Impact of Digitalization on the Healthcare System

Abstract

Digitalization is a pressing necessity with enormous potential to alter economic growth parameters, forging a mutually beneficial relationship with employment generation and long-term sustainability. The domain of healthcare has been moving into the digital world relatively late and only recently has started with digitalizing processes and services on a larger scale. Still, the potential for disruption in the healthcare industry is enormous. Healthcare digitization brings about many benefits to both patients and healthcare professionals throughout different stages in the patient journey. In this paper we review existing impact of digitalization in healthcare system. Digital health indeed needs to be seen as a broad concept whereby the purposes of healthcare are served through technologies that are combined for universal healthcare access, applications across various multi-disciplinary fields and ecosystems in healthcare and the health journey of people, as patients needing (access to) care and as citizens enabled to live healthier and prevent sickness. We conclude by outlining the implications and benefits of digitizing healthcare. There is a potential to improve healthcare by digitalization.