Lance Little

Opinion | How pandemic tech successes can improve the future of health care

The digitalisation of health care using internet of things technologies helps manage outbreaks and strengthens preparedness for future pandemics

Its use in the broader health care system can reduce health care professionals’ burden and build resilience for the management of diseases beyond Covid-19

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Customers are required to scan the QR code of the Leave Home Safe mobile app at a restaurant at Lan Kwai Fong in Central on June 3. Photo: May Tse

Lance Little

Published: 4:00am, 3 Jul 2021Updated: 4:00am, 3 Jul 2021

It has been 18 months since Covid-19 took over the world. A question that has been top of mind for most people is, “When will the pandemic end?”.

Experts recognise that the virus could become endemic like the flu. The Singapore government’s task force aptly summed it up when it outlined a “new normal”: “The bad news is that Covid-19 may never go away. The good news is that it is possible to live normally with it in our midst.”

While Covid-19 continues to present a public health challenge, many countries have started to make moves to cautiously resume economic activities and open up borders. According to the International Monetary Fund, a faster end to the pandemic and resumption of economic activity could inject the equivalent of US$9 trillion into the global economy by 2025.

In the Asia-Pacific, too, governments are beginning to draw up plans to implement a risk-based approach. To ensure the safe reopening of borders, there are increased calls of implementing digital health solutions such as digital health passports.

Such internet of things technologies play an important role in helping us adapt to a new normal. The digitalisation of health care using such technologies will allow health systems to develop robust surveillance systems to monitor patient data that can provide early warnings and timely information.

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In this interconnected world, a bigger digitalisation push can support our bid to move towards a new normal and equip us for the future. We have already seen how digitalisation has assisted our recovery from Covid-19. Its use in the broader health care system can reduce the burden faced by health care professionals and build resilience for the management of diseases beyond Covid-19.