Forces defining resilience of the Australian healthcare sector

WORDS: Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine Group PHOTOGRAPHY Kalkine Media

The pandemic has brought along with it a series of radical changes for the healthcare industry that can transform the sector forever. Meanwhile, the pandemic put forward some peculiar challenges, which needed equally unique solutions to bring back stability into the economy. Australia embraced several novel solutions to wade through pandemic-induced challenges in the healthcare sector, which demand closer attention.

In the pandemic era, each unforeseen problem paved the way for a unique resolution that unfurled a range of opportunities for the healthcare sector. For instance, a drastic shift in the dispersal of medical services became the need of the hour as individuals battled the harsh reality of COVID-19. To make ends meet, the country adopted the telehealth model for the seamless delivery of healthcare services.

Building on such developments in the area of science and technology, Australia seems well-positioned to become a highly tech-enabled healthcare industry. In this backdrop, let us discuss some prominent changes that can help revolutionise the healthcare industry in the COVID-19 era and beyond:

GOOD READ: A future insight into global healthcare

Subsidising telehealth

Several countries adopted the telehealth model to beat the healthcare constraints emerging during the pandemic. However, the model has been largely restricted to a few areas where patients do not require urgent care and suffer from less serious diseases. Despite these shortcomings, the telehealth subsector has been crucial in providing flexibility and support to hospitals.

The additional support provided by the telehealth sector urged the Australian government to subsidise some healthcare services. With virus cases still rising in the country, the government has decided to make a range of telehealth items available nationwide until 30 June. This is drastically different from the way these services were offered initially when these were restricted to some hotspot areas.

Some of the subsidised services include specialist inpatient video calls and phone consultations that come under the Medicare Benefits Schedule. Moreover, complex specialist telephone consultations and longer telephone consultations for general practitioners have also been covered in the benefit. The government is also seeking other methods of support for the medical industry, such as the distribution of 20 million units of personal protective equipment from February to April 2022.

Refurbishing online medical tools

With technology taking giant leaps during the pandemic, its spillover effects have benefitted several industries, including healthcare. The increased adoption of machines and systems ingrained with a high level of intelligence has eased some burden off healthcare professionals, allowing them to shift their focus to more critical cases.

One exclusive tool developed in Australia to control the virus spread is a COVID-19 symptom checker that can help assess infected patients. The tool essentially guides on how patients should recover from the virus on their own, within the comfort of their homes. Meanwhile, the tool also advises patients to seek the help of medical professionals in case their condition becomes severe.

Such self-assessment tools are one of the many offerings of the new tech applications in the pandemic influenced environment. Patients can largely become independent with these tools and rush to the hospital in case of an emergency. These developments offer a viable solution to a critical challenge of the pandemic related to the overcrowding of patients.

Increasing investment in healthcare infrastructure

The Australian government has recognised the need for greater investment in the healthcare industry that can support the biotechnology, clinical trial, and digital health sectors. In January 2022, the government announced an investment of more than AU$25 million in three companies operating at the cutting edge to save, improve and save lives. These companies are working with vanguard technologies that can transform the way treatments are offered to critical patients.

The investment will allow Cynata to continue developing commercial-scale manufacture of stem cells, Acrux to develop and commercialise topical drugs, and Axial to advance its gut-restricted molecular therapy for irritability in children suffering from autism.

In addition, the Marshall Liberal Government recently decided to invest AU$30 million in paramedics in South Australia (SA). The aim is to expand SA’s ambulance services to protect citizens and address any health challenges. Meanwhile, the government of New South Wales has planned to invest AU$10.1 billion over four years for capital health infrastructure projects.

In a nutshell, the Australian healthcare industry stands on the brink of some crucial changes, with greater investments being poured into the industry. Overall, the post-pandemic period is expected to be a gateway into a world of enhanced medical care underpinned by strong technological backing.

GOOD READ: Looking for healthcare shares? Here are 3 ASX value stocks to consider