The Digital Future of Healthcare

The global population is projected to reach 10 billion people by 2050. Chronic diseases are rising: 73% of all deaths are expected to result from chronic diseases by 2020. Populations are aging: the number of people aged 60 years and older will rise from 900 million to 2 billion between 2015 and 2050; that’s a rise from 12% to 22% of the total global population. In this new era of digital connection, patients are transitioning from passive healthcare recipients to active value-seeking consumers.

Clearly, the world is changing. And so must the face of healthcare.

The digital era

Today, we are witnessing an unmatched era of digitally driven innovation in healthcare that will help healthcare providers overcome some of their major challenges. Breakthrough technologies such as cloud computing, supercomputing, Big Data, and the Internet of Things (IoT) have matured and hit scale together—opening a whole world of adjacent possibilities that will revolutionise how we approach and provide healthcare.

Research suggests that the digital health market is expected to reach US$206 billion by 2020, driven in particular by the mobile and wireless health market. That’s huge. And Asia Pacific is expected to be a key region contributing to its growth.

So, what will the digital future of healthcare look like? We paint three scenarios.

Hyperconnected healthcare

Healthcare will be hyperconnected. Every patient, professional, provider, and machine will be connected, changing established rules for healthcare channels and driving collaboration.