The growth of digital healthcare has made care more accessible and more integrated, and it has also freed up space in clinics while giving patients more options, new research from health services company Cigna found.
The rise of virtual healthcare offers patients improved access to care, through a hybrid of in-person and virtual interactions, supported by remote monitoring through sensors and/or digital tools, the report said. Virtual care is helping reduce waiting times, lower costs and, remove unnecessary exposure to clinical environments and associated transmission risks.
“The use of virtual healthcare is years ahead of where it would have been without the global pandemic. It has transformed healthcare systems around the world improving patient outcomes,” said Jerome Droesch, chief executive officer, Cigna MEA & SEA.
About 61 percent of global respondents to Cigna’s 2021 360 Well-Being Survey had said they would consider or prefer virtual over in-person care for a variety of reasons.
According to Cigna’s white paper, the number of connected wearable devices globally is forecast to exceed 1 billion by the end of 2022 with health, fitness, and wellness trackers accounting for a significant portion of these driven by the rapid adoption of smart watches and digital health apps.
The white paper also highlighted that atrial fibrillation – the most common cardiac arrhythmia condition causing stroke, estimated at 37.5 million cases globally and growing – has substantially benefited from virtual care. The arrival of medical smart device applications to detect cardiac arrhythmia, or remote ECG systems have changed the way the reporting and response to irregular heart conditions are done.
With the help of cardiac monitors and musculoskeletal sensors, to intuitive patient data platforms, the possibilities of virtual healthcare to improve the lives of those with chronic diseases or lifelong conditions is especially bright, enabling many to live healthier, longer lives, with less intrusive medical treatment plans.
