The concept of the smart hospital includes healthcare providers leveraging advanced analytics, connected devices, and healthcare platforms to improve care, productivity, and operational efficiency.
At a recently concluded FutureCIO C-Engage virtual roundtable, a number of finance and technology leaders from the healthcare sector in Southeast Asia expressed interest in understanding how technology can help improve the provision of and operation of healthcare services.
The Juniper Research report Smart Hospitals: Technologies, Global Adoption & Market Forecasts 2021-2026, highlighted digital healthcare initiatives implemented as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
China and the US to lead growth
This together with high levels of existing digitalisation within healthcare infrastructure as put China and the US at the helm of smart hospital adoption, accounting for $17 billion of market value in 2021, 65% of the total for the year.
Juniper Research forecasts the smart hospitals market to be worth $59 billion by 2026, up from $29 billion in 2021, representing an average annual growth of 15%.
The research forecasts that the US and China will grow to account for over 60% of global smart hospital spending by 2026. It predicts that these countries’ pre-existing smart hospital services, allied with the formulation of favourable reimbursement structures, will provide an ideal basis for further smart hospital rollouts.
However, it cautioned that the need for pre-existing digital infrastructure, such as electronic health records, will limit smart hospital rollouts to developed regions. As a result, it anticipates that Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East will represent less than 5% of global smart hospital spending by 2026.
Interoperability is vital to unlocking value
Juniper Research’s report outlined how a current lack of interoperability between devices and platforms has resulted in a high degree of fragmentation that will require regulatory intervention on a country-level basis.
Research author Adam Wears warned that vendor lock-in and high investment requirements are the most prevalent issues for healthcare providers in adopting smart hospital services.
“At a time when healthcare industries are still feeling the impacts of the global pandemic, the long-term benefits of smart hospital services must be demonstrated to foster confidence in these services’ ability to secure a return on investment,” he concluded.
