Healthcare

Access to essential health services remains a major challenge for half of the global population, with many households pushed into poverty by rising healthcare costs. It’s more urgent than ever to commit to improving healthcare access and affordability, given the health crises we face, from climate-linked disasters to environmental pollution. By providing affordable care, we can ensure the well-being of our human capital, enabling people to achieve their full potential and drive sustainable economic growth. That’s why achieving health-related targets is essential to meeting Sustainable Development Goals. Let’s prioritize universal healthcare for a healthier, more prosperous future.

 

Essential healthcare is a fundamental right, yet many people still lack it due to inadequate public spending on healthcare infrastructure or poor quality of existing services. Achieving universal health coverage by 2030 will require strong collaboration between the government, international partners, and the private sector to improve existing facilities, finance the system, and provide an adequate health workforce. Without accessible and quality healthcare, the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be achieved. Join us in our commitment to improving healthcare services and building a healthy future for all.

Related Thought Leadership

More than 2 million women across the world are diagnosed with breast cancer, each year. Though there are several courses of treatment, early detection can improve cancer management and treatment outcomes. To raise awareness of the need for early screening, October is observed as the breast cancer awareness month, every year.

For decades, breast self-examination was pushed as an easy technique for early identification. Though safe, it’s hardly reliable. So, healthcare organizations recommend regular mammograms (an X-ray of the breast) for women over the age of 40.

 

However, there are several challenges here: false results from traditional mammograms; poor image quality, especially false positives in patients with dense breast tissue; ionizing radiation, often associated with risk of radiation-induced gene alteration and cancer formation; and the extreme pain and discomfort from breast compression during a mammography screening.

 

There are now several patient-friendly, precise, and effective options available to us.

   

Three-dimensional (3D)mammography (breast tomosynthesis or digital breast tomosynthesis) is advanced mammography that uses low-dose x-rays to produce clear 3D images that can help detect and diagnose the correct location of breast tumor. In fact, this mammography is sensitive enough to detect early breast cancer in women with no symptoms at all.

o  Mammomat Inspiration’s Prime Technology by Siemens Healthineers cuts the radiation dose by up to 30%, without compromising image quality.   

Breast ultrasound, often indicated as an adjunct to mammography, is a safe, non-invasive, radiation-free imaging
techniques used to diagnose breast lump and other abnormalities.

o  Automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) is the only FDA-approved breast cancer screening technology for detection in women with dense breast tissue, where mammography has low sensitivity; this radiation-free ultrasound is a good diagnostic for pregnant women.      

As ‘patient comfort’ is now a vital parameter, novel devices now focus on making breast imaging a more comfortable experience.

o  SmartCurve™ system by Hologic provides a curved compression surface

o  Koning’s Breast CT (KBCT) produces high-contrast real 3D images with no painful compression and just a 10-second radiation exposure.     

Mobile or point-of-care breast imaging technologies are on the cards.

o  Niramai and POC Medical systems are working on solutions that address the lack of medical centers/infrastructure/stable power supply/trained professionals to host the large mammography machines in remote and rural areas.      

AI models are now being used to improve diagnostic accuracy, and reduce false positives and unnecessary biopsies. Simple blood tests that detect breast cancer cells before the tumor spreads and research regarding liquid biopsy for diagnosis are underway.      

Genetic counseling is also another powerful tool that healthcare professionals use to assess the risk of developing cancer. Inherited mutations in the two breast cancer susceptible genes—BRCA1 and BRCA2—increases the risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer, compared with the general population. These women can engage in early/yearly screenings, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and may be undergo preventive cancer surgery, such as mastectomy.

 

The healthcare/medical industry is constantly striving to develop precision therapy for breast cancer, such as HR-positive or triple-negative breast cancer treatment, targeted radiotherapy, and minimally invasive surgery. However, efficacy of treatment is depends on the stage of diagnosis and intervention, making early diagnosis the best strategy to fight cancer.


Article by Debarati Sengupta, Industry Analyst, Frost & Sullivan & Frost & Sullivan Institute Ambassador 


#Women health  #FemTech #BreastCancer

FemTech is a technology terminology coined by the Danish entrepreneur Ida Tin, the founder of Clue, a popular fertility tracking digital solution. FemTech is short for “female technology”, an umbrella term that clubs together devices, software and solutions for the benefit of women. FemTech solutions addresses a whole host of health considerations that affect women. Used most commonly in the context of menstrual and sexual health, FemTech spans the spectrum from diagnosis to surgery, from medical imaging to digital devices, all focused on improving health outcomes for women. This research service (RS) is a study on the emerging opportunities and technology trends in the area of FemTech, with detailed focus on the interest showed by investors and funding agencies. The report will focus on innovations in different segments and the trends that driving and hinder market growth #Women health  #FemTech 
BabyTech (digital tools targeted at infants/toddlers) and FemTech (digital solutions for helping women with their health issues) are the latest trends in the healthcare industry. Digital health tools are finding applications in all areas of parenting—fertility, pregnancy, birthing, nursing, baby health, and safety. Women form nearly half the population and are the key decision makers at home. Public health concerns such as rising pre-term births and maternal mortality rates are strong factors that are encouraging consumers, healthcare providers and other stakeholders to use digital health solutions to better manage the entire birth continuum, from conception, to birth, and during the first years of infant care. #Parenting #Digital Health #Maternal and Infant care
Municipal waste management is a major concern in the GCC. The total waste generated is expected to increase from 128 Mn MT in 2019 to as high as 164 Mn MT per annum by 2025, across the GCC. The existing landfilling strategies will not be able to handle this increase. This will result in a need for alternative mechanisms to tackle waste. The critical gap in the present waste management value chain is source segregation. The GCC countries do not follow adequate source segregation but have an efficient collection and transportation system. #Waste Management  #Recycling  #Pollution control
The global consumer face mask market generated revenues of $5.60 billion in 2020. Countries mandating the use of face masks in public places and increased consumer awareness regarding the need for safety measures against the COVID-19 virus drove demand. A focus on eco-friendly raw materials should increase during the 2021 to 2025 period. Manufacturers should also consider investing in anti-microbial and nanotechnologies as positioning face masks for the anti-pollution and anti-flu segments will likely spur product adoption in the future. #PPE #COVID-19 #Face Mask  #Face Mask recycling #Ecological Challenges
There is no one definition for virtual care, but Frost & Sullivan defines it in this research as a technical platform that maintains an interactive connectivity between patients, providers, and payers where various processes and services may be scheduled, accessed, monitored, and entered into the medical record without the need for manual calls or paper-based actions initiated by the stakeholders. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the dynamics of healthcare. Requirements to ensure social distancing have transformed virtual care from an important innovation to a must-have model. Although some organizations consider virtual care to be a component of telehealth, Frost & Sullivan concludes that virtual care includes telehealth along with various workflow and clinical processes that are vital but often slowed down by inefficient technology and archaic communications systems #Access to Healthcare #Telehealth #Virtual care #Telemedicine
The global COVID-19 pandemic and other geo-political events left many businesses facing an unprecedented state of uncertainty. Healthcare companies across the care continuum remain grappling with these new challenges, of which the extent and longevity remain unknown. Spurred by the year’s events, healthcare delivery has accelerated its transformation, and the concept of anytime-anywhere care has taken course to become mainstream. Digital health applications—especially telehealth and remote patient monitoring—saw tremendous demand as the only means to continue care delivery for many during the pandemic. #Virtual Care #Innovation in Healthcare Industry #Global Healthcare  #Digital Health
As the rapid spread and impact of COVID-19 continue to cripple healthcare sector providers across Europe, telehealth is emerging as a boon in ensuring efficient access to essential healthcare services. Primary care appointments took a major downturn as people avoided them largely until necessary or were unable to have routine face-to-face visits due to the lockdowns and social distancing measures at the beginning of the pandemic. This became difficult for patients with chronic conditions or those requiring acute and urgent care. Healthcare providers soon turned toward digital health vendors to ensure continuity of care via digital solutions—telehealth—a mix of virtual visits, remote monitoring tools, mHealth, and emergency response systems. Governments across Europe have been quick to react and deploy new reimbursement policies that take into account the new care delivery models. While some countries in Europe have rapidly deployed solutions, others have lagged behind due to the lack of preparedness of their healthcare IT systems. This report reviews the key factors driving telehealth adoption in Europe. It also assesses the readiness and attractiveness of countries as opportunity areas for telehealth vendors. Europe offers diverse growth opportunities; however, deployment is not easy. This report also examines the regulatory and reimbursement guidelines for telehealth in key European countries. #Telehealth #Consumer Health #Access to Emergency healthcare #Improved access to healthcare #Europe Healthcare industry

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