New York: Amid last year’s flurry of funding for digital health startups, industry giants “must play a leadership role” to ensure health-tech adoption doesn’t fall to pre-pandemic levels, according to a study by Allison + Partners. .
In the agency’s survey of 500 senior US employees and executives at healthcare and health technology companies, 57% say “Health 4.0” is achievable within three to five years. He describes that term as a promising future where technology connects our fragmented systems and paves the way for a seamless patient experience.
Health Tech’s report, titled The Post-Pandemic Pivot: Implications for Marketers and Communications Professionals, indicates the record level of investment in digital health startups in 2021. However, funding in the space fell in the first two quarters of this year. From a CB Insights report.
When asked what types of technology are most important to shaping the future of healthcare in the long term, respondents pointed more to back-end technology (42%) or a combination of back-end and front-end platforms (35%) than consumer services (23%). .
A majority of respondents also predicted that telemedicine and telehealth (63%), remote patient monitoring and diagnostics (55%) and automation (54%) will flourish amid the evolution to Health 4.0. Forty-nine percent said the Internet of Things will be critical.
The biggest obstacles to achieving Health 4.0, respondents to Allison’s study said, are legislative and regulatory policies. Lack of healthcare-specific technology skills and little understanding of advanced health technologies.
The respondents expected it to come from the “Internet of the Internet,” which refers to telemedicine and telehealth, remote patient monitoring and diagnosis, automation and connected devices.
The report also shared the agency’s conclusions regarding the role healthcare marketing and public relations professionals can play in Health 4.0, including issues related to laws and regulations.
The report concludes that in a highly regulated industry like healthcare, storytelling must help address compliance. In addition, the question of whether technology enables customers to improve healthcare infrastructure while complying with laws and regulations was found in the minds of respondents.
Companies need to explain how technology interacts with consumers and has a direct or indirect impact.
The report concluded that healthy internal and external communication can help address the skills shortage in healthcare. Healthcare professionals want to feel connected to a higher purpose and companies should use communications that demonstrate positive health outcomes as a result of their healthcare technology.
