The hospital acquired infection (HAI) has always been a threat looming around in hospitals across the globe. It’s only that Covid-19 manifested the grave danger of it — the irony of getting sick from a place which is supposed to cure people. Over the past 10 months, there have been thousands of reported and unreported HAI cases across India.

Kerala is a case in point. Several patients, who were undergoing treatment for other ailments in private hospitals in different parts of Kerala, had reported contracting Covid-19 after the lockdown started.

According to a report, since July 16, more than 10 such cases have been reported in the district of Ernakulam alone.

This looming danger has been a strong tailwind to the healthcare IT Industry in India. A blessing in disguise. Technology seems to be pretty much the only way to get healthcare advice & treatment during unprecedented times like this. Let’s look at some numbers. According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, the subcontinent's digital healthcare market was valued at Rs.116.61 billion in 2018, and is estimated to reach Rs.485.43 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of approximately 27.41 percent. eSanjeevani, the Telemedicine service by the government of India, is a symbol of this prospering industry. The app successfully conquered another feat recently by completing three million consultations online.

However, people are eventually going to go back to the physical warmth of hospitals. Hence, alongside flaring digital healthcare ecosystems, the need for futuristic hospital management platforms is a need that is going to redeem itself in the near future. The healthcare industry needs to be ready for it by building capabilities around bleeding edge tech and including artificial intelligence & data analytics based predictive, preventive, & personalized healthcare models, and RPA powered patient experience. In this issue, we tell you the stories of companies that are equipped to face this challenge.

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