The shockwave that the pandemic sent through the healthcare system highlighted the need for greater digital flexibility within the industry with traditional face-to-face care being replaced almost overnight by virtual care. It should come as no surprise therefore that an estimated $250 billion is being invested into digital healthcare solutions. That’s great news — however, as the pandemic fades, are we seeing an abandonment of the digital platforms that found their feet during the outbreak? With one-quarter of patients not utilizing any digital platforms when managing their health in the past year, it seems that digital adoption may have stalled.
Although digital services have remained sturdy in certain healthcare areas (virtual consultations accounted for only 7% in 2020 as opposed to 32% this year), other areas have seen a marked reduction. The use of healthcare apps has fallen significantly, as have the number of people using online support to manage their medical needs. At the root of this lies a number of factors.
Data Security
There seems to be a general distrust in patients that digital healthcare companies can protect their personal data. With large-scale data breaches being regular news items these days, patients seem reluctant to adopt digital resources unless they absolutely have to. What’s more, with healthcare app developers facing four different FHIR standards (industry guidelines that set out how medical data can be securely exchanged) the situation isn’t made any easier at the development end either.
When it comes to patients volunteering their personal data for use in broader medical research, there seems to be some reluctance here too. While patients are more willing to share personal data if it delivers them specific healthcare benefits, very few would be willing to offer their data to medical or pharmaceutical companies otherwise.
The Personal Touch
Aside from data security issues, patients have moved away from digital platforms as a result of the platforms themselves. Patients want emotional support. No matter how advanced an AI-driven diagnostics app may be, the traditional comfort of a doctor who is familiar with both the patient and their emotional needs can’t be undervalued. When you add the clarity that doctors and other healthcare providers can offer a patient when outlining medical conditions and treatments, the digital route seems like a poor shadow.
While patients may be reluctant to fully embrace digital healthcare options, this doesn’t seem to have stemmed the development of medical software. With over 350,000 healthcare apps currently available, there’s unquestionable confidence in the industry that these platforms will not only endure but regain the ground that’s recently been lost. With blockchain technology likely to rise to prominence in the coming years, its decentralized nature will make data security far more reliable, leaving only the question of emotional support as a negating factor. How providing the human touch will be solved by digital developers, we shall see.
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