Digital Transformation in Healthcare

The first disruptive innovation in the virtual world was virtual reality, which paved the way for augmented reality and mixed reality over time. Today, the overarching mainstream umbrella of everything virtual is extended reality, and the growing conversations around Metaverse is indicative of the phenomenal changes waiting to happen in this dynamic sphere, and sooner than what we expect. Like no one would have imagined the superfast transition from landline to mobile phones, we are today digitalizing ourselves faster than we can envision it. 

The key question that comes to mind in this fast evolution is: when industry is at 4.0 stage of evolution, why should Health still be at 2.0? What explains the lag?

Conventionally, the evolution of technology within the science that pervades healthcare is slower than that of technology within the industry given the intrinsic assumption, and even pragmatism to some extent, that every new wave is attached to a learning curve which may potentially impact the real-time healthcare research and patient outcomes. This default assumption creates a gap between industry and healthcare versions of technology adoption.

However, in recent years, this gap is getting smaller, thanks to the user-friendly and powerfully disruptive technology which doesn’t impact the healthcare outcomes in the process of adoption but enhances them in close to real time. The adaptability times for a physician, clinician or heath specialist to become well versed with the new technology is today reducing by the day. 

Immersive training experiences are helping healthcare professionals significantly improve their outcomes: whether better quality of life for the patient, better doctor-patient communication, or better orchestration between different entities of the healthcare spectrum in delivering quality care to patients. Extended reality technology is not only a solution but the bridge itself to enable a crosstalk between stakeholders from different sectors and disciplines, thereby making the whole environment conducive for faster technology training and adoption.

Talking of evolutions, virtual reality implied the immersion into a fully digital environment. Its adoption was a long-drawn-out process and even today, its usability is less than 5 percent. Augmented reality was a friendlier version of virtual reality; it was a reality enhanced by virtual elements in niche areas where the real components and virtual components were superimposed. 

The next stage of evolution was marked by an acknowledgement that real and virtual can’t be isolated from each other, and interaction between the two is integral to outcomes. That is when extended reality came into the picture which provided an overarching umbrella for every kind of reality to play its part.

Having said that, the key question is why do we need an alternate reality to co-exist with the ‘real’ reality? Let’s comprehend this need with an example. Today, all of us have turned professional photographers, thanks to the all-pervading smartphones. A unique aspect of photography is that the photographic image invariably looks better than the real image. The representation of reality seems better than the reality itself, better than what the retina of the human eye can process. The virtual version is more appealing, more acceptable, and more marketable.  

The ancient knowledge from Bharat also talks of an alternate reality in good measure, and we humans are also prone to it through our dreams, aspirations and hopes during sleep and wake hours. The Zen philosophy talks of alternate realities that ultimately bring you closer to your own reality.

Technology has today emerged as a modern avatar to transform the mythological and aspirational entities into a physical alternate entity. ‘Horizon Worlds” is one such example where Meta created an independent country based on the metaverse, which specified the vision and rules for working and playing in a virtual world. There is a strong need for a virtual reality check in this fast-evolving universe of alternate reality. And what does the virtual reality check tell us: that it is interactive, it is immersive, and it is instant, three defining aspects that make it appealing. This wholesome quality makes it an ecosystem on its own and healthcare entities – doctors, nurses, patients and caregivers – can collectively and significantly benefit from it while achieving critical outcomes of patient care and cure.

A case in point is the Blue Ray. While India was quick to adopt it in hardware terms, there was no commensurate software and content to make it more credible and convincing during the formative years. Over time, things improved by leaps and bounds. Sometime back, HCG partnered with Microsoft to introduce ‘Hololens’, wherein we launched landmark initiatives like the virtual tumour boards for focused conversations on improving research and clinical outcomes, teleportation avatars, and Remote-assist surgeries where surgeons and radiologists came together virtually to plan a surgery based on a third-party system, as also expert surgeons remotely guiding the on-site surgeon operating on the patient in a different location.

The immersive aspect of the virtual world proved a game changer in robotic surgeries, apart from the precision which it ushered in. I recall the time from my formative years of surgery when all I had at my disposal were two small eyes and two big hands. Today, I have a robot assisting me with one big powerful eye and two small nimble hands. Consequently, I am blessed with a racoon-like approach to surgery with a 360-degree immersive vision and exceptional stability to the tremor precision.                                   

At HCG, we also introduced a pilot project on augmented reality based on navigation. It helps a patient, and his or her kith and kin navigate the length and breadth of our premises – OPD, blood collection centres, diagnostic center, radiology department and the like – through augmented reality on their smartphones. In the coming years, this space will see more disruptive innovation that will make bedside medicine more human and patient-friendly, where human healing is seamlessly integrated into technology by virtue of empathy-based designs. This will have measurable and sustainable outcomes in terms of better patient communication and counselling. In an era of colossal information explosion, the patient will be able to better visualize the treatment plan. Here, virtual reality can make a vast difference where the patient is consciously detached from the current circumstances to relish the virtual reality based on his or her choice, largely as a rejuvenating experience that ultimately helps the therapeutic outcomes. One of my patients virtually visited his favorite Mumbai Chowpatty within the four walls of the hospital, while another witnessed the thrill of bungee jumping down a towering monument in Dubai.       

The 12 technologies all set to redefine the healthcare of the future – from diagnostics to theranostics – include Digital diagnostics, IoT and the cloud, ultra-fast scans, wearables, blockchain, digital therapy, big data, Nano health, AI health, Hackathons, System learning, and Robotics.  

Amid all the general anxiety and apprehension around these disruptive technologies, I would say there was never a better time than today to accelerate, augment and accentuate human healing. We are now working on innovative products and services to incorporate extended reality into the OT environment, making it more affable and gamified while enhancing patient outcomes. Having said that, the bedrock of this evolution is clean, accurate and reliable data.

We need to ensure data integrity and interoperability not just by integrating artificial intelligence but also by overcoming natural stupidity.

We are today at the formative stage of the AI evolution marked by basic intelligence. In the coming years, we will delve deep into areas like the Theory of Mind to make the most of the extended reality dynamic. However, technology, however powerful it may be, is a key healthcare enabler at best; it can never replace the healing powers resident in the human touch, as also interactions and gestures. I would like to end this thought piece by recalling the historic conversation between Rabindranath Tagore and Albert Einstein on science and spirituality at the latter’s home in Berlin, where Tagore famously remarked:

“Matter is composed of protons and electrons, with gaps between them, but matter may seem to be solid. Similarly, humanity is composed of different individuals, yet they have their interconnection of human relationship, which gives living unity to man’s world. The entire universe is linked up with us in a similar manner, it is a human universe.”