Q 16- Examine the potential for disruptive technology to improve India's health-care services. (250 words)
Paper & Topic: GS III à Science and Technology- developments and their
applications and effects in everyday life; Achievements of Indians in science &
technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
- Involvement of humans in the diagnosis, treatment, and hospitalisation of infected patients increases the risk of infection.
- Many frontline fighters fighting COVID-19, for example, have perished.
- Artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous systems, blockchain, cloud and quantum computing, data analytics, and 5G are some of the technologies that can assist solve the problem.
- New technologies have the potential to improve society's well-being and lessen the effect of communicable diseases.
- It also has the potential to lower the risk of infection among hospital employees.
- Recent advancements in the application of disruptive technologies in the hospital setting:
- Some established innovative field hospitals are deploying robots to care for COVID-19 impacted patients, according to global media sources.
- Two Chinese hospitals are employing 5G-powered temperature measurement devices at the entry to identify patients with fever-like symptoms.
- Smart bracelets are being utilised by some robots to measure heart rates and blood oxygen levels.
- Finally, the Sawai Man Singh government hospital in Jaipur conducted trials with a humanoid robot to bring medicines and food to COVID-19 patients who were hospitalised.
- How can new technology help to improve the hospital environment:
- The technology of blockchain:
- Blockchain technology has the potential to help with the interoperability issues that health information and technology systems confront.
- A comprehensive indexed history of all medical data, including formal medical records and health data from mobile applications and wearable sensors, would be stored on the health blockchain.
- In addition to assisting in smooth medical attention, this can be stored in a secure network and authenticated.
- Big data analytics can significantly improve patient-centered services like early disease detection.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) are influencing healthcare applications.
- The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is a network of medical devices, software applications, and health systems and services that are all connected.
- Medical self-contained system:
- Medical autonomous systems have the potential to significantly improve health care delivery, and their applications are focused on assisting medical care delivery in scattered and complex situations using futuristic technologies.
- Other autonomous interventional procedures that may be included in this system include autonomous critical care, autonomous intubation, autonomous cricothyrotomy, and other autonomous interventional procedures.
- Cloud computing is another application that allows doctors, departments, and even institutions and medical providers to collaborate and share data in order to deliver the best possible therapy.
- Challenges and Next Steps:
- Standardization of health data, organisational silos, data security and privacy, as well as costly investments, are all potential roadblocks in this attempt.
- How Technology acts as a Tool for Universal Health Coverage:
- Universal health coverage (UHC) is a powerful social equaliser and the ultimate expression of fairness, according to the World Health Organization.
- According to WHO research, a lack of coordination might lead to stand-alone information and communication technology solutions.
- India must take ownership of its digital health strategy in order to achieve universal health coverage and person-centered care.
- A policy like this should stress the ethical appropriateness of digital technology, bridge the digital divide, and ensure economic inclusion.
- 'Ayushman Bharat' and instruments like information and communication technology might be fine-tuned to work with this plan to improve population protection.
- An important component of such a strategy should include online consultation.
- Making use of local knowledge:
- An effective national response must draw on local expertise in addition to efficient national policies and robust health systems.
- In India, primary health care centres might look at local/traditional knowledge and experience and combine it with modern technologies.
- The first steps in this direction should include synchronisation and integration, the development of a data-sharing template, and the reengineering of many of the medical sector's institutional and structural arrangements.
- In the health sector, big data applications should assist hospitals provide the best care at a lower cost, create a fair playing field for all sectors, and encourage competition.
- India's efforts in this regard should include synchronisation and integration, the development of a template for data sharing, and the reengineering of many of the medical sector's institutional and structural arrangements.