Lack of access to tech hinders sustainability progress in APAC healthcare: study

Adopting new care delivery models could drive more efficient and sustainable ways of working among healthcare professionals.

Although Asia Pacific’s healthcare sector has increasingly put more emphasis on sustainability, a recent survey showed the industry is facing setbacks in implementing green initiatives given the lack of access to technology and uninterested staff.

The Future Health Index report by Royal Philips showed the majority of the healthcare leaders and young professionals surveyed across the region said they are taking some form of initiative to lessen the industry’s environmental impact.

Rolling out green initiatives, however, has been a struggle for many largely due to poor access to appropriate technology (43%). Other top concerns holding them back were the lack of standardisation across the industry (37%) as well as inadequate interest from staff (32%).

To address the bottleneck, healthcare leaders agreed that the top solutions include creating a business case in implementing their green initiatives (42%) and sharing best practice examples (38%).

Consulting a third party and hiring more staff with specialty in sustainability would also help them stay on track of their sustainability journeys.

The survey also revealed that new care delivery models have gained rising popularity in APAC not only due to the improved outcomes and better patient experiences, but since these are seen as more environment-friendly way to operate. 

Two-thirds of the respondents said they are well-equipped to work effectively with the help of the new care models. Majority also believe care will be delivered in a more sustainable way with the help of these new models, especially in countries with geographically dispersed populations where access to service is crucial in rural areas, like India, Japan and Australia.

Those who are early adopters of tech are also ahead in realising the benefits of sustainable healthcare.

“A smart, sustainable healthcare ecosystem with digital solutions redefining a human-centric care experience and the work of healthcare professionals will be the future,” said Caroline Clarke, CEO and executive vice president at Philips APAC.

Philips said it has been working with the industry to help innovate healthcare in APAC, including developing smart hospitals aimed at improving patient experience, delivering better care, easing workload of staff, and cutting per capita cost.