Singapore and Hong Kong, December 5, 2013 – IDC Health Insights predicts today that multiple stakeholders will come together to create innovative solutions to promote a collaborative healthcare environment in 2014.
Individual engagement in their own health outcomes will also see a new consumerization of healthcare IT, where this growth in consumer interest will force healthcare provider organizations to focus on patient satisfaction as a key business driver.
More details are revealed in the IDC Health Insights report, “Asia/Pacific Healthcare 2014 Top 10 Predictions: The Journey to Sustainability” (Doc # AP243805, December 2013), which reveals major trends that will impact healthcare IT investments across Asia/Pacific in 2014.
The countries in the Asia/Pacific region are faced with the task of creating a sustainable healthcare system that takes into account the shift in the disease burden as the population continues to age. This year’s predictions can be classified under the three major themes of collaboration, innovation, and consumerization, which will come together in unprecedented ways to bring efficiency and sustainability to the healthcare industry.
“The healthcare industry is at a disruptive stage globally. All countries around the world are facing new challenges around sustainability and accountability of their healthcare systems, at more or less the same time,” says Sash Mukherjee, Research Manager, IDC Health Insights, Asia/Pacific.
“While legacy systems and prior IT investments may prove to be large obstacles for mature economies, the slow development in emerging markets and the availability of newer technologies may well open up a shortcut for those countries to eventually achieve their own goals on sustainability and accountability,” says Mukherjee.
She notices that healthcare IT executives are becoming increasingly interested in adopting newer technologies.
“Mobility will be the key technology in the region, with a high adoption rate of smartphones and tablets. Cloud technologies will provide the essential infrastructure required for access of on-demand healthcare data at point-of-care. Analytics and Big Data technologies will provide the real-time views as well as the deep insights required to create a sustainable system, as it moves from a reactive to a prescriptive phase,” adds Mukherjee.
Three of IDC Health Insights Asia/Pacific’s top 10 Predictions for 2014 (listed in no particular order):
Healthcare organizations will reevaluate their enterprise mobility strategies and select CYOD over BYOD
In ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) policies healthcare organizations reluctantly allowed clinicians to use their own devices at work. Due to security concerns, IT does not fully trust a clinician’s own device and therefore will not fully utilize the capabilities of that device, limiting the clinician’s use of the device to deliver better healthcare. The “Choose Your Own Device” (CYOD) model is a new spin on the traditional corporate-liable mobility model. CYOD has multiple IT-managed mobile platforms and offers a wider range of popular mobile devices, clinicians actually want to use. Essentially, CYOD allows IT to take back control of mobility management while giving clinicians choices on the devices.
Led by Singapore, ‘structured innovation’ will drive new business models in Asia/Pacific healthcare
In recent times open source innovation has become an important movement with several vendors encouraging end-users and other technologists to innovate on their platforms and solutions. However, a structured approach is required to monetize these innovations, and hence the oxymoron ‘structured innovation’. Singapore has once again emerged as the country in the region most clearly focused on healthcare innovation.
Best practices from other industries will finally start influencing healthcare IT expenditure
Manufacturing approaches like lean and six-sigma, will be increasingly applied to hospital operations, such as medication supply chain management, asset management, revenue management, patient throughput and ancillary department management. The concept of omni-retailing will also make its way to the industry, especially in private organizations, with a view to attract the medical tourism market.
Mukherjee believes healthcare providers who wish to succeed will pay close attention to the changing needs of the IT department and engage line of business in the choice and implementation of newer technology projects,.
“IT vendors operating in the Asia/Pacific region will have to consider partnering with healthcare providers. They will also do well to harness the innovative spirit of the independent develop and designer.”
About IDC’s Predictions
IDC’s annual Predictions in APEJ draws upon the latest IDC research and a worldwide brainstorming exercise among IDC’s 1000+ analysts. This was followed by an extensive regional review to weigh in on key industry events, user trends, vendor strategies and economic measures that promises to uniquely define the technology trends that would impact and drive the market in APEJ for 2014. Across the globe, following the release of IDC’s global top ten predictions, IDC’s geographic, technology and industry teams will be releasing their own specific predictions in the coming months.
About IDC Health Insights
IDC Health Insights assists health businesses and IT leaders, as well as the suppliers who serve them, in making more effective technology decisions by providing accurate, timely, and insightful fact-based research and consulting services. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of industry experience, our global research analyzes and advises on business and technology issues facing the payer, provider and life sciences industries. International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology market. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology, media, research, and events company.
About IDC
International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. For more than 48 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.