Digital Health
The very first HIMSS Asia Pacific (APAC) Trendbarometer digital health survey provides an understanding on the state of developments across Asia Pacific—specifically with regard to key priorities, challenges and trends.
This digital health survey shows how technology in healthcare has been given an unprecedented boost by the pandemic. Telehealth in particular has been in the spotlight in the absence of face-to-face consultations. Even in the post COVID-19 period, technologies and solutions will continue to play a prominent role in managing patient care.
This report follows the definition of digital health, which “connects and empowers people and populations to manage health and wellness, augmented by accessible and supportive provider teams working within flexible, integrated, interoperable and digitally-enabled care environments that strategically leverage digital tools, technologies and services to transform care delivery.”
The objective of the APAC Digital Health Trendbarometer is three-pronged:
- Evaluate trends, priorities and challenges in the APAC healthcare sector
- Initiate and support decision and policy initiatives within APAC
- Learn innovation and investment plans over the next 12 months
The findings are based on a survey conducted from October to December 2020 from healthcare professionals across 17 countries in the Asia Pacific region. With many countries still dealing with subsequent waves of infections, it provides a clear picture of digital health priorities of healthcare providers.
The five key findings of the survey are:
- Telehealth and virtual care will continue to grow
- Manpower and funding challenges persist
- Singapore and South Korea are seen as role models for digital health
- Increased healthcare innovation and investment
- IT security and data privacy are top of mind for healthcare providers
This survey is part of a series published by HIMSS to address the most relevant issues for the global health information and technology community.
Download the digital health survey