The pandemic accelerated the recognition that many healthcare related activities could be digitised, driving the convergence of several trends in the healthcare industry – notable shifts include consumers prioritising convenience and access to care. Simultaneously we are seeing companies strategising and rethinking their digital planning to fundamentally transform their relationship with consumers as well as businesses. Previously, there was a lot of hype around digital prototypes and now we are seeing investments into advanced analytics at scale to anticipate events before they happen.

Driving digital transformation has never been more important as many leading healthcare providers look to become more consumer-friendly while simultaneously changing their operations, culture, and use of technology. Below are some of the transformational trends that will continue to drive growth in the healthcare industry both globally and across the Middle East region.

Growing role of AI in telehealth

Telehealth has quickly gained itself a reputation as an effective solution to help achieve the goal of universal health coverage. The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in telehealth to allow doctors to make real-time, data-driven rich choices is a key component in generating a better patient experience and improved health outcomes. AI is today helping clinical research (digital twins of anything from molecules to body parts allowing simulated impact of treatments) to enhanced diagnosis (e.g., computer vision on scans to identify tumours), analysing large amounts of data and early diagnostics to the automation of processes and benchmarking of medical practices. We see strong uptake, favourable consumer perception, and tangible investment into the telehealth space which is contributing to its continued growth.

“Quantified self” has the potential to improve outcomes

Globally, we have noted that devices have become firmly established in mainstream culture. As such, we can anticipate their effectiveness in improving diagnostics, personal medication, and digital treatment in the Middle East as well. Wearables including smart devices and fitness trackers bring immense value in capturing health data, and with all the advancements in technology taking place across the region, they are set to play a huge role.

The “quantified self” has embraced prevention and is devoting time, energy, and money to staying healthy, including using regulated and validated health apps and wearables. Quantified self-data has the potential to drastically improve the outcome of treatments and medications as it drives digital interactions.

Digital tools are revolutionising mental health

The pandemic triggered an increase in mental stress and depression related challenges, thus putting a spotlight on the value digital and virtual healthcare can provide to the mental health space, and by doing so might have thrown a lifeline to our mental health system. Today, patients can more easily and efficiently interact with practitioners online. This virtual exchange has improved dramatically because of the increasing array of specialised digital solutions available. The magic of teletherapy platforms such as chatbots, videos, gamified user exercises and digital cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) programs, have been good adjunct to clinician-based virtual care, allowing 24/7 access for those who suffer from similar and sometimes taboo mental health challenges.

We are seeing surging investments into digital platforms that are challenging the age-old established practices and shaping the future of mental healthcare through digital mental health solutions. Another important advantage is lower administration and cost effectiveness, personalised care, and more digitally enhanced patient journeys - that can play a key role in driving lower waiting times - and enabling doctors to have a more direct access to patient records; this is something the industry has talked about a lot but is now coming of age.

Compliance to digital health

There is a huge focus on compliance with digital products and solutions and this extends to their environmental impact. Most health tech solutions are now designed with ESG compliance in mind. Rigorous measures from all players in the digital healthcare ecosystem are needed to ensure adherence. Increasing attention to ESG issues will continue to serve as catalyst for growth, highlighting societal health issues like mental health and the role that digital health applications can play to improve patients’ lives. For investors, it will become paramount to include digital health into their screening radar and to decide on their investment strategy regarding digital health.

Investments in healthtech aimed at creating stronger operational synergies

In the last couple of years, with the rise of adoption of digital health tech, there has been a rise in investments in various start-ups offering variety of health solutions. As we come out of the pandemic, we see the demand and utilisation of some of these companies come down thereby impacting the valuations. Companies that offer a platform with options to have multiple solutions instead of single solution are more attractive for investors for their longer-term value. With very  strong valuations, the only way for a start-up to reach the next stage of development is through an exit being acquired by a PE or going public (IPO); as these two options are tougher in today’s environment, corporates are now able to buy these start-ups and integrate them, creating more opportunities for “industrial synergies” as the reason corporates acquire other firms is to combine them with their core business.

In 2023, we expect strong investment to continue as healthcare companies will require enough technology backbone to cater to a wider audience and expand their offerings beyond general practitioner to include other chronic illnesses.

         

Jean Laurent Poitou, Arpita Singhal, and Karim Benhameurlaine are Managing Directors with Alvarez & Marsal.

This article appears in the latest issue of Omnia Health Magazine. Read the full issue online today.

Watch on demand: Looking ahead: Healthcare trends on the horizon for 2023

Omnia Health Insights brought together industry experts to discuss and analyse how collaboration, AI, decentralisation and wearables will continue to play a role in healthcare digitalisation and create a defining impact in the medical laboratory. Catch up on the discussion here.

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Sleep is essential for our well-being and is integral for supporting healthy brain function and maintaining physical health. It can help us cope with stress, promote clearer thinking and aid in recovering from illness. Lack of sleep can leave one feeling tired during the day, whether from insomnia, sleep apnoea, or other disorders related to the circadian rhythm and can negatively impact day-to-day life. It can also affect the ability to focus and stay alert, impact performance at work and influence social life.

According to Dr. Favas Thaivalappil, Consultant Pulmonology & Sleep Medicine, Head of Sleep Center, Healthpoint, Abu Dhabi, not only does a lack of sleep have significant implications for general health but so does the quality of sleep. This is true of people who wake up frequently during the night, resulting in tiredness the following day. Constant fatigue can also lead to high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, weight gain, increased risk of heart disease, and other mental and psychological problems.

He explained: “Research into sleep and its effects on the human body is an ongoing study. What we know is that the human body has an internal biological clock, also known as the circadian cycle, which regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Circadian rhythms are natural processes that occur on a 24-hour cycle that predominantly react to light and darkness, creating changes in the body, brain, and behaviour. As part of that sleep cycle, the human body undergoes four stages of sleep (Non- REM: N1, N2, N3, and REM) that allow our bodies time to repair and revitalise itself. This includes recuperating from stressful daily events, energy conservation and the clearance of waste from the brain. When you are asleep, your brain works on consolidating memory, which is essential for learning new information and producing hormones to help the body grow and repair any damage. Lack of sleep has an adverse impact on general health and quality of life, from affecting concentration levels to poor memory or developing chronic health conditions, like cardiovascular disease.”

It’s important to understand the amount of sleep we need as individuals to function optimally. This varies from person to person, with most people needing around seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep to function normally.

Dr. Favas Thaivalappil

One approach which I have found helpful in improving my sleep patterns is through wearables. For instance, the Sleep app on the Apple Watch has helped me create bedtime schedules to meet my sleep goals. What’s interesting is that the device can estimate how much time one spends in each sleep stage—REM, Core, and Deep and when you might have woken up. It also gives information about heart rate and respiratory rate. Moreover, the Health app on the iPhone gives you a snapshot of your sleep trends for the day, week, month and six months.

Lack of quality sleep can also adversely impact immunity, making one more vulnerable to diseases and hindering the body’s natural ability to protect itself from infections.

Having all this data from wearables at hand can form a critical part of maintaining personal wellness and tracking changes that can be easy to miss. These long-term changes in health allow us to understand our bodies better, improve overall health and can help in discussing any changes with a doctor.

This article appears in the latest issue of Omnia Health Magazine. Read the full issue online today.

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As we move further into the twenty-first century, there is a rising realisation that the relationship between humans and the larger environment is critical. Within this context, and fuelled by concerns about climate change, there has also been an increasing recognition that public health and the health of the earth are inextricably linked.  

Dr. Shyam Bishen is a senior healthcare executive with over 25 years of global experience in healthcare public-private partnership, strategy development, M&A, and business development. In this interview, he speaks about healthcare equity and the World Economic Forum’s mission to create an improved healthcare system for all. 

Can you tell us about the trends shaping the future of healthcare? 

The World Economic Forum’s mission is to improve the state of the world. One of the aspects we pride ourselves upon is bringing various stakeholders from different sectors, public and private, together in partnerships and coalitions to accomplish our goal. When it comes to healthcare, our aim is to improve the state of the public health system, its sustainability and its resilience so that we can enhance the overall health of the people and provide the best possible care. The priority is to keep the global population healthy by delivering the best possible health care. 

Dr. Shyam Bishen, Head, Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare, Member of Executive Committee, World Economic Forum

It is a huge goal, but it is a huge opportunity as well. We work with different sectors to accomplish this, presently according to various reports, the focus on the global trends is in a few areas. One is to ensure that we are better prepared for the next pandemic, and there is a strong global response on pandemic preparedness. We are working very closely with various stakeholders, governments, pharmaceutical companies, and other healthcare organisations, to make sure that we have a better prepared health system with health care workers, who are equipped with better training. 

In addition, we are also working on equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics, and drugs. Vaccine access was a massive challenge. For COVID-19, we are trying to create regionalised vaccine manufacturing capacity, so manufacturing can take place in Middle East, Africa, and other parts of Southeast Asia and Latin America, and we are looking at low- and middle-income countries, as well. Presently vaccine manufacturing is concentrated in just a few developed regional spots, and as we move forward, we want to create better access to vaccines and break away from this concentration. The same approach is applicable on the diagnostics and the treatment side.  

How is global warming impacting the healthcare industry? 

A key area of focus for us is preparing for climate change. Currently, there are several initiatives to protect and prevent further harm to the health of the climate. Numerous countries and companies have committed to net zero or decarbonisation, many up until 2030, to 2050, and beyond. However, we still have a long way to go, with global warming and its risks still a part of our ecosystem. Water and air pollution are impacting people’s physical and mental health. We are experiencing rampant drastic weather changes around the world from drought, hurricanes, and torrential rain. There is a significant increase in infectious diseases, such as mosquito-borne diseases due to global warming.  

Few are aware that mosquitos are the most life-threatening insects, and they kill over a million people every year. An increase in the mosquito population is expected, and with that there will be an increase in vector borne diseases like malaria and dengue. The question remains on how will we prepare for this, and how do we ensure that we are able to respond to such an increase in infectious diseases with our healthcare system?  

This is another area of focus for the World Economic Forum, and we are working with philanthropic organisations such as the Wellcome Trust and others. On this note, we also want to have sufficient research-based evidence and data that we can take to policymakers. A misconception among many is that climate change impact will hit us in 10 or 15 years from now. However, we are witnessing clear indicators of its impact through an evident increase in various disease areas. Infectious disease is just one area; air pollution is causing respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, we need to focus on both - the health of the climate and the impact on human health.  

What have been the learnings that healthcare leaders need to apply moving forward? 

COVID-19 was a catalyst in underlining the huge gaps in health equity around the globe. Developed countries got access to vaccines very quickly, followed by the second, third dose and receiving vaccine boosters. Whereas many parts of the world did not even get the first dose of the vaccine. This brings me to the third area I would like to highlight, health equity. 

We don’t want to witness this again in the future, and my previous comment on pandemic preparedness links to this. We need to emphasise on equitable access to health care services, and all health care products around the globe. Our goal is to reach zero health equity gap by 2050.  

The World Economic Forum is bringing business, government, civil society, and public sector leaders together at the Annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland in January to address health equity and pledge to creating actionable plans. There are some serious social determinants to health equity, which is poverty, education, transport, jobs, and income, and all these components are interlinked. There are corporate citizens who have committed to developing the communities that they are operating in; however, action needs to be taken at the public and private partnership level.  

 

This article appears in the latest issue of Omnia Health Magazine. Read the full issue online today.

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