72% Indian doctors see technology critical for cardiac care, Abbott’s latest study says

The COVID-19 pandemic has hastened the speed of technology adoption of the healthcare industry, as patients have to rely heavily on digital technologies for seeking care, monitoring, booking diagnostic tests and buying medicines.

A new global study called Beyond Intervention released by US drug maker Abbott, which studied barriers of cardiovascular patient care, has found out that more than 80 percent of physicians and hospital administrators view technology and data as critical to addressing challenges before, during and after treatment.

In India, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality. According to the Global Burden of Disease study, the estimate of age-standardised CVD death rate of 272 per 100,000 population in India is higher than the global average of 235 per 100,000 population.

To better understand growing treatment gaps in cardiovascular health care and identify new ways to continue addressing existing challenges, Abbott commissioned the Beyond Intervention survey to capture feedback from more than 1,432 physicians, health system administrators and patients to uncover their views on how data and technology could better guide physician decision making and improve patient outcomes. The respondents to the online survey consisted of people from nine countries including India, US, UK, China, Brazil, Japan and Germany.

The key findings from India include

Imaging technology

Imaging tools topped the list of technologies enabling improved vascular care. Overall, tools like wearables, imaging, monitoring and AI-fueled technologies provide valuable information that physicians and administrators across regions deem necessary to provide a more precise intervention. Seventy-two percent Indian physicians, one of the highest in the survey, believe that advances in healthcare technology improve patient care by the ability to provide more accurate diagnosis. Amongst the most valuable tools and technologies, 60 percent of Indian physicians want patients to be more involved in their health through digital health trackers.

Data

Nearly 50 percent physicians believe population health data is under-utilised. About 96 percent Indian patients understand the benefits of health data collection for future generations and individual patient outcomes. Seventy percent of them want either the health system or the physicians to be responsible for their data. In India, 56 percent of patients highly value data that monitors how other patients like them have gotten well. Also, 65 percent of patients want physicians to use data results collected from specific procedures or treatments to make personalised recommendations.

Doctor-patient connectivity

There are growing treatment gaps in cardiovascular health care before, during and after a cardiac procedure or intervention. Forty-four percent of physicians in India stated they have little time to spend with patients and 40 percent have little insight into aftercare and patient adherence, contributing to the growing gaps in patient care. Approximately 76 percent of Indian physicians believe at-risk patients can be better identified through greater connectivity between primary care providers and patients.

Personalised care

Patients want more individualised and personalised care, which include more face time with doctors to address questions, a two-way consultative relationship, and an individualised treatment plan based on both personal data and best practices from others with similar cardiovascular issues. About 66 percent of Indian patients also said that their physician’s use of new technologies that monitor their progress and provide information to show that treatment is working is valuable.

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