through-a-system-of-medical-monitoring","12":"tag-64-of-health-companies-in-latin-america-are-still-at-the-initial-stages-of-developing-a-strategy-for-prevention-and-vigilance","13":"tag-9-of-hospitals-in-latin-america-are-connected-to-a-telehealth-center","14":"tag-digitalization-in-health-latin-america","15":"tag-global-health-intelligence","16":"tag-hospiscope","17":"tag-telemedicine-latin-america"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17244"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28636,"href":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17244\/revisions\/28636"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalhealthintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}