Innovating In a Post Covid World
By Madan Krishnan
The domain of health and healthcare has seen multiple and steep learning curves in the last few years. Globally, communities suffered unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from early 2020 onwards. While people must always have known and appreciated the importance of health services in their lives, the appreciation is now at an all-time high in our post-Covid world. Within this larger landscape, medical technology innovations that facilitate remote health services, or telehealth as we know it are quite unarguably the fulcrum of all the transformation that is driving the world’s post-pandemic perspectives and experience.
The past year has been a telling reminder of the criticality of healthcare and the pandemic showed us that with the right tools, extending care outside the hospital is not only feasible, but in many cases, preferred. In these challenging times, with limited resources and many other hurdles, how can we be more effective and more impactful? Learning to expand the possibilities and push boundaries around medical technology and innovation is an imperative now. In fact, in this realm, digital care has multiple dimensions. Innovating and progressing on digital care, remote monitoring and other such domains, while keeping a focus on maintaining good quality and delivering on impactful outcomes is key to our collective success.
Urgency and Need Drive Innovation. Innovation Drives Impact.
Remote Monitoring: While the practice of monitoring health parameters and conditions remotely has been used in multiple healthcare settings for several years, the pandemic experience redefined it. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a method of healthcare delivery that uses the latest advances in information technology to gather patient data outside of traditional healthcare settings and in non-clinical environments, such as the home. Through the pandemic, the home has become a central space for the management of health and illness, far more than before.
Remote monitoring has transformed care and treatment for patients requiring constant care for chronic disease like diabetes, hypertension, and heart rhythm disturbances by not just reducing cost of care, but also enabling round the clock monitoring of device patients. While in-person visits are irreplaceable, remote monitoring is a good adjunct. A sharper, newer spotlight has now been trained on already available RPM devices, with the exposure to COVID-19 becoming a risk for both healthcare workers and patients via travel and in-person consultations. An additional factor has been the need to ensure safe healthcare provision without compromising clinical outcomes.
One of the newer, promising trends in RPM is continuous monitoring of blood sugar for diabetes, providing better control on disease. In addition to regular blood glucose and HBA1C monitoring, there is an emerging trend to measure Time in Range (TIR) using continuous glucose monitoring systems (CGMS). TIR is the percentage of time that a person shows glucose levels in the target range. This value helps physicians make quick decisions about the right dosage of insulin and oral medications. This also provides better control on diabetes preventing long-term complications of the condition, such as kidney failure, eye conditions and the diabetic foot. One example is the GuardianTM Connect system, which is the first smart CGMS from Medtronic to help people with diabetes stay ahead of high and low glucose events. It can alert patients of potential high or low glucose events up to 60 minutes in advance. The system empowers people using insulin pumps or multiple daily injections (MDI) to manage their diabetes more proactively. Caregivers can use the system to stay more informed by tracking glucose in real-time or receiving text alerts. Equally important, healthcare providers can get their hands on data they need to optimize patient care. All of this can make the professional consult far more productive, and facilitate more informed treatment decisions. Also, the launch of MiniMed™ 780G system in India, a next generation advanced hybrid closed loop insulin pump system for the treatment of type 1 diabetes in people aged 7 to 80 years, is a significant milestone. With the 780G system, caregivers can use the CarelinkTM Connect mobile app to stay more informed by tracking glucose in real-time or receiving text alerts. The healthcare providers too can get their hands on data they need to optimize patient care.
With cardiac care too, RPM is enabling physicians to get timely notifications of changes in their patients’ heart condition to make necessary interventions, thus adding value by ensuring patient safety and reduced healthcare costs while reducing the risk associated with Covid exposure. Patients are actively utilizing telephonic or video conferencing services, visiting the hospital only when a procedure (tertiary care) is required basis proper perusal of symptoms. The launch of Azure™, Medtronic’s most advanced pacemaker, is testament to a commitment towards re-imagining innovation and delivering improved outcomes while reducing the burden on healthcare systems. The pacemaker communicates directly and securely with the MyCareLink Heart™ mobile app - an important advancement in the ongoing quest to constantly monitor patient condition remotely. Remote monitoring of heart conditions allows patients to receive expert medical advice from their physician while at home or traveling. It is a boon for heart patients and caregivers, especially in situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, providing peace of mind and freedom.
Artificial Intelligence: The growing application and impact of AI in medical technology and innovation is now a force to acknowledge. Empowering physicians to detect colorectal polyps through enhanced visualisation during colonoscopy, the GI Genius™ is designed to meet the challenges of preventing colorectal cancer – with artificial intelligence. It works as an adjunct to the gastroenterologist during a colonoscopy with the purpose of highlighting regions with visual characteristics consistent with different types of mucosal abnormalities, such as colorectal polyps of all shapes, sizes, and morphology.1
Another area where we are using AI is for stroke management. Almost two years back, Medtronic entered a partnership with the Apollo Hospitals group, in order to integrate AI into advanced stroke management for the first time in India. The AI software will provide automated analysis in less than two minutes as against currently accepted imaging practices for diagnosis of stroke that takes up to one hour to complete, enabling faster decision making in stroke where every second counts.
Partnerships: Collaboration and partnerships are key to moving forward during such challenging times. Whether focused on products, training or as Centres of Excellence, Medtronic has been building and strengthening partnerships. As part of a continuous effort to strengthen connected care, last year Medtronic announced a partnership with Stasis Health Private Limited to focus on scaling up usage of the Stasis Monitor, a Connected Care Bedside Multi Parameter Monitoring System. The partnership is a strong strategic fit, leveraging the two companies’ respective strengths. The Stasis Monitor, which has FDA market clearance, is a centralized monitoring system that automates and digitizes monitoring, documentation, and communication of critical patient information.
As products and techniques evolve, continuous training and skill building of surgeons becomes critical to improving access to latest therapies. Last year we partnered with Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), to open a surgical skills lab to support training and development of aspiring surgeons across the Jammu and Kashmir region. The training would involve honing their skills on basic and advance suturing, laparoscopy, hand-eye coordination for laparoscopy. Another meaningful collaboration was announced with the Association of Minimal Access Surgeons of India (AMASI) to provide equipment for their training center to enable training for surgeons and medical doctors to paramedical staffs, OT and CSSD technicians.
The Road Ahead
True innovation is not defined by technological prowess. At its core, innovation is defined by its ability to enhance our humanity and improve the ways in which we can help each other. Innovation is fueled by our purpose. But without people at the center, the future of healthcare can become more about the latest device available for some instead of the latest medical breakthrough available for all. As data and AI continue to progress further than any of us could have imagined even a year ago, the patient factor — the human connection — will be vital to unlocking access for people around the world.
Author:
Madan Krishnan, Vice President and Managing Director, Medtronic India