COVID-19 Has Given Technology the Much-needed Push in Healthcare Sector: JP Dwivedi, CIO, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute

The healthcare sector has the most predominant and essential responsibility in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While the sector stepped up in an unprecedented manner almost overnight to save millions of lives across the world, technology helped the sector ramp-up operations. Although the healthcare sector is a relatively late starter in technology adoption, COVID-19 has given Enterprise resource planning (ERP), Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and technology in general the much-needed push, said JP Dwivedi, CIO, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute.

“ERP is now being implemented by progressive hospitals for the use of information for structured decision-making. Also, RPA is now helping us in a lot of ways. Interventional radiology - radio frequency adaptation, which is using a robot and delivering the accurate dose of the drug at the very point of the tumor thus saving the other cells from the side effect of chemotherapy is being used as well,” said Dwivedi on the usage of Deep Tech in healthcare.

Artificial intelligence is gradually making inroads in the healthcare sector as well. “AI is silently capturing the preferences of a doctor for particular medicines and tests, and then showing it on the dashboard that these are the top recommendations from your end. Since doctors do not want to touch files and papers due to spread of infection, electronic health record is being adopted. Electronic health record has increased clinical productivity by up to 40 percent,” added Dwivedi.

“Usage of robots to fill in gaps of supply chain management in high-risk areas, as well as telemedicine and video conferencing, are rising trends in healthcare,” stated Dwivedi while explaining the deep technologies being used in healthcare that are here to stay.