Tech giants waiting in wings to give healthcare shake-up
CANBERRA: Major tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Apple are set to disrupt Australia’s healthcare sector, and industry expert Shane Evans predicts they will take the patient experience to the next level.
Mr Evans, head of MinterEllison’s national health industry group, has outlined his top predictions for the sector for the coming year, which include the emergence of disrupters.
He said a new wave of care providers, such as the international technology and retail giants, would enter the market and compete at a more sophisticated level.
“We are talking about Amazon, Google, Apple and Microsoft,” Mr Evans said. “They will all be looking at this right now and will be testing it and having focus groups.”
He said their involvement could start with supply chains for health products such as medicines and easily extend to the provision of health and care services, including access to healthcare professionals.
“They are all so big, they can invest in the technology,” he said.
Mr Evans said the next technology wave would see a patient connect to a device and have a real-time discussion with a professional, or eventually an artificial intelligence device, to help them manage their actual healthcare, rather than just get a healthcare product.
“These global giants are well set up and they have a data base; they know what we want and probably before we know we want it,” Mr Evans said.
He also predicted the coming year would see the first wave of chatbots in healthcare, which he said would be focused on using advanced analytics to provide seamless interaction with patients for services such as diagnostics.
Mr Evans said the emergence of digital healthcare solutions was a key sector driver.
“We are on the cusp of a new frontier in the healthcare sector as digital service delivery to patients and care recipients becomes a much bigger day-to-day reality,” he said.
“In healthcare, the customer is increasingly in charge, demanding personalised, convenient care. They want the doctor, or even the healthcare provider, in their home, and they can because technology is an enabler.”
Mr Evans said the exponential change and disruption in the healthcare sector would drive deal activity, as he predicted the emergence of “mega-providers” from “mega-mergers”.
Mr Evans said economies of scale and the investment required to keep up with rapid changes would favour the large players. He highlighted that the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety could be a trigger point for deal activity in aged care.
He said some of the smaller providers would struggle if an outcome of the royal commission was an increase in regulation and compliance costs.
“They might also need to implement new safety and quality requirements that are not currently in their organisation and it will become cost-prohibitive for some small providers,” Mr Evans said.
“Whether it is private equity, an existing provider or an overseas player, they might see some good opportunities and that will drive some consolidation.”
Mr Evans said aged care was already on the cusp of significant changes, asking questions around what was the best way to provide services. He said if the answer was ageing in the home for a longer period before going into a facility for a short time then investment and changes were needed.
“It will be a disruptive couple of years and some of those organisations will say it’s not a good time for them to remain in that area,” he said.
