HealthTech in ensuring the resilience of communities in the postpandemic period

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased adoption of digital technologies in healthcare. According to most researchers, this contributed to increasing the resilience of medical institutions, healthcare systems and communities to the pandemic challenges. The dynamic development of HealthTech continues in the post-pandemic period. The article purpose is to summarise the current directions of HealthTech development, analyse main patterns of the global and Ukrainian digital health market development and study possibilities of HealthTech use to increase the resilience of communities and healthcare systems to natural and man-made emergencies. The article systematises the types of HealthTech by components, types of technology and stages of application. It was determined that all basic digital technologies such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, BigData, AR/VR, 3D modelling and others are used in modern healthcare systems. Specific areas of applying digital technologies in healthcare are telemedicine, wearable devices recording health data, specialised mobile software, etc. The analysis of the global digital health market development allowed us to identify the largest volumes and growth dynamics of the digital health market in the European and North American regions. By type of technology, the largest share of investment is directed to mHealth and telemedicine. By components, the digital health market development is almost equal. The article defines the forecast volume of the global and European digital health market for 2024. It examines development of the Ukrainian Electronic Healthcare System, which registers electronic medical records of created and performed medical referrals, examinations, procedures, diagnostic reports, treatment plans, medical conditions, electronic prescriptions, vaccination records, medical conclusions on temporary disability and birth. Dynamics decrease in electronic medical records from March 2022 due to full-scale war invasion was revealed. Digital health technologies contribute to raising efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare systems by reducing costs; increasing availability of medical services, flexibility and adaptability of these systems. Achieving these benefits should be accompanied by ensuring the protection of patients’ personal data and clearly regulating levels of access to this data, as well as minimizing digital gaps and maximizing the coverage of the population with HealthTech services.