In this interview, bioinformatics and digital health expert Rostislav Kuzyakiv of Zurich University talks about the latest trends, startups and socio-economic implications of the digital healthcare industry.
Various institutions of society are digitizing their existence and services, trying to set up work online. What is happening in healthcare? In your opinion, to what extent, given the immediate prospects, is such digitization possible?
In the future, the presence of a person on the network will only increase through applications and communication devices. Of course, medicine does not stand aside from all these processes and directly integrates everything into itself. Today there are currently the following trends in digital health:
- The emergence of automated IT systems that help store and process clinical data. The development and integration of such systems have helped save staff time and minimize bureaucratic paperwork. It improves the mental atmosphere of the clinic, reduces the number of staff errors, improves diagnosis and treatment.
- The second place is occupied by centralized IT systems for patient monitoring both at a hospital and at home. As in the first case, it significantly saves time and reduces a burden on the medical staff, allows to optimize its work.
- Third place boldly on artificial intelligence (AI). These algorithms integrate into medicine extremely quickly, capturing it by sectors.
In the first place of using AI algorithms is radiology: computed tomography, nuclear magnetic resonance. Combined with imaging technologies, AI algorithms are extremely optimizing and improving diagnostics.
The second place in AI integration belongs to histology, which also handles imaging for diagnosis.
Next are therapy, particularly cardiology and neurology, and, of course, surgery, where AI is combined with robotics.
Currently, the main aspects of digital health technology are:
- Legal framework development. Since these are personalized clinical patient data, ethical issues, cybersecurity issues, the legal aspects of using such clinical data are extremely important and discussed at the state level.
- Financial support, because the development of these innovations in one way or another requires financial inflows in the form of infrastructure, computerized systems, and the education of a new generation of specialists.
What role do startups play in the development of digital health technologies? Which companies are leaders in this field?
Big companies are leaders in digital healthcare and digitalization in general, for example, tech giants such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft. With financial resources, they understand that this industry is extremely promising and can not have an only social impact but also — profit. So, the companies, that I named, invest in developing systems for monitoring, collecting clinical data, they also pay a lot of attention to the gadgets we use every day: phones and fitness bracelets that help keep track of our body’s condition.
I think that leadership will continue to persist for these companies, but at the same time, being so big, they are slow enough in integrating certain ideas. So this layer is busy with startups in several ways:
- software development and applications for hospitals, patients and the general public.
- medical and semi-medical devices, such as exoskeletons.
Interestingly, Google and Microsoft, with their active efforts in this field, have led to the emergence of a new term in healthcare — behavioural healthcare. It is based on the fact that through your device, you can monitor your physical and mental health and adapt according to indicators. Until recently, this was impossible.
As for the development of this industry in Ukraine: how much is it profitable? How can the Ukrainian IT infrastructure contribute to this process? What specialists may we lack?
The question of digital health should be asked now.
Ukraine has all opportunities for this, there are investors, advanced IT infrastructure and specialists.
Startups are capable of developing high-level products. The state should be more involved in creating the legal framework and improving the investment climate.
What are the global socio-economic trends in digital health?
This industry will not stand still: in 2019, 7.4 billion have been invested in digital health projects globally. According to experts, this number will increase.
There are fears that artificial intelligence technology will replace doctors. Doctors feel it as a threat. And it is reminiscent of a time when people feared cinema would destroy theatres. When the stethoscope was invented, the doctors said it was unnecessary because listening to the breath applying the ear to the chest is an art. But now medicine without a stethoscope is impossible. Doctors have not disappeared.
Artificial Intelligence technologies will not replace doctors, but doctors who use AI in their work will replace those who don’t.
Interview by Ihor Stepanov
Edited and translated by Oleksandra Melnykova, Yuliia Nazarenko and Oleksandra Naumenko
