Is Nigeria Ready For High-Tech In Healthcare ?

A new research that examined how healthcare systems meet long-term global health challenges through integration and connected care technologies, has shown that emerging markets take the lead.

The global survey of patients and doctors, compiled by healthcare equipment manufacturer, Royal Philips shows that emerging economies such as United Arab Emirates and China are more inclined to adopt new technology. The study puts Australia 4th, the United States 6th and the UK 9th.

The Philips Future Health Index surveyed 25,355 patients and 2,659 healthcare professionals across 13 countries, and gives each country a score on its readiness to adopt connected care technology, embrace data sharing and integrate different parts of the health system.

The Future Health Index allows us to understand what the barriers to integration are in the U.S. and to explore how technology could be harnessed to accelerate the shift to preventative care, while still addressing the needs of Americans who are already managing health issues,” said Brent Shafer, CEO, Philips North America. “As a health technology company dedicated to improving people’s lives, we are now taking that a step further, working with leading healthcare networks such as Cleveland Clinic, Westchester Medical Center Health and Banner Health to understand how we can develop integrated technologies, care and business models that take healthcare beyond the hospital environment and bring it closer to home.”

The benefits of data sharing and joining up healthcare systems can be seen in the number of patients (74 percent) who reported that they had to repeat the same information to multiple healthcare professionals, while 60 percent even had to repeat the same tests.

The report also looks at attitudes to connected devices such as smartphones, apps and wearables that collect data on your health and wellbeing. More than half of the patients under 34yrs reported that they own at least one health monitoring device. Many of those surveyed believed that they have the knowledge to manage their own health effectively, although healthcare professionals generally disagreed. Not surprisingly, older patients felt less savvy about technology.

Unexpectedly, Japan sits at the bottom of the ranking. The country is famous for its robots and cutting edge technology, but strict regulation and a lack of centralised oversight are among the factors that have made the Japanese healthcare system less efficient than you might expect.