Integration of data from wearables and other health tracking devices into patients’ digital health records combined with anytime access to care through new digital channels opens new paradigms for ensuring a continuum of care for patients, writes Gautam Khanna, Chief Executive Officer, P.D. Hinduja Hospital & MRC, in an exclusive interaction with Kaanchi Chawla of Elets News Network (ENN). Edited excerpts:

Digital disruptions often require a change in mindset and a shift in organisational culture. How do you foster a culture of innovation and adaptability within P D Hinduja Hospital to embrace and effectively implement digital advancements?

At P D Hinduja Hospital Trainings (Continuous learning), Piloting and Adopting in phases, has helped us to rightful embark the Digital transformation journey. We believe, the highest levels of adoption occur when employees are motivated to develop competence because they fully buy into the transformation strategy and feel capable of helping make it a reality.

When a new technology/ tool is taken on-board for implementation, we identify the right user group within the organisation. We arrange for inhouse trainings and external visits. And these continuous learning avenues open them to exploring new tools, rather than a forceful mandate from the management. Next we appoint a team lead for the implementation with the user group and draw a plan of implementation. Pilot run is a must, as this is where the team, proposes customisation, changes to fit our organisational needs & track the results before taking it ahead. Finally, in a phase wise manner we deploy the innovation.

The implementation of digital technologies in healthcare can lead to improved efficiency and cost savings. Can you share any examples of how P D Hinduja Hospital has leveraged digital disruptions to streamline operations and reduce healthcare costs?

A few examples from how we have leveraged digital disruptions to streamline operations and reduce healthcare costs are:

• Digitalisation of Patient Journey: Starting from booking an appointment, to sending reminders a day before their appointment, payment for services, online reports, etc. – we have digitalised all the pit stops in the patient journey. This has resulted in not just streamlining our operations and managing queue time, but also avoid repeated travel costs and time for the patients.
• Online TPA – Claim filing and processing has been streamlined for both providers and payors, given standardised e-objects and claim processing. Resulted in reduction in claim processing time for patients and dedicated hospital staff time & resources.
• New demand pools and market opportunities have opened up with an increase in healthcare access (with e-OPD, e-ICU, teleconsultations, care at home etc.) and affordability.
• Digital Health records: Each of our patients has an UID, which has the repository of all their health docs. This has facilitated more informed diagnosis, appropriate treatment regime while reducing the requirement of repeated testing.

All this has enabled a shift in mind-set from “siloed care delivery” to “collaborating and providing a continuum of care to patients”.

With the increasing use of wearable devices and health tracking apps, patients are becoming more engaged in their own healthcare. How does P D Hinduja Hospital encourage patient empowerment and active participation in their treatment plans through digital tools?

Integration of data from wearables and other health tracking devices into patients’ digital health records combined with anytime access to care through new digital channels opens new paradigms for ensuring a continuum of care for patients. Hence, the provider’s role will extend beyond hospital discharge to provide follow-up care to patients through periodic access to their health records and digital interactions. It will allow the providers to truly become a part of patients’ longitudinal wellness journey.

We have a strong patient engagement program at our hospital. For example, within 24 hrs of a patient getting admitted, we do a complete diet/nutritional assessment and customise a diet plan using digital tools like Dieto. This is where we engage with the patient, give them an opportunity to be part of their treatment plan, by sharing their preferences. We also organise various outreach programs like, Good living Drive, Survivor meets, etc. to stay connected with our patients, beyond hospital boundaries and empower them to take charge of their health. Going ahead we are also looking at exploring various Digital Therapeutics & remote monitoring solutions to un-tap this side of digital innovations in healthcare.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) have shown great potential in healthcare. How has P D Hinduja Hospital harnessed the power of AI and ML to enhance diagnostics, treatment planning, or patient monitoring?

Some of the critical areas in Hinduja Hospital where the potential of this innovation is/was explored are:

• AI Chatbot: Hinduja Hospital has recently implemented AI chat bots for enhancing communication, appointment scheduling, viewing patients medical reports, post discharge supports and streamline other administrative processes.
• Medical images: Evaluating prominent Al solutions to analyse medical images such as X-rays to aid in the detection of abnormalities and diseases with enhanced accuracy and quality.

Cybersecurity is a major concern when it comes to digital disruptions in healthcare. What measures does P D Hinduja Hospital have in place to ensure the privacy and security of patient data in the digital realm?

Below are some common practices and safeguards implemented by us:

• Endpoint Security / Data Loss Prevention – Endpoint security has evolved from traditional antivirus software to providing comprehensive protection from sophisticated malware and evolving zero-day threats.
• Network Level Security/ Server Security: ISE is a security policy secure access control for networks and gateway Level Security/Treat Analysis that has the ability to check files multiple files before processing.
• Threat hunting management measures, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), malware sandbox (computer security).
• Threat intelligence feeds to record and track IP addresses and URLs that are associated with phishing scams, malware, bots, trojans, adware, spyware, ransomware etc.

Looking ahead, what do you see as the next big digital disruption in healthcare, and how is P D Hinduja Hospital preparing to embrace and maximise its impact?

In India, several digital disruptions have the potential to significantly influence healthcare in the coming years. Some of these are:

• Telemedicine and remote Healthcare: Tele-consultation has gained momentum during Covid 19 pandemic and advancement in mobile technology such as 5G has enabled us the coverage of the healthcare delivery.
• Hyper-personalisation of healthcare delivery services (AI based predictive healthcare solutions)
• AI/ML based advanced diagnostics
• Health tech startups: Health Insurance Technology: The digitisation of health insurance processes can simplify insurance claim procedures, reduce paperwork, and streamline reimbursement.
• Blockchain facilitating many aspects of healthcare, including patient records, supply and distribution, and research.

Courtesy: ENN, EHealth