DECEMBER 20218In My OpinionDr. Walter Lim, Managing Director Clinical Services, Fullerton Health ByTechnology permeates every aspect of our lives. The healthcare sector increasingly uses telecommunications and virtual technology to deliver services beyond traditional healthcare facilities. Examples include videoconferencing between doctors and patients, electronic transmission of medical records, remote monitoring of vital signs and nursing call centers.One of the key factors driving the growth of telemedicine is the global shortage of healthcare workers. At least 12.9 million more healthcare workers will be needed by 2035, says the World Health Organisation (WHO). With access to healthcare hampered by a lack of healthcare workers, telemedicine is stepping in to fill this gap.The lack of access to healthcare, especially in developing countries, is another factor driving telemedicine growth. With telemedicine, people who live far away from healthcare facilities will be able to talk to medical professionals through internet connection. Medical information can be shared in real time and basic diagnoses can be made on the spot. Patients needing more care beyond the teleconsultation can be referred to the nearest clinic or hospital.Other factors driving the growth of telemedicine include rapid technological advancements, a ready pool of investors and a new willingness to embrace technology among the population.It is therefore not surprising that the demand for telemedicine is growing rapidly. The Asia Pacific telemedicine market is expected to increase from US$8.51 billion in 2020 to US$22.51 billion in 2025, says the Asia Pacific Telemedicine Market Research Report.Telemedicine meets challenges posed by COVID-19This growth is further fuelled by the COVID-19 situation. When the pandemic hit, social distancing became the norm and people around the world turned online for most activities including their healthcare needs. Besides bringing greater convenience to patients, telemedicine also reduces the risk and exposure. It also helps to mitigate the problem of overstretched healthcare staff and facilities so that they do not need to cater to large numbers of patients seeking help onsite. Driven by safety and convenience, the pandemic has provided a boost to efforts of many developed nations to further consolidate its telehealth infrastructure and systems. Singapore is one of the early adopters of telemedicine within Asia Pacific. Before COVID-19, the island state had already built strong telemedicine platforms with the government's support. The Philips' 2019 Future Health Index survey reported that 64 percent of healthcare professionals in Singapore currently use some form of connected care technology to carry out diagnosis, treatment, or management of their patients.Integrated Health Information Systems (IHIS), Singapore's national health IT agency, said that the use of technology has resulted in the adoption of a healthcare model that is "manpower light and tech heavy". With the majority of confirmed COVID-19 cases being relatively healthy, these patients are managed with the use of remote monitoring tech in newly created community care facilities, while manpower is deployed to focus on higher-risk patients.At the height of the pandemic in the middle of 2020, when the world fought the infodemic war against false information and scare mongering, Fullerton Health released our proprietary technology for a free version of a COVID 19 symptom checker on the LiveFuller App across our markets in APAC. This AI enabled app is customised with current information from WHO and the respective THE CHALLENGES IN DELIVERING A SUCCESSFUL TELEMEDICINE SERVICEDr Walter Lim
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