Innovative
Brand Management

1. Indian Healthcare Industry

The Indian healthcare industry showed healthy growth in 2023, reaching a valuation of US$ 372 billion due to the private sector and government contributions. As of 2024, this sector is one of India’s largest employers, with a workforce of 7.5 million. Advancements in telemedicine, virtual assistants, and data analytics are anticipated to generate between 2.7 and 3.5 million new technology-focused jobs.
On the government front, healthcare expenditure in India increased to 2.1% of GDP in FY23, up from 2.2% in FY22 and 1.6% in FY21, according to the Economic Survey 2022-23. The government of India also started investing in schemes, including Ayushman Bharat and Arogya Setu, bringing in many digital health services to mobile apps. eSanjeevani, a public telemedical service, is the world’s largest documented telemedicine implementation in primary healthcare.
The hospital market is seeing a boom in India, valued at US$ 98.98 billion in 2023. It is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.0% from 2024 to 2032, reaching an estimated US$ 193.59 billion by 2032.
In FY24 (up to February 2024), premiums underwritten by health insurance companies surged to Rs. 2,63,082 crore (US$ 31.84 billion). The health insurance segment holds a 33.33% share of the total gross written premiums in the country.
The Indian medical tourism market, valued at US$ 7.69 billion in 2024, is expected to grow to US$ 14.31 billion by 2029. According to India Tourism Statistics, approximately 634,561 foreign tourists sought medical treatment in India in 2023, accounting for nearly 6.87% of international visitors. With US$ 5-6 billion in medical value travel (MVT) and 500,000 international patients annually, India ranks among the leading global destinations for advanced medical treatment.
The e-health market size is projected to reach US$ 10.6 billion by 2025. According to Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, the doctor-population ratio in India stands at 1:854, assuming 80% availability of 12.68 lakh registered allopathic doctors and 5.65 lakh AYUSH doctors.

2. Need for digital transformation in healthcare
Digital transformation is essential for tackling Indian healthcare’s significant challenges and unlocking its full potential. In a country with the highest and most diverse population, technology can bridge the healthcare accessibility gap between urban and rural areas, ensuring that quality care reaches even the most remote regions. Telemedicine and digital health platforms can revolutionize patient care by providing real-time consultations, reducing the need for physical visits, and enabling continuous monitoring of chronic conditions. Additionally, robust health information systems enhance data management, allowing for better diagnosis, treatment, and personalized care plans. Streamlined operations through digital tools improve efficiency, reduce costs, and minimize errors. Implementing advanced technologies like AI and IoT can lead to predictive analytics and proactive healthcare measures, further enhancing patient outcomes. Embracing digital transformation will ultimately create a more resilient, equitable, and efficient healthcare system in India, capable of meeting the needs of its growing population.

3. Digital Technology Portfolio in healthcare












4. Applications of digital transformation in healthcare with use cases

1) M-health: The fastest growing segment within digital healthcare is m-health or mobile health due to the increasing acceptance of m-health. Studies show that more than 60% of doctors in emerging markets recommend m-health, and 59% of patients already use it. Mobile apps, smartphones, and other devices that enable remote doctor-to-patient consultations are a significant segment of m-health.

Example: A mobile app that offers online video consultation and can book diagnostics tests online. It has verified over 90000 doctors.

2) Remote diagnosis: India has a substantial rural population living in remote areas, which makes it challenging to cater to their healthcare needs. For this reason, low-cost portable innovations for remote healthcare delivery are rising in India. These products, including glucometers and blood pressure cuffs, help increase access to healthcare for remote and rural populations by providing point-of-care diagnostics, teleconsultation and e-prescription capabilities.

Example: A wireless health monitor that measures blood pressure, oxygen saturation, pulse, body temperature, blood sugar, blood cholesterol and total haemoglobin count with a mobile application on your smartphone.

3) Telemedicine: Telemedicine uses technology for remote diagnosis, monitoring and education. While telemedicine is categorized under remote diagnosis, its substantial market size makes it an independent segment. India's telemedicine market was valued at $ 1 billion in 2022 and is estimated to expand at a rate of 20% to reach $ 5 billion by 2030. Telemedicine has helped reduce provider and patient costs and provide care in remote areas.

Example: Top private hospitals in India have integrated telemedicine capabilities. Similar capabilities are being seen on the public side. For example, the Karnataka State Telemedicine Network Project with ISRO and medical institution side telehealth care activities at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow.

4) Digital and social connectivity: Social media is highly prominent in India, with the average person spending more than 25% of their time on social networking sites, accelerated by improved telecom infrastructure. These developments have improved the medical healthcare sector on both the patient side, leading to support communities and knowledge portals, and the healthcare provider side, where medical professionals share knowledge, ask for help and connect with each other.

Example: The Indian government is trying to set up a National Optical Fibre Network to connect 2,50,000-gram panchayats in the country to the Internet, which aids the expansion of e-health.

5) Wearables: Initially, wearables were devices that could track only diet and fitness activities. However, with increasing private investments, they are increasingly used to measure basic health parameters like heart rate and body temperature. In 2023, India was the fastest-growing wearable market, and it has been growing ever since.

Example: there is a wristwatch that acts as a personal emergency response system and relays medical and GPS data to a remote server.


5. Benefits of digital transformation in healthcare

For the patients:
• Improved access to care: Digital transformation will enable access to healthcare for all patients regardless of their geographical and time constraints. It particularly benefits patients from rural or remote areas with limited access to traditional healthcare facilities.
• Personalized medical care: With efficient patient data management, health diagnosis becomes more precise and treatment more efficient. It’ll help create personalized treatment plans tailored to each patient’s unique genetic makeup, lifestyle factors, and medical history.
• Excellent doctor-patient communication: Patients can get immediate professional assistance online through chat, and video calls with detailed prescriptions and treatment plans through email or on their personal healthcare portal.
For the healthcare organizations:
• Improved Workflow: Digital tools will improve doctor-patient communications post-diagnosis, leading to fewer complications; they can help in inventory and supplies management, reduce waste and administrative tasks, and save time and money.
• Improved Data security and privacy: Digital transformation can help healthcare providers improve data security and privacy, protecting patient information from unauthorized access and data breaches. Digital tools such as secure messaging and two-factor authentication can help ensure that only authorized users can access patient information.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Whether scaling up telemedicine services during a public health crisis or implementing new technologies to meet evolving patient demands, digital transformation enables healthcare organizations to remain agile and responsive and adapt to changing patient needs, regulatory requirements, and market dynamics.

6. Challenges and considerations

Lack of IT infrastructure growth and network coverage: Accessibility of healthcare to remote rural areas is a primary target of the digital transformation of Indian healthcare; however, due to the slow growth of IT infrastructure and the lack of network coverage, the pace of digital transformation has been languid.
High installation and operating costs: Financial concerns are a significant barrier to implementing digital transformation in the healthcare sector. The study reveals that the primary obstacles for hospitals to having Electronic Health Records (EHR) are capital requirements for buying and maintaining the system and uncertain ROI. Cost is also found to be a barrier to the adoption of medical devices.

Lack of Physical Examination: Studies have shown that middle-aged and elderly prefer face-to-face checkups and consultations. This absence of physical examination, necessary for building good communication, can pose a barrier to accepting digital transformation.

Data accuracy and Misdiagnosis: Accuracy of data transmission is a significant hurdle in digital transformation in the healthcare sector. A study shows that patients are facing difficulty in comprehending medical advice, leading to misinterpretations in prescriptions, unfamiliar technology, and a lack of clarity in the advice given by doctors.

Data Privacy and Confidentiality: Compared to in-person consultations, digital health data is more vulnerable to security and privacy risks due to the leakage of confidential information and data sharing with third-party apps. Healthcare information is very sensitive, so data security and confidentiality concerns pose a significant hurdle in adopting digital transformation.


7. Strategic Roadmap of Digital Transformation Project

From the perspective of the top management, capital investment is beneficial if the new technology or instrument adds value to the services we provide. The fundamental steps in any digital technology project involve scope analysis, business process mapping, gap analysis and design to-be process, program planning and project team formation, selection of application schemas like products, modules, vendors and consultants, selection of computing schema, hardware sizing and networking schema, master database configuration, customization of reports, screens and interfaces, system and user acceptance testing, user training, migration to the new system, system monitoring and performance optimization.

For the top management, the critical success factors of a digital transformation project include:

• Understand corporate culture in terms of readiness and capability for change.
• Communicate continuously with all levels of new users in business, not only in technical terms. Set reasonable expectations.
• Choose a balanced team and provide it with clear role definitions.
• Select a suitable proven project methodology with performance measurements.
• Evaluate vendors and consultants carefully. Be sure that the software more-or-less fits your organizational requirements and that the consulting firm has delivery capabilities.
• Train users and provide support for job changes.
• Remain alert for regulatory influences on the project and deal with them appropriately.
• Ensure the team’s ownership of the process during implementation.

8. Future trends and opportunities

Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven solutions: AI-powered tools like medical diagnostic algorithms, predictive analytics, and personalized medicine are poised to transform healthcare in India with better disease detection, treatment outcomes, and patient care. We have already seen the positives AI brings to the healthcare sector in many countries.

Blockchain technology: The healthcare industry runs on extremely sensitive personal information of patients vulnerable to security and privacy leaks. With the level of encryption that blockchain technology brings, it can save information that can only be opened by the patient.

Virtual Reality (VR): Virtual Reality is a developing concept in the healthcare industry. Studies are being conducted on the positive effects of VR in Rehabilitation, Physical therapy, and pain management in patients with diverse medical conditions. VR has also seen a rise in usage by medical colleges for medical education and training and for performing mock surgeries in virtual space.

Health Data Analytics:
With the availability of vast amounts of healthcare data following digital transformation, a new avenue of opportunity will be opened for leveraging analytics to derive meaningful insights. Healthcare data analytics can help identify disease patterns, improve public health interventions, and support evidence-based decision-making. There has been an increased focus on healthcare data analytics to push preventive medicine and population health management.
9. Conclusion

Digital Transformation is not a fad; every industry, sooner or later, will undergo its digital transformation. Any businesses that do not realize and incorporate this trend will fall behind their competitors. Although many challenges plague digital transformation, having the world’s largest middle-class population with increasing disposable income, the demand for this is increasing, and it's just a matter of “when”.
Just as India became the frontrunner in digital transformation in the financial sector.
So, healthcare companies should brace themselves for this new wave, which is bringing digitization and advanced technologies to make healthcare more efficient and affordable for everyone.



References:

1. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sumit-Chakraborty-3/publication/305380234_Healthcare_System_Innovization_through_Digital_Transformation/links/578b1a5d08ae7a588eebcb89/Healthcare-System-Innovization-through-Digital-Transformation.pdf
2. https://www.pwc.in/assets/pdfs/publications/2016/indian-healthcare-on-the-cusp-of-a-digital-transformation.pdf
3. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-024-03081-7#data-availability
4. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lKUIEQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA126&dq=Indian+healthcare+digitization+trends&ots=h4SVRViFO3&sig=ktqgYsXk5UhRueZAwdIfvDCaChg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Indian%20healthcare%20digitization%20trends&f=false
5. https://www.europeanhhm.com/articles/digital-health-trends-to-keep-an-eye-on-in-india-for-the-future
6. https://www.ibef.org/industry/healthcare-india
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8. https://radixweb.com/blog/digital-transformation-in-healthcare#Benefits
9. https://northwest.education/insights/healthcare/benefits-of-digital-transformation-in-healthcare/

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