The report takes a deep dive into the latest technology trends in the healthcare sector and shows how new digital technologies are changing the way healthcare is delivered and received. Patients are now playing a more and more active role in their own healthcare, reshaping the traditional patient-physician relationship.  

The whitepaper suggests that despite the complex regulatory landscape and the significant costs linked to innovation within the healthcare sector, digitalization is starting its expansion within the industry. This trend toward a digital future is supported by an increasing number of patients and healthcare organizations adopting new healthcare technology.

“New technologies are transforming the patient’s journey and allow the patient to play a much more active role in his or her healthcare,” explains Luc Brucher, Partner and Healthcare and Public Sector Leader at Deloitte Luxembourg. “In line with this, healthcare systems should facilitate dialogue and collaborative care, and empower patients to become an equal and active partner when it comes to managing their own health. At the same time, healthcare leaders should address these new trends by planning for appropriate reimbursement systems, investments in people, processes, and premises enabled by digital technologies.”

Sharing the driver’s seat
The report indicates that healthcare providers can better leverage new technologies to transform care delivery, patient experience, staff & operation management, and hospital design. Patients are more connected, more informed and eager to take control of their own treatment path in collaboration with physicians. This is illustrated by the uptick in adoption of digital health; more than ever before, people use wearable devices, access telemedicine, and go online to search for health-related information.

According to the report, mobile, and more broadly Internet of Things (IoT), will continue to play a crucial role in reshaping healthcare. The smartphone has become the patient’s constant companion and IoT connects different devices to each other, their users, and their applications. This will lead to a new type of physician-patient relationship improving treatments and accuracy of the diagnosis, and allows a more timely intervention by physicians.

The white paper was presented at Deloitte Luxembourg’s seventh annual healthcare conference, which took place on 7 February, in the presence of Lydia Mutsch, Luxembourg’s Minister for Health and Equal Opportunities. The conference was organized in collaboration with the Fédération des Hôpitaux Luxembourgeois (Luxembourg Hospital Federation, FHL)

To read or download the whitepaper A journey towards smart health, go to: https:www2.deloitte.com/lu/journey-towards-smart-health