“The level of penetration and adoption of hospital information systems in Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Australia are comparable to USA. However, majority of the hospitals in Asian countries such as India, China, Thailand and Indonesia are still in the early stages of IT adoption. These hospitals are far behind in terms of IT adoption when compared to USA.”
1. As compared to developed nations like USA, how would you rate the IT adoption by hospitals in Asian countries?
Levels of adoption vary widely in Asia. The level of penetration and adoption of hospital information systems (HIS) in Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Australia are comparable to USA. However majority of the hospitals in Asian countries such as India, China, Thailand and Indonesia are still in the early stages of IT adoption. These hospitals are far behind in terms of IT adoption when compared to USA. The healthcare service providers in these Asian countries are still implementing administrative solutions for financial management, billing and solutions for patient registration, admission, discharge and transfer
2. Which Asian countries are leading the way in this regard?
As mentioned earlier, South Korea, Singapore and Japan are definitely leading the way in Asia when it comes to the adoption and penetration of IT solutions in the healthcare provider space.
Majority of the hospitals in these three Asian countries already have the administrative solutions in place and are now in the stage of implementing solutions that automate the clinical workflow. In Singapore, healthcare groups like NHG, SingHealth and Parkway are moving towards integration of the IT systems in their member hospitals and sharing of EMR. In South Korea, more than 50 percent of the hospitals have already adopted a solution like PACS. In Japan, majority of the hospitals are implementing clinical systems such as EMR and PACS.
3. What are the new technologies that are likely to shape the future of healthcare in Asia?
Wireless technology, radio frequency identification (RFID) and e-health are the new technologies that will revolutionize healthcare delivery in Asia. In addition, solutions like PACS and EMR are helping hospitals to improve their efficiency and service to patients. All these technologies help to improve healthcare delivery and create patient-centric medical services. Nevertheless, adoption of these technologies in Asia might take some time.
4. Looking into the future, which countries hold the maximum potential for healthcare IT providers?
In Asia, China and India hold the maximum potential for healthcare IT providers. The sheer size of these two countries makes them the most attractive markets in Asia. Together, there are more than 70,000 hospitals in these two countries.
Moreover, the fact that these two countries are still in the early stages of healthcare IT adoption creates a huge opportunity for the healthcare IT vendors in the future. Australia will provide a huge opportunity in the clinical HIS segment. There will be a huge demand for solutions such as PACS, RIS and EMR in the next 3-4 years.
5. What challenges does IT adoption bring with it, especially for countries with relatively less degree of IT adoption?
Change management would emerge as an immediate challenge. Training the hospital staff to use the implemented IT solution is a challenge since they show resistance to change. Lack of support by the vendor after implementing the solution is another huge challenge. Lack of implementation and training leads to scrapping of the system and translates into a big financial loss for the hospital. Low penetration of industry standards in Asia and a high penetration of systems built in-house lead to integration issues.
6. Any other issues you would like to comment up on?
Some major reasons for low healthcare IT penetration in Asian countries are as follows:
- There has always been an under-investment in health informatics by hospitals
- Penetration of legacy systems which are low in quality
- Lack of awareness about the benefits on healthcare IT solutions
