In the next five years, the innovations in patient engagement together with remote healthcare monitoring technology and Artificial Intelligence will streamline access to care to such an extent that digital health will no longer be viewed in seclusion.
1. Tell us about your upbringing, background, and journey?
While our upbringing doesn’t really determine our fate, it does have a significant impact on our lives. Where we lived and grew, who we grew up with, where we educated from, the values our parents taught us can all deeply affect the life we go on to live as adults.
My family is from a small and beautiful town – Bewar, in district Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh, on NH 24 that connects Delhi with Lucknow, and I was born, educated, and raised in Delhi. I am the eldest of three children in an ambitious family. My brother is in the hospitality profession and settled in England. My sister is a doctor, married to a doctor, and settled in Australia.
My father was a businessman and he always believes in hard work as well as higher education. In the seventies, quality education was limited to big cities only. At an age of three, my mother took a stand and shifted to Delhi with me to get me a good education in an English medium private school so that I could be grown up as a doctor or an engineer.
My father could not shift owing to his family business and for the next 2 decades, we practically lived with our mother and my father would just visit us once a month for 4-5 days. For the next 20 years, during all our school vacations we would only visit our home town to be with our father and grandparents. My mother is my greatest blessing, she always has worked so hard to provide protection and sustenance for her children. I appreciate her now that I’m older because I have a better understanding of life.
Delhi has always been home. For nearly two decades we lived in a rented house. We weren’t rich, we weren’t poor, but with hard work and dedication, the life that my parents had imagined for me, was within arm’s reach. My parents did a great job of instilling in our honesty, hard work, empathy, and positive work ethics. We celebrated holidays and birthdays to the fullest.
My dream while growing was to be a Doctor. The most stunning moment of my life was when I saw my photo in national newspapers as I secured the 31st All India Rank in the Central Board Pre-Medical test. And as I graduated from Maulana Azad Medical College, I always wanted to be a surgeon and also did a year-long residency in Burns and Plastic surgery. But life changes every moment and it changed my journey too.
As my father had huge business losses, to fund my studies and hostel expenses, I had to do part-time teaching jobs during my medical school. Occasionally I would miss my evening practical classes as well. After graduating, I worked as a resident in Delhi’s Tihar Jail and also in Burns and Plastic Surgery before I joined Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals as an Intensive Care physician.
While at Apollo, I was encouraged to get into healthcare quality assurance by the Medical Director, and before I realized it, I was a healthcare quality professional.
Everything is a lesson. Growing up taught me to never force myself to become smaller just to fit into something that you were never destined for. One has to Be brave; Be different.
Initially, I was scared about my future as Quality Improvement was a relatively new field in India and it is all about the managerial prospect of an individual. Today I’m a postgraduate with a master's in healthcare management and have been working in UAE with international people. When I look back at my journey I feel proud that I came so far crossing so many obstacles I faced. I suggest everyone take the risk, don’t think too much, just go for it, it’s now or never and I Believe you will never be disappointed.
Having married for 17 years, my wife has always stood strong with me. With a master's in Human Genetics and a clinical research professional, she gave up her job and has managed to care for our kids the same way as my mother did. History does repeat!!
I have also lived in Singapore and now in the United Arab Emirates. Having exposed to a multicultural background provides different points of view and it really helps to engage much more easily with people. I realize you can connect and understand better. For example, being from a small town in Uttar Pradesh helped me to never take things for granted, enjoy nature, animals, farming/gardening, family time, friends and be natural, grounded, and much more.
Being from a big city like Delhi helped me to fight for what I wanted, try luxury things, enjoy multi-cultures, gastronomy, meet people from different cultures and regions, and make my dreams come true and much more. Having different cultures helped me to balance my life, be open and adapt very quickly!
Having a family’s support and having them so close is beyond a blessing.
Though currently I am based in UAE, I am literally neighbors with my parents and they are with no doubt my biggest supporters, my life’s pillars, and the first people I share my ideas and thoughts with, usually over a video call. I would say that the key factor in the success of my career is a combination of passion for what I do, stamina, and resilience, and of course, a great family.
2. Why did you choose to be a doctor and decide what you specifically want to do?
Since I was a child, I always wanted to save people from suffering- both mentally and physically. I always respected life and human life was no less special and wanted to dedicate my life to serving them. Moreover, being one of the most respected professions, it was always a dream of my parents that was carried forward.
I remember putting bandages on my little sister and brother when they would fall and feeling a strong sense of responsibility for their care. It was not hard to pick a direction for a career in medicine; I knew I wanted to be a medical professional. I graduated from Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), and I am really glad to be part of MAMC.
Being a medical doctor is really great. It's stimulating and interesting. I am a hard-working, conscientious medical professional. I am an ambitious and driven individual. Being a Quality Professional is even more satisfying for me. I am passionate about my work.
Because I love what I do, I have a steady source of motivation that drives me to achieve my objectives. I thrive in a goal-oriented environment where I can constantly challenge myself personally and professionally. I am always looking for an opportunity to do better and grow.
These characteristics have helped me achieve success in my career as a Quality Professional. For example, I was promoted to be a Chief Quality Officer for the Group Hospitals in less than 4 years in my last position.
3. How do you expect digital health to grow over the next 5 years?
COVID-19 has reshaped the culture around the use of technology in healthcare. Within a few weeks, after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the only digital health trends worth talking about globally were those that sought to control the spread of the virus. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation in healthcare faster than ever imagined.
The pandemic has shown that we can deliver valuable solutions in record time. Many countries launched apps that would help governments and healthcare providers with virus testing, tracking, and monitoring. The rapid innovation in healthcare throughout 2020 made it possible to bring testing for COVID-19 mobile and even the vaccination status of individuals.
The technology behind telemedicine, the Internet Of Things (IoT), and healthcare apps have been there for years. But it took the COVID-19 pandemic to push digital healthcare forward, and for health institutions, providers, and patients to embrace digital health trends and new technology. With remote services, IoT devices, and accelerated research and development practices now in full swing, providers, and patients now understand the value of digital health services.
In the next five years, the innovations in patient engagement together with remote healthcare monitoring technology and Artificial Intelligence will streamline access to care to such an extent that digital health will no longer be viewed in seclusion.
Further, as artificial intelligence and machine learning improve diagnoses and make treatments more effective, over the next five years, we will see the development of more 'remote first' solutions that will be focused on enabling clinical care from just about anywhere and care will begin to migrate outside the walls of traditional hospitals and clinics. There will be no distinction between face-to-face and virtual visits.
Over the next five years, I believe there will be tremendous growth in the use of data in sustaining and improving the health of individuals and communities. Applying data science will provide a roadmap for better care in the future, will improve and enhance new models for clinical trials, earlier risk detection, faster drug development, and better treatments, all to the benefit of patients.
And finally, health is not a static thing. It is constantly changing with what one eats, how hard on exercise, how much one walk or how well one sleep in the night. The continuous inputs into the individual’s digital health tool should help track the trends and forecast a person’s health trajectory in a much more sophisticated way. It's just about using the enormous data we already have and can generate for each person, and start leveraging that data in a more intelligent way.
4. What are your concerns about Digital Health?
One of the biggest concerns is the validation of digital health devices including smartphone apps. There must be some standards on having objective evidence of validation to meet the product specifications. Data Privacy and efficacy are one of the biggest hurdles to digital health adoption. Data security is a big challenge. The Healthcare sector has experienced one of the most cybersecurity breaches and hence it’s imperative for healthcare providers to invest strongly in data security.
There are ethical challenges as well.
The increasing adoption of digital health and the growth of mobile and IoT devices as data collection tools have raised several ethical issues. There is no clear demarcation between what is medical and non-medical devices are and there are ethical challenges in regularizing such technologies. Ethical concerns related to data ownership are much frequently discussed topics across various platforms.
5. Can you let us know anyone application of Digital Health in your country which has impressed you?
As stated earlier, the COVID pandemic has shown that we can deliver valuable digital health solutions in record time. Like other countries, UAE has also launched the ALHOSN UAE app to help the authorities with virus testing, tracking, and monitoring.
The ALHOSN UAE app by the Ministry of Health and Prevention is the official COVID-19 testing channel for health authorities in the United Arab Emirates. By using the app, everyone can help stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep their family and friends safe.
You can receive your COVID-19 test results directly on your phone with a unique QR code that is proof of your status and that of everyone else around you who also have the app, giving you peace of mind that you can safely interact.
The app can trace people who come in close proximity to confirmed COVID-19 cases using Bluetooth technology so Health Authorities can quickly contact people at risk and they can be retested.
Dr. Pawan Kumar Gupta
Senior Healthcare Quality Professional (UAE) | Change Management Leader / Healthcare Consultant / Surveyor / Motivator / Trainer
Awarded as one of the World's '101 Most Fabulous Global Healthcare Leaders' at the World Health and Wellness Congress.
Interviewed By: Vanshikha Bagga
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