A majority of clinicians in APAC believes digital health tech is the future

With great power comes with an even bigger responsibility for the future tech-savvy doctor

A recent survey showed clinicians in Asia Pacific are big believers of technology's role in shaping the future of healthcare in the coming decade, even more than their counterparts on the other side of the globe.

Around 84% of clinicians in APAC expect the widespread use of digital health technologies will drive positive transformation of healthcare in the next 10 years, according to Elsevier Health’s Clinician of the Future report.

Among the five regions studied, the level of optimism was the highest in APAC, surpassing both South America’s 77% and the global average of 70%. 

Clinicians in the region were also big believers of artificial intelligence, with 64% of the respondents willing to base the majority of their decisions in the clinic using tools powered by AI in the coming decade. The percentage matches that of South America and is still higher than the global average (56%).

It’s not all positive for the industry, however, as 67% of APAC clinicians admitted they expect digital health technologies to be a “challenging burden” on their responsibilities since they are expected to be more adept at using them.

Nearly 90% of respondents, both in APAC and globally, agreed that being tech-savvy is more important in a clinician’s daily role today than it was a decade ago. 

Many also perceive the use of electronic medical records (EMR) as a major burden currently, although 84% of APAC doctors believe that in 10 years’ time, EMR will integrate multiple data sources that will be useful in providing them with comprehensive information on their patients. 

That degree of optimism was particularly high in China (91%), and still higher than the global average (79%).

The growing role of technology in the industry also meant tech companies will be key stakeholders in managing healthcare systems in the coming decade, as agreed upon by more than three-fourths of the respondents globally.

“The previous deficiency is the driver for improvement in China,” said a participant during the study’s roundtable discussion in China. “Nowadays in my hospital, 20-30% of outpatient consultation is (sic) done online, and contribute 25% of the income for outpatient clinic.”

The survey covered APAC, Europe, North and South America as well as the Middle East and Africa.