The healthcare industry has undergone a significant digital transformation in recent years, which has given rise to digital healthcare ecosystems that have the potential to revolutionise patient care and provider services. However, to realise the full benefits of these ecosystems, several critical factors must be addressed to ensure their integration and effectiveness. At the micro-level, digital technologies such as data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence can offer valuable insights to digital healthcare ecosystems. To achieve successful integration, the ecosystems must identify their data needs, have access to relevant data sources, invest in the right technology tools, and establish clear governance structures that align with strategic objectives. At the meso-level, supply chain collaboration is essential to streamline operations, optimise efficiency, and improve cost-effectiveness.

The year 2022 has been an eventful year in the digital health segment globally. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic the much-needed digital transformation for the healthcare sector has opened many doors. Several industry experts told Financial Express.com that the growth continued its momentum in 2022 and it will enhance further in 2023. The rapid penetration of smartphones and the internet, coupled with supportive government policies, has propelled the growth of the digital healthcare market in India. In India, the central government is also focusing more on digital health ventures to increase access to quality healthcare.

In this special guest feature, Florian Hillen, founder and CEO, VideaHealth, points out that Like many other industries within the healthcare ecosystem, dentistry is beginning to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to improve patient care, lower costs, and streamline workflows and care delivery. Like many other industries within the healthcare ecosystem, dentistry is beginning to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to improve patient care, lower costs, and streamline workflows and care delivery. While the dental profession is no stranger to cutting-edge technology, AI represents such a revolutionary change that few organizations have the knowledge and skill sets to implement an effective strategy. This is particularly important when applying AI to diagnose and treat patients. Ideally, AI should exceed human-level performance in speed, efficiency and accuracy. But unlike traditional technologies that are simply powered up and put to work, AI must be trained, conditioned and trusted to perform as expected even under difficult or unusual circumstances.

Mr Nilesh Jahagirdar, VP Marketing cube LABS explains the impact of AI on healthcare and how it is revolutionising this sector. With the advent of digitalization, cutting-edge technology has become an essential part of our daily lives. The way we live and work has shifted dramatically. In this scenario, artificial intelligence is making huge waves in various industries, including healthcare. In healthcare, artificial intelligence is becoming more sophisticated at mimicking human behavior. The potential of AI in healthcare is gigantic, and it is becoming an increasingly important component of the healthcare ecosystem.

The second edition of the Middle East Digital Health Forum will kick off on June 16, with officials and industry experts in Dubai converging to spotlight new transformations in the healthcare sector and the role that technology will play in creating a sustainable future for the industry. Presented by Khaleej Times, under the endorsement of the Ministry of Health & Prevention, the event sees Hewlett Packard Enterprise as the Gold Sponsor and KeyReply as the Networking Sponsor. The in-person event will discuss the impact of digitisation on everyday healthcare and strategies to overcome challenges for sustainable digital healthcare transformation. Experts have noted that the global healthcare ecosystem is undergoing unprecedented changes with the 4th industrial revolution bringing in technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and big data. They explained that the healthcare industry has already been slow in the uptake of the technology revolution, and that this has brought about several challenges.

When it was first commercialized, the steam engine cost much more than other power sources available – until it didn't. The engine, developed to pump water from flooded mines, allowed for deeper and less costly digging of coal. Then came faster transportation with cheaper shipping of more products and – as accessibility increased with efficiency – more people. The full promise of a breakthrough isn't in what it does initially. It's in what it enables, eventually.

Nuance has partnered with The Health Management Academy (The Academy) to launch The AI Collaborative, an industry group focused on advancing healthcare using artificial intelligence and machine learning. Nuance became a household name for creating the speech engine recognition engine behind Siri. In recent years, the company has put a strong focus on AI solutions for healthcare and is now a full-service partner of 77 percent of US hospitals and is trusted by over 500,000 physicians daily. Earlier this year, Microsoft acquired Nuance with the promise of ushering in a "new era of outcomes-based AI". Microsoft is also active in the healthcare space and its acquisition of Nuance was investigated by regulators over concerns it may reduce competition.

Nuance is a technology pioneer with market leadership in conversational AI and ambient intelligence, and a full-service partner of 77 percent of U.S. hospitals and trusted by over 500,000 physicians daily. Microsoft provides trusted and secure cloud and AI capabilities with the goal to empower people and organizations to address the complex challenges facing the healthcare industry today. With a long-term commitment to leveraging cloud and AI technologies to enhance patient engagement and outcomes, reduce clinician burnout, improve clinical quality and safety, and enhance financial performance, Nuance and Microsoft are leaders in the future-focused healthcare ecosystem and well-equipped to ensure The AI Collaborative members are at the front-end of education and learning on the evolution of AI in healthcare. "The key to successful healthcare innovation using AI is understanding at a deep level the problems that you're trying to solve and focusing on the outcomes you want to achieve," said Peter Durlach, Chief Strategy Officer of Nuance. "With the combined engineering, market and domain expertise of Nuance and Microsoft, The AI Collaborative can bring together multiple technical, business and clinical stakeholders to prioritize deployment of solutions for clinician burnout, patient engagement and health system financial stability, while accelerating innovation in precision medicine, drug discovery, clinical decision support and other promising use cases across the entire healthcare ecosystem."

The coronavirus pandemic expedited the digital transformation underway in healthcare, and patients and providers alike saw benefits to the new tech and virtual solutions. Telehealth appointments, remote patient monitoring services, and amended insurance offerings were able to extend quality care to consumers at a quicker and less-expensive rate. But incumbent healthcare institutions should keep an eye out for big tech companies encroaching on their space, as companies including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft try to sway consumers from traditional healthcare players through consumer-first, tech-focused approaches. Below, we run through the trends and transformations taking place within the healthcare ecosystem, and outline what traditional health players can do to stay ahead of big tech competitors. While the healthcare industry was slow-moving when it came to digital solutions, COVID-19 upended the entire health ecosystem, including insurance, healthcare delivery, and pharmaceutical spaces.

Projected a few years ago to be a $150 billion industry by 2026, Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are radically transforming industries around the world and healthcare is no exception to this development. New AI applications are being developed and experimented with to streamline administrative and medical processes, enhance clinical decision making and support, manage long-term care - all of which are showing great promise. AI in healthcare refers to the use of complex algorithms designed to mimic human cognition and perform certain tasks in an automated fashion at a fraction of the time and cost. Simply put, when data is injected into the platform, algorithms, and machine learning solutions kick in, working with the data, using deep data analytics, and delivering outcomes and reports which would be as accurate if not more than human interventions. From making more accurate diagnoses, finding links between genetic codes to powering surgical robots, maximising administrative efficiency, and understanding how patients will respond to treatment plans, there are limitless opportunities to leverage AI in healthcare. Using machine learning in precision medicine can help predict what treatment protocols are likely to succeed based on a patient's attributes, treatment history, and context, allowing more accurate and impactful interventions at the right moment in a patient's care.