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dIGITal ENTErPrISE | HEALTHCARE

right to the fingertips to such an
extent that patients are today more
aware of their health and wellbeing,
making them active contributors in
their own healthcare. Digitization
has also changed the nature of
patient communication with the
healthcare providers. It is no more
a monologue, where the doctors
explain to the patients about their
medical condition and guide them
on the next steps to be taken. Today,
a more informed patient picks up a
more proactive conversation with
the healthcare provider, disrupting
the unidirectional flow of information.
This two-way communication also helps the latter develop make wrong prognosis in critical times. A slight delay in
a strong database of patient information, which could be diagnosing itself could result in fatal consequences in
later utilized to design customized solutions. This is truly patient care. EHRs could be accessed from mobile phones
the rise of the “smart-patient.” itself, thereby carrying health in your hands, helping a
provider identify the actual nature of one’s health during
EMPOWErING hEalThCarE WITh TEChNOlOGy emergencies.
Technology has facilitated people to keep a track of what’s This innovative approach and the effective digitization
happening within their body through simple gadgets like of healthcare, is paving way for greater opportunity in a
smart phones. Monitoring the calorie count, keeping huge country like India. Rising population, inadequate
track of the medication and even storing medical records infrastructure and high out of pocket medical expenditure
in cloud, help the consumer to be fully equipped to handle continue to be the major roadblocks of India’s healthcare.
their personal healthcare, smartly and efficiently. However, convergence of high-end technology with
Electronic Health Records (EHR) is a highly sought precision medicine and genomics can help in overcoming
after by the patients today in the healthcare sector. these hurdles and digital healthcare will eventually
Often confused with Electronic Medical Records (EMR), transform the patient care in India. The government’s
in practical purposes, EHR is different from EMR. While efforts in this regard to drive digital healthcare in India
Electronic Medical Records is only a digitalized version is truly appreciable, however, there are many challenges
of the medical records available at a clinician’s place, which needs to be addressed. Our medical infrastructure
Electronic Health Records serve a more complex and is limited within the reach of the urban areas, while a
useful function. EHR serves as the overall/broader health substantial section of our population is accumulated
record of a patient, which is primarily prepared to be passed in the rural pockets of the country with inadequate
on to all the healthcare providers involved in delivering access to therapeutic facilities. Mobile technology will
care. Therefore, EHRs are designed to be accessed by help in bridging this gap, by providing them with more
doctors in hospitals, technicians in diagnostic centers accessibility, affordability and access to medical and
and other specialists involved in patient care and most technological infrastructure.
importantly, the patients themselves. These records help EMR’s could be perhaps one of the small yet significant
in ensuring appropriate care to the patient, irrespective of steps towards achieving this goal of empowering patients
the healthcare provider he goes to. through the digital revolution. As healthcare is taking the
EHRs prove to be a real empowering tool for the patients, wellness route, with providers self-disrupting the industry
smoothening the process of taking second opinions, to let patients keep entering ‘health,’ and a parallel rise of
minimizing duplication of tests in laboratories, reducing the ‘smart patients’ , here is a promising, healthy, way to
any confusion or clutter even with the engagement of look at healthcare.
multiple partners in the care communication. Due to
lack of proper medical records, many a times, doctors ( The author is CEO of Zoylo)

| A CyberMedia Publication www.dqindia.com January, 2018 | 73