Digital healthcare is a new and modern medical approach that applies modern computer and information technologies to the entire medical process. It represents the development direction and management goal of public healthcare. The emergence of digital medical devices has greatly enriched the content and capacity of medical information. From the visualization of one-dimensional information, such as important electrophysiological information like electrocardiograms (ECG) and electroencephalograms (EEG); to two-dimensional information, such as medical imaging information like CT scans, MRIs, color Doppler ultrasound, and digital radiography (DR); further to three-dimensional visualization, and even four-dimensional information, such as a real-time dynamic display of the three-dimensional heart. This information has greatly enriched doctors' diagnostic techniques, ushering medicine into a completely new era of visualized information.
The digitalization of healthcare begins with the digitalization of medical equipment, which forms the foundation of digital healthcare. Digital medical equipment refers to equipment where data acquisition, processing, storage, and transmission are all based on computer technology and operate under computer software. It has gradually replaced conventional equipment as the mainstream clinical equipment. Digital medical equipment can store, process, and transmit the collected information. Digital healthcare enables the sharing of equipment resources within hospitals, the transmission of images and documents, and reduces patient registration, payment, medication dispensing, and consultation times. It also facilitates electronic billing and prescriptions, reducing the probability of errors. In telemedicine, digital healthcare enables remote teaching and video conferencing, remote consultations and surgeries, online inquiries and assistance, and online registration and appointments, thereby achieving global resource sharing.
However, the digital transformation of healthcare still faces many challenges and obstacles. Market analysts believe that the aforementioned companies primarily focus on the "medical + pharmaceutical + insurance" sector, aiming to meet the basic health needs of end users. Their comprehensive technology solutions for B-end clients such as biopharmaceutical companies, public hospitals, and G-end government clients are still in the initial exploratory stage.
Regarding healthcare data assets, it is reported that over the past decade, my country has invested heavily in the informatization of its healthcare system, generating and accumulating a vast amount of data, providing a data foundation for technological innovation and clinical research in healthcare. However, most of this data is stored in multiple, loosely related applications by different industry participants, and how to integrate resources and systematize the data remains one of the current challenges.
In recent years, digital imaging technology has made rapid progress. In 1981, Fujifilm presented its CR technology at the International Radiological Symposium in Brussels. The emergence of DR in the 1990s further propelled the field of radiology towards digitalization. With the increasing prevalence of networking, digitalization in radiology has become an inevitable trend.
CR, also known as indirect digital radiography, primarily works by using stored phosphors for imaging. Fujifilm of Japan launched the first CR machine for clinical use in 1981, followed by Kodak of the United States and AGFA of Germany. It employs an imaging plate (IP plate) made of phosphor crystals to absorb X-ray information. The IP plate is photosensitive, forming a latent image, which is then scanned and converted into a digital signal for image processing in a computer system. Compared to traditional X-ray machines, it offers advantages such as lower exposure dose, less demanding imaging requirements, and improved image post-processing capabilities, thereby enhancing the accuracy and scope of disease diagnosis.
In my view, once you reach the product level in the medical field, simply copying successful product strategies from other sectors is largely ineffective. If digitalization can broadly and profoundly impact any aspect of the healthcare industry, I believe it must be because it has value to the medical field. Currently, whether it's the health code system for epidemic prevention, telemedicine during the pandemic, or online consultations, we have already witnessed the changes brought about by digitalization.
The ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic to healthcare systems are poised to make 2022 another landmark year for healthcare investment. While the broader market appears to be undergoing a period of adjustment, we remain optimistic about the digital health sector, which is brimming with countless opportunities for innovation—a market still in its adolescence of its own digital revolution. As healthcare providers and patients increasingly embrace digital healthcare, the demand for it will undoubtedly continue in the long term, and will only improve with further policy developments.
