The priority investment areas for digital transformation in UK healthcare will require nearly £4 billion of capital investment in the next three years, according to new research.
Although the investment will generate efficiencies and improvements in healthcare that more than justify the costs, it is likely external finance will be needed to avoid budgets for frontline services being affected, experts say.
Siemens Financial Services interviewed a range of experts, including specialist management consultants, academic commentators, national health departments, medical associations and care providers to understand the strategies needed to deliver change.
As part of the wide-ranging research programme, the AF50 UK-listed company identified three key technology investment areas for healthcare that will drive change, covering new generation diagnostics, telemedicine and smart hospitals.
It estimates new generation imaging will require £1.17 billion of investment, telemedicine £1.4 billion and smart hospitals £1.3 billion by 2023.
The digitalisation of healthcare provision is widely becoming acknowledged as an enabler to cope with rising demand while minimising costs.
Digitalisation is impacting both the administration and management of diagnostic capabilities, and the performance of diagnostic equipment itself. Digital linkage of devices, for example, allows their clinical deployment to be optimised.
Mobile diagnostic units allow for more rapid diagnosis and maximise the use of resources.
New communications platforms allow patients to consult a doctor remotely, meaning telemedicine can help counter the skills shortage faced by many healthcare systems.
Telemedicine also links doctors to equipment and systems in different locations, driving insight and improving patient care.
When it comes to smart hospitals, there are a wide range of applications, such as digitalised asset tracking that makes sure the right equipment and technology is in the right place at the right time, which can dramatically reduce delays and cancellations. Predictive maintenance, using digital data from physical equipment, keeps technology and facilities available when they are needed and reduces costs.
During the research, experts highlighted the importance of being able to acquire digital transformation technology, equipment, skills and resources without the need to tie up scarce capital.
Chris Wilkinson, head of sales for healthcare and public sector for Siemens Financial Services in the UK, said: “Using specialist knowledge of the healthcare sector, each individual arrangement, whether for a single piece of technology or equipment, or for an enterprise-wide strategic digital upgrade, can be flexed to meet the organisation’s particular clinical and cashflow needs.
“A range of financing tools is available, designed to enable digital transformation by allowing healthcare organisations to pay to use the new generation technology. This helps them save precious capital while realising the benefits of digitalisation.”
