National Technology Day is observed to celebrate the contributions of Indians in the field of science and technology. This day serves as a reminder of India’s role in the field of nuclear weapons and nuclear tests and has been celebrated since the year 1999. The year 2021’s theme is “Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future.” In the backdrop of pandemic some people feel that technology has played a great role while others believe that there is a need for more innovations. Excerpts of points raised by CIOs and IT managers in their interactions with Medicircle in this regard: 

Positive role of technology in healthcare

Rathesh Nair who works as IT Manager at BR Life SUT Hospital, provided a comparative analysis of the pre-COVID-19 and current scenario, by mentioning, “Not many people were aware of telemedicine or video consultation earlier. However, during this pandemic, people’s attitudes have drastically changed. Now they are ready to go for video consultation and are happy that they are safe this way and at least are able to connect to their doctors face to face. Though the elderly population is not tech-savvy and facing challenges to adapt to these modern means, the overall response to telemedicine and video consultation is encouraging. This is a vast shift in attitude when compared to the pre-Covid-19 times”. Read full conversation.

More innovative technology in healthcare desired

Dr. Amit Malik, Founder and CEO of InnerHour pointed out, “India is demanding better things for itself; People are looking up and saying “Why don't I have the best?” If we look at health care, we have some of the best doctors in the world. But they are available only in the pockets, whereas for most of the country, the overall access to high-quality health care is very poor. So, if technology and innovation can somehow provide that access, it would contribute to social and economic development in that perspective.” Read full conversation.

There is a need for technology to get more robust in the field of healthcare because the population is too large and reach in the interiors is still demanding. The experts have hinted towards the need of the technology to gear up for the challenges more so that there is a technology driven sustainable future. Their viewpoint echoes with the theme of National Technology Day, this year. 

Dr. Sandeep Shrivastava, CEO, DMIMS said, “Critical illness care has to be more focused. We were working on hospital beds with oxygen pipes and ventilators when Covid attacked us. These facilities should have been ready beforehand. But perhaps it’s not too late. A lot of things are getting anticipated. The viruses are not going to go away so soon. As there were bacterial diseases in the 20th century, viruses would be part of the 21st century. So, we need to be well prepared with better healthcare facilities and keep working on it.” Read full conversation.

Just technology is not sufficient, willingness to adopt it is also the need

Abdullah Saleem, CIO, Omni Hospitals pointed out, “The healthcare providers, doctors, clinicians, nurses, and paramedical staff need to back the idea that quality healthcare cannot be enabled without adopting the technology. Technology adds value to their services. New technologies are being developed for their efficiency. AI-based technology has been introduced, and predictive analytics has been put in place. This solution is going to work as a decision-maker between the patient and the doctor.” Read full conversation.

Technology and innovation can make healthcare more accessible. Viruses are going to trouble us in the 21st century, hence we need to gear up to do away with the loopholes. Technology and innovations can make healthcare more accessible. Quality of healthcare is impossible without technology - This is the crux of the voices of professionals in the field of healthcare technology in today’s scenario.