INTRODUCTION:

The Indian healthcare system is under demands due to the massive health services provided to voluminous a patient which is inaccessible sometimes. Recently the new healthcare start-ups started offering concierge medical services connecting doctors, device suppliers, pharmacies, diagnostic labs etc. They used to share information along with comprehensive patience opinion. According to Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, “FDI worth nearly $3.2 billion was received by hospitals and diagnostic labs in India in 2015”.As per the report of India Brand Equity, Indian healthcare market is growing $280 billion by 2020 with the growth rate of 22.9 per cent[1]. Startups like Practo, Portea Medical, MedGenome,

and Lybrate are already progressing through online. As per the recent study, currently 930 million cell phone users, 360 million internet users, along with new smart phone users in next five years, India is having the incredible market for digital apps and other medical devices specifically in healthcare.

Materials and Methods-Review support for digital initiatives:

Over 60% of doctors in the country now prefer, one out of three times, digital interaction with their patients as against the traditional face-to-face interaction, representing a new avenue where Internet of things are increasingly being used for consultations. Compared to other countries like Japan, US, and China, nearly 90% of healthcare professionals have shifted to digital mode using chat, blogs and texting messages to keep engaging patients for follow-up consults[2].

Another fact identified that 60% of the doctors globally communicating the pharma companies to connect them with Medical representatives using iPads, digital tablets along with their direct interaction for detailing. This is the result of the survey conducted for the Digital Savvy HCP (Healthcare Practitioner) 2015, an annual global survey on the digital habits of doctors across the China, USA, Japan and India, by healthcare solutions firm Indegene[2].

Globally, drug manufacturing companies are progressively switching over to digitals mediums due to patient compliance needs, the survey added that “adding 34% of physicians globally value the smartphone as a key resource in seeking medical information. Other devices used by doctors are laptops, PCs and tablets. India sees less than half the global usage of smartphones (by doctors), while the most preferred device for doctors here is laptops (34%)”.

The overall digital engagement happening across channels, global pharma companies are pioneer and among them MSD at the top, followed by GSK, AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Abbott is leading in India as the top digital engager, who provides drug information to doctors through digital mode. Abbott is followed by MSD, Pfizer, Novartis, GSK and Signification. Most of the global pharma companies have started providing training for field staffs for enhancement of digital technology with specific focus on product communication. "For instance, Abbott's 'Knowledge Genie Portal' has a host of data that can be easily accessed by physicians at their convenience, across multiple therapy areas," Bhasker Iyer, VP, Abbott India, said.

As per the statement of Dr Upendra Kaul, ED, academics and research (cardiology) in Delhi-based Fortis Escorts Hospital, "As doctors, our bandwidth is committed to treating more and more patients and improving their health outcomes. In this pursuit, technology-led information sharing on new drugs, new indications and peer information on emerging treatment protocols is of tremendous benefit to the medical fraternity. It frees up our time for patients and at the same time, keeps us updated on the latest medical information."

Results Related to Recent initiatives in India:

As India the second most populated country still is deficient in usage of public health care system. The National Family Health Survey reported that 63 percent of the rural and 70 percent of the urban population depending on private health care services [3]. Doctors in India are now narrowing the technology usage gap with their US peers with six out of 10 healthcare professionals (HCPs) engaging with patients digitally as against nine out of 10 in the US [4]. According to a global survey conducted by healthcare solutions company, Indegene, “doctors in India are using a mix of channels such as video calls, apps, emails, text messages, etc. for both patient interaction and meeting medical representatives”. This has created a new contemporary shift compared to earlier interaction as the only source to consult with doctors. This trend has an evident bearing on accountability and costs as already witnessed in the US healthcare market.

DISCUSSION:

Based on Dr. M.S. Dhillon, head of orthopaedics, PGI Chandigarh talk, “Our endeavor is to treat more and more patients and improve their health status. Technology enabled channels, be it internet or mobile, help us get information on new drugs, emerging treatment protocols, etc. It helps us do our job more efficiently and yet keep ourselves abreast of global changes in the world of medicine.”

Doctors also named Abbott as the leading company making use of technology to provide global medical updates. Abbott’s Knowledge Genie, a portal for doctors, is a online portal for providing awareness and education for healthcare people using mobile apps[4].

Bhasker Iyer, vice president, Abbott India, said, “Abbott’s no.1 ranking in the HCPs’ perception score for digital engagement in India, demonstrates the salience of our initiatives such as Knowledge Genie to further scientific education in interesting, user-friendly formats. Keen, actionable insights from our field teams have enabled us to adopt different digital channels for communication towards healthcare professionals in a clutter-breaking way.”

Indegene’s 2015 digital savvy HCP survey also revealed that doctors in the US have moved away from a pure face to face interaction model to virtualization given the Obamacare and Compliance to ethical marketing imperatives. In China, the pressure of hospital population has pushed doctors to use their smartphone for maximum interactions. Additionally, stronger internet penetration, speed and competitive smartphone prices have also helped doctors in China choose smartphones as the most preferred device. In the words of Gaurav Kapoor, EVP, emerging markets and product strategy, Indegene, “Doctors just don’t have the time for face to face meetings other than those for their patients. Tremendous focus on delivering better health outcomes leaves very little time to spend with pharma reps. In addition, physician access has changed and doctors expect a better digital experience”[4].

Doctors also prefer specific time slots for information updates through various channels. While doctors in India access information through digital channels between 2:00pm and 5:00pm, morning and noon hours are preferred by doctors in the US (11:00am to 2:00pm). The US and Japan doctors were using mobile Apps as the primary channel compared to other tools. Indegene’s worldwide digital HCP survey was conducted with a sample of 1600 doctors across USA, India, China, Japan and the rest of Asia. The result indicated that 60% of the doctors channel preference goes with tablet while detailing, 34% device preference towards smart phones and 64% preference is for digital patient communication.

Figure No:1

Figure No:2

Source: DIGITAL SAVVY HCP, 2015- Indegene

CONCLUSION:

The digital revolution in medical profession not only assisting the patients, it upholds electronic records which could be used for speciality services [5]. The purpose of this initiative is to offer all rural and urban citizen an access to eminence personalised medical services in the areas of primary care non-emergency medical problems. Thus, the robust growth of digital health care system in India has routed a new avadar of digital doctors reachable by a simple click or touch. As the digital -rendezvous era has embark on a new linkage connecting sales reps, medical liaisons, patients and pharma companies via handsets, apps and social media sites, it also develop patient portals and discussion forum among physicians to discuss common issues related to diseases.

REFERENCES:

1. https://www.ibef.org / Industry / Healthcare(accessed on 29-5-17)

2. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Most-doctors-now-prefer-digital-interaction/article show(accessed on 29-5-17)

3. https://yourstory.com/2016/02/digital-healthcare-startups(accessed on 29-5-17)

4. http://www.livemint.com/Industry/ldPY9p1TxgPxIMw1BHUr9O/Doctors-and-digital-devices-India-bridging-the-gap.html(accessed on 29-5-17)

5. http:/www.mckinsey.com/industries/pharmaceuticals-and-medical-products/our-insights/the-road-to-digital-success-in-pharma(accessed on 29-5-17)

Received on 26.04.2017 Modified on 10.05.2017

Research J. Pharm. and Tech 2017; 10(12): 4172-4174.

DOI: 10.5958/0974-360X.2017.00760.0