For an industry crying out for transformation, health has taken too long to take the lead in technology
It has been more than two decades since the healthcare sector began to cry out for a transformation that would ensure the sustainability of the business in the future. I know this because I follow these discussions closely for a new management model, which is self-sustainable and guarantees greater coverage, reaching a greater number of people. All, of course, more efficiently, safely and at the lowest possible cost. And today I know that the application of artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation is, without a doubt, the way to achieve this goal. Too bad that healthcare management is still one of the most backward sectors of technology.
and why does this happen? Perhaps the strong cultural resistance of the current structures is the most important obstacle. Despite the business model being virtually bankrupt, the number of institutions profiting from it is still large. And there’s no more important reason to resist a transformation than the financial one, as we all know.
That said, the digital transformation that we have been applauding so much in recent times needs to be more talked about by everyone for its implementation to be in fact the solution that the sector is so looking for. We’ve already seen this happen in some industries, like finance, while others, like education and law, do their homework as well. But, I repeat, Health is lagging behind in (re)acting.
Resistance is still the main reason the current business model remains in place. But, beyond that, digital health comes up against a huge wall, which is intellectual capital.
Objectively, the skill barrier is a major challenge: Healthcare has a shortage of skilled IT and data science professionals with industry-specific knowledge capable of driving the necessary transformations.
Therefore, if Healthcare wants to make up for lost time and go digital, it must engage in professional training, that is, in the development of human capital that leverages all that technology has to offer. And this rarely happens.
You might remind me that startups and health techs have already gone ahead and are training professionals with such experience. But, I say, it is still little for what we need: in addition to not having the resources to develop many people, they are still small compared to the healthcare conglomerates – which should lead the initiative.
Only with more people educated in the technology and well versed in Health will the transformation happen.
Meanwhile, tech companies are increasingly venturing into healthcare. Apple, for example, just collected data from seven years of Apple Watch use to launch personalized health insurance.
Want another example? Not long ago, Amazon, through a merger, launched its own health plan. Bigtechs have already understood that Healthcare must transform itself and, above all, that it is still at a standstill.
Therefore, I ask you: what is still missing for the main players in Health to assume their intended role in the digital change to come?
During 2022 we followed, almost daily, the news on layoffs in large technology companies: Meta (which controls Facebook) fired 13% of its employees in November. Twitter, with all this Elon Musk telenovela, has seen its staff shrink by half from what it was at the beginning of the year. And startups also lay off workers: this site which monitors sector cuts in real time already has more than 147,000 unemployed in 2022 – and continues to rise.
The question I ask is, where are all these highly skilled professionals going that the tech companies are throwing into the market? Isn’t it time to bring them closer to Health?
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Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
