5G ROLLOUTIN INDIAAND OPPORTUNITYFOR TELEMEDICINE

HEALTHCARE IT

5G rollout in India and opportunityfor telemedicine

Dr Karippur Nanda Kumar,Professor-IT,SPJain School of Global Management explains that through telemedicine and 5G enabled mobile medical units,primary healthcare services and specialist advice can be effectively brought to the doorsteps of people in the remote locations of the country

India faces several challenges in providing quality healthcare in the coming decades with the second highest population in the world, increasing life expectancy and uneven geographical distribution of medical resources across urban and rural areas. Telemedicine is all about delivering healthcare services by medical professionals leveraging digital technology for the exchange of relevant information for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases and injuries all across the world. Rollout of telemedicine can be crucial in providing quality healthcare services at reasonable rates and to overcome the challenges limited medical resources and infrastructure. Through telemedicine and 5G enabled mobile medical units, primary healthcare services and specialist advice can be effectively brought to the doorsteps of people in the remote locations of the country. The network support for telemedicine must be robust to effectively support near real-time data and high-quality images and video. The important characteristics of 5G which are of most value to healthcare include high speed data transfer rate, low latency, high reliability and high device connection density which are significantly higher than 4G. 5G will drive near real-time, high-quality video required for remote medical consultations. The high speed will offer faster diagnostics while the low latency will offer quick transfers of images and files thus enhancing remote monitoring of patients and improving the efficiency of the administrative processes. With extending health care providers’ reach with the help of 5G beyond hospitals, telemedicine will improve access to quality care, helping patients access specialists who are otherwise not available in a shorter time span.

The need for a real-time network with higher bandwidth and high-speed internet access has been also driven by the development of data hungry artificial intelligence healthcare applications. This involves for example using machine learning algorithms to analyse large amounts of medical data to identify patterns and trends that can be used to provide the appropriate treatment and improve patient care online. Wearable medical devices using 5G enables instantaneous patient monitoring across the globe. The incorporation of 5G with these devices can further open up new opportunities to provide personalised and holistic patient care. Telemedicine is constantly evolving and has come a long way in terms of both service delivery and infrastructure as it incorporates new advancements in technology and adapts to the changing health requirements and contexts of societies. Research studies have supported telemedicine services as a promising solution to improve several chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, depression, and cancer. It can help healthcare professionals bring a proactive approach toward healthcare, thus minimising the chances of a health issue occurring.

Telemedicine in India has huge potential to grow from its nascent stages. The market size for telemedicine in India is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 31 percent from 2020 to 2025. To reap the maximum benefits from 5G, telemedicine needs to be integrated as a key component of healthcare delivery in India with well-defined telemedicine model covering diagnostics, prescriptions, and care delivery supported by a partner ecosystem. This requires close collaboration between government agencies, hospitals, technology infrastructure partners and telemedicine service providers including startups. Such collaboration can bring down the cost of upgrading legacy hospital systems and the cost of connected medical devices and services.

There are of course several challenges that need to be addressed starting with reengineering of clinical process flows. The frontend and backend processes for patient connection, diagnosis, treatment and follow ups need to be relooked and made telemedicine centric as possible. Healthcare agencies and hospitals need to accelerate collaboration with industry partners to develop 5G enabled telemedicine applications aligned to these new clinical processes and leveraging shared data across various platforms including mobile phones and wearables. Possessing adequate digital literacy skills is critical for medical practitioners moving forward.

There is already effort put in this regard during the COVID-19 pandemic as various organisations and medical professionals came together to successfully collaborate to monitor infection rates and do contact tracing through shared data obtained via mobile phone applications. Telemedicine application designers and developers need to ensure that such applications are user friendly and accessible through multiple platforms ensuring data privacy and security and with clear payment models for reimbursement of cost incurred. Telemedicine services with 5G connectivity, has the power to elevate healthcare to the next level with personalised services across the country thus relieving the severe resource restraints faced by India and saving precious lives.

5G will drive near real-time,highquality video required for remote medical consultations.The high speed will offer faster diagnostics while the low latency will offer quick transfers of images and files thus enhancing remote monitoring of patients and improving the efficiency of the administrative processes