Digital Health Technology In Australia

By Aakash Bajaj, Head — Research & Analytics, Digital Health Technology In Australia and co-founder of The Human Brain Project, a nonprofit organization that focuses on developing technologies to improve human beings’ mental health, brain function, and well-being and to inform policy-making for sustainable health technology regulation and funding through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Digital health technology in Australia Overview

In this interview, Dr. Gautam Poddar from Monash University discusses the Digital Health Technology In Australia space with some great points and highlights the opportunities in this area. 

He also talks about health data and what is the role of private sector companies in promoting health in the country, including medical device manufacturers like Apple and Amazon, etc. This is an edited transcript of my conversation with him.

The first thing you would do is what role will the public and private sectors play?

The role of the public sector in healthcare lies on three fronts. First, health care reforms require the involvement of the community in health decision-making processes which can be enhanced through community networks, such as hospitals’ patient forums, etc.

Secondly, there are new models such as payer networks that allow consumers to have a greater impact on their personal health needs when making purchasing decisions. And thirdly, the development of advanced electronic health records has opened up new opportunities to redesign chronic disease management strategies and achieve better outcomes for patients in terms of their quality of life and cost-effectiveness, such as the potential of using real-time analytics to design individualized services packages.

As far as the private sector, most health insurers now offer Digital Health Technology In Australia solutions with some being quite mature with many offering integrated solution platforms that include both the consumer and provider side of healthcare. These offerings include products such as MyChart, Optus, Google Fit, Spotify, Microsoft App Store, Cisco Spark, Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn Health, and more. It is worth noting that several large players are expanding into the market in recent years to provide innovative solutions that connect individuals to the right care providers with all their important healthcare needs covered by their plans.

An example of these examples is Medtronic which provides online support for Medicare patients so they can access the appropriate health outcomes information and tools to make informed choices. Medtronic’s mobile app and chatbot service allow members to easily speak to their clinicians via text over live video links.

Additionally, they build ‘smart’ devices into some of the products that help them collect patient data including heart rate and sleep data, provide telemedicine solutions that allow patients to see, hear or experience a doctor wherever they go, or receive advice directly through smart glasses or wearable devices.

In regards to health data, how big or small is the gap between data availability and use in Australia?

In Australia, there remains a substantial unmet need for effective health outcomes (such as high levels of activity, healthy diets, physical and emotional wellbeing) and healthy populations (such as a low prevalence of obesity and low smoking rates). However, despite strong investment in public health and other health innovations, the provision of population health care remains limited and inequitable.

Population health care delivery in Australia has been characterized by poor coordination, poor performance, inadequate resources, and fragmented systems that fail to effectively connect people to the appropriate care that best meets their individual needs. As recently published research shows this lack of connected care for a whole range of conditions, continues to place a high demand on health services in Australia, ultimately leading to high healthcare costs and the inability to prevent chronic diseases, premature death, disability, and long-lasting illness from becoming chronic in the future.

Furthermore, despite clear evidence that suggests better results can be achieved when healthcare systems address chronic health conditions and promote active lifestyles, research has shown little improvement in outcomes for common chronic conditions such as diabetes over the past decade, resulting in an estimated $8 billion in annual health costs and nearly 30% of Australians living without access to basic healthcare or having no access to any form of healthcare at all.

In relation to the digital health innovation space, what are some key trends in this space?

The major trend in healthcare is towards the adoption of digital health technologies and digital health ecosystems due to the rising awareness of health issues and concerns around the utilization of digital media in the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients, along with the growing numbers of digital users across all sectors of our society.

Consumers demand that providers are able to collaborate across traditional industries and the convergence of communication networks within and outside the health system is enabling increased engagement in the care delivery process. Patients increasingly value and expect improved healthcare through technological advances in medicine, communications technologies, and the Internet of Things, while providers must remain adept at providing patient-centered care and meeting the increasing health needs of their customers using digital health technologies.

The next wave we expect in this space is to come from clinical trials that move to the digital realm and this is expected to continue to drive clinical trials that aim to deliver greater efficiencies, including automation of diagnosis and treatments, standardizing of documentation, and faster feedback mechanisms between participants, and finally streamlining of reporting mechanisms that will result in significantly reduced workload and risk. 

The digital era has already begun with COVID-19 vaccines and the FDA expects those vaccines to become available soon. In addition, further studies are ongoing on digital health apps that could be used to promote healthy behaviors and lifestyle changes in adolescents and young adults, as well as self-management technologies that enable people to take control of their own health and prevent and treat chronic diseases at home.

More than 100 million Americans currently use e-commerce websites. Despite a lack of awareness of the benefits of digital healthcare and less than 5% using electronic health records, according to the US National Center for Biotechnology Information and Innovation, digital technologies provide health opportunities to transform medicine, the economy, and health insurance systems. According to a 2016 poll conducted by Gallup among U.S. adults, approximately half of American adults who have never received medical care before said they would like to receive one.

For the same reason, more than 50% of respondents said they would like to use online pharmacies as often as possible. With the rapid growth in internet usage and the use of smartphones, tablets, computers, and other smart devices, healthcare providers are likely to encounter a huge opportunity to reach those individuals and boost their ability to connect with health.

Another benefit of digital health technology is the ability of caregivers, doctors, nurses, and others in the field to engage in caregiving to patients on an ongoing basis, regardless of whether the health condition is acute or chronic. Online care delivery has already proved helpful to hospitals, allowing physicians to better serve their patients in ways previously not possible.

In 2017 we saw the emergence of multiple markets such as health tech, IoT and IoT Health, social good, fintech, mobility solutions, AI/ML, and wearables among others emerging as key differentiators. It seems that a number of these markets are converging in one way or another due to the convergence of technologies such as the Internet of Medical Things, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Networking and Social Media, Telemedicine and Wearables which are expected to generate multi-billion dollar revenue streams by the end of 2021.

In general, where can the potential opportunities lie with regard to health in Australia?

There are potential opportunities in the areas of health tech, business transformation, and improving safety and accountability through new collaborative arrangements between industry and government. I believe investments in infrastructure are vital to addressing the challenges we face, but also the opportunities in technology innovation and research through partnerships with industry and academia. 

In particular, investing in AI and ML is poised to accelerate innovation through smarter solutions to meet customer demands.

There is an opportunity in advancing scientific knowledge, particularly through cutting-edge projects and supporting educational initiatives. This will provide meaningful support for a healthier, greener world; a world where health is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. 

The success of these programs will depend on the application made of the latest science and technology for medical care. Ultimately, successful collaborations between industry, government, and research will create novel approaches to patient care, improve economic outcomes and reduce healthcare costs and expenses which translates into improved quality of life.

Is there a specific focus for the Australian industry?

The government should support the creation of robust federal programs that develop and maintain collaboration between the public and private sectors. By strengthening these relationships, the government will foster a healthier, longer, and more productive nation and ensure that our healthcare system is continually adaptable and responsive to the evolving needs of patients.

Do you see the importance of the health data ecosystem here?

Our health system requires much more than just data but also the expertise to manage it. Data and software and algorithms need to work together to achieve better outcomes. The health data landscape is not only changing in its size but quality and availability of data and the technology that supports them. 

Health data is crucial to the advancement of efficient, seamless, and intelligent medicine and to the understanding of the human condition, and to advancing efforts to alleviate suffering. To succeed in digitization, we need to empower individuals with enough data to take charge and the necessary measures needed to change lives.

Incentives and policies are critical to ensuring that all Australians have equal access to information that enables safe, accountable, transparent, and affordable health. From the outset, governments have recognized the importance of sharing data for the purposes of improving access to quality, equitable and equitable outcomes. 

We should support the evolution of the national strategy, as outlined earlier, that sets targets for the expansion of capacity and investment in digital health technologies, which will help us deliver better outcomes at a lower cost and ensure that all Australians have equal access to information that enables safe, accountable, transparent and affordable health.