The health sector is witnessing a major revamp in the country with doctors and hospitals turning towards Information Technology (IT) for getting expert advice to minimise errors in treatment and ensure quality healthcare.
As many as 10,000 doctors and premier hospitals including AIIMS, Ganga Ram Hospital and Max have subscribed to “UpToDate”, an online healthcare tool by Wolters Kluwer, a Dutch multi-national company, which provides advice to the doctors. The advice is being provided by a team of 6,000 specialists, spread across the globe, on the basis of recent advancements in medicine. The tool provides evidence-based treatment and helps find the best treatment possible.
In USA, about 70% doctors use this tool. Globally, six lakh doctors are using it. “Since health is a state subject in India, we are approaching various state governments to subscribe to this tool to improve health services even at the grassroots level. This is besides our efforts to popularise it among the doctors and health institutes and hospitals,” said Shireesh Sahai, CEO-India, Wolters Kluwer. According to another report by Elsevier, 90% of doctors rely on online search engines to support their clinical decisions. The tool helps doctor reach the best conclusion as it is linked to the global database, which is being managed by experts globally, on the basis of new advancements as published in medical journals (or its digital format). According to Sahai, the demand for this tool is increasing mainly because of regulatory compliances. “More and more hospitals want accreditation from either National level Accreditation International level Accreditation). The influx of smartphones and greater awareness among patients,” Sahai said.