COVID-19: The Tipping Point for Rapid Tech Adoption

Every care provider and life sciences business says the same thing: the global pandemic emergency is acting as an unprecedented accelerant that is profoundly changing the way healthcare is delivered and R&D is conducted.    Above all, the experiences of 2020 have expanded our sense of the possibilities for technology to transform our health. We are in a new technological era. “COVID has disrupted our industry,” says Bertrand Bodson, Chief Digital Officer at Novartis. “It has highlighted our strengths and areas we now need to dial up. Healthcare’s digital moment has arrived.”  Widespread telehealth adoption has been the standout feature of this warp-speed advance into a digital-first future. HCPs have deployed tools including video consulting, e-messaging, and remote monitoring at high speed. HCPs and patients alike have both discovered how much they like the convenience and safety of remote consultations and how much time and hassle this saves.  Let this statistic sink in: In November 2019, less than 5% of GP practices in England offered video consultations. By mid-2020 this was over 99%. It is a statistic that will be mirrored in much of the developed world. Embracing the possibilities Or take ophthalmology as an example. Dr Pete Thomas, director of Digital Innovation and consultant paediatric ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and his team challenged the accepted wisdom that ‘video consults don’t work in ophthalmology’.   They provid...
Source: EyeForPharma - Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Source Type: news