Healthcare industry insiders believe that the healthcare sector will undergo a digital transformation in Asia in the coming years.
« However much work still must be done, said Callum Bir, Microsoft’s director of health of the Asia Pacific, at a symposium held in late May in South Korea. More than 70% of hospitals do not have the necessary technology to make the digital transformation a reality. »
Digital transformation: a lack of support from the authorities and an uncertain economic environment
Mr. Bir opened the session entitled the « Convergence of healthcare and the cloud » during the symposium. The event, jointly held by he Korea Biomedical Review’s sister company, The Korean Doctors’ Weekly, and Microsoft, hosted industry experts in the field of digital health to discuss the future of cloud technology and its future impact on the healthcare sector.
The 5 main barriers
Callum Bir has highlighted various obstacles that will confront industry players concerning the digital transformation of healthcare systems, quoting the study findings conducted by Microsoft. He mentioned:
- 1. the lack of supporting government policies and ICT infrastructure;
- 2. the uncertain economic environment;
- 3. the cyber and security threats;
- 4. the lack of organizational leadership skills to execute;
- 5. the lack of urgency to counter industry disruptors.
The leadership of health organizations will have to play a key role
The authors of the study showed that empowering healthcare teams to improve clinician experience and productivity is the main priority for healthcare leaders in Asia, Mr Bir said, noting that CIOs and CEOs of these organizations will have to play a key role in the introduction of digital systems within hospitals.
Focus on South Korea: Industry players are confronted with legal restrictions
Korean health organizations are investing more and more in digital
In South Korea, healthcare insiders who are trying to implement digital care services have faced obstacles due to legal restrictions, said Shin Soo-yong, a professor at the Korean Kyung Hee University.
However, Korean healthcare companies are beginning to increase their investment in digital technology after the revisions of medical law in 2016, which allows hospitals to save medical information on cloud platforms, he added.
Using cloud technology would not be necessary for hospitals
Prof. Shin acknowledged that the digital health sector is becoming increasingly important within the country, but he also pointed out that there were common misconceptions people have about using the cloud for electronic medical records.
He notably dispelled the misconception that cloud technology is necessary for hospitals, stating that data standardizing is more crucial than using a cloud platform.
Safety is is number one priority for the Korean Ministry of Health
Kim Kook-il, Health and Medical Technology Development Division at the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, said privacy is the top priority for cloud regulations.
The Minister called for the public sector to play an active role in creating standards in privacy in the new fields of cloud technology, while noted that the ministry is actively working toward.