Long waiting times at hospitals or clinics, not being able to find a doctor near you when you need to see one, expensive medical bills – these may be some of the challenges you have encountered while seeking medical attention for yourself or your family recently.
Our key findings:
- One third have struggled to get an appointment with a doctor quickly when sick
- 45% of people have scheduled medical appointments digitally in the last two years
- Seven in 10 feel their ability to meet their or their family’s medical needs is only “fair” or “poor”
Around the world, rampant inflation and increased healthcare utilisation coming out of the pandemic have contributed to the highest projected increase in global medical costs, with healthcare benefit costs in Asia Pacific expected to increase by 10.2% this year, and by 9.8% in Singapore. Meanwhile, governments struggle to meet the rising needs of their populations due to a shortage of healthcare workers. The number of doctors per 1,000 population in Asia Pacific is generally lower than the OECD average of 3.6. In Singapore, there are only 2.5 doctors for every 1,000 people on average.
These issues have led to challenges in three key pillars of healthcare: affordability, accessibility and experience. The Cigna Healthcare 360 Global Well-Being Survey 2023 revealed that most people are not confident in their financial ability to meet their, or their family’s medical needs – more than six in 10 (63%) globally and seven in 10 (72%) in Singapore considered their ability to do so only “fair” or “poor”. At the same time, the survey found 40% of respondents around the world and 33% in Singapore have struggled to get an appointment with a doctor quickly when sick. In combination, these challenges also negatively impact patient experience and outcomes. The ability to quickly consult a healthcare practitioner and receive treatment can make a huge difference to health outcomes.
Against this landscape, telemedicine and other virtual health solutions have rapidly emerged as the likely answer to some of these major challenges, helping to overcome accessibility barriers while reducing the cost of healthcare.
Virtual health improves accessibility, affordability and patient experience
Virtual health, which encompasses a breadth of clinical practice including telehealth, virtual triage and hospital management, data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and more, can help reduce waiting times and expedite treatment by improving operational efficiency across primary and tertiary settings, optimising appointment schedules, and eliminating patients’ travel time. Virtual health also enables people living in more remote areas or those with mobility challenges to easily access care from their home, at almost any time.
“Gaps in access to care not only delay investigation and treatment of health problems but can also contribute to health disparities arising from differences in socioeconomic status, geographical location, and physical disabilities,” said Raymond Ng, CEO and Country Manager, Cigna Healthcare Singapore & Australia. “While Singapore continues to offer world-leading healthcare service to its residents, we believe virtual health can help enhance access, affordability as well as care experience and outcomes in the nation as people’s healthcare needs and expectations rise.”
In terms of cost management, timely care facilitated by virtual health can mitigate the need for expensive medical follow-ups. And in the case of managing chronic conditions, telehealth, remote patient monitoring, and data interoperability can work in unison to allow teams of healthcare professionals to better coordinate care, ultimately reducing hospital visits, improving outcomes and lowering the economic burden of care on already struggling systems.
Virtual health solutions also allow healthcare providers to help patients before their conditions get chronic. Neha Gupta, Head of Data & Analytics, APAC at Cigna Healthcare, explains: “As a healthcare company committed to improving the health and vitality of those we serve, we are actively using predictive analysis to identify customers who may be at risk of certain chronic conditions, analyze the impact and outcome of early intervention, and engage them as appropriate. Such preventative health measures can lead to higher quality of care, lower costs, and better health outcomes.”
Virtual health as a viable alternative to in-person care
Growing familiarity and acceptance of virtual health is making it an increasingly practical option to complement in-person care. The Cigna Healthcare 360 Global Well-being Survey 2023: Singapore Insights Report published earlier this year found that 45% respondents had scheduled medical appointments digitally in the last two years. Meanwhile, 34% had accessed medical records over the internet, and 28% had communicated with doctors via telephone or virtually for general health consultations.
Many believe virtual consultations are as effective as in-person ones. Overall, close to half of our survey respondents in Singapore expressed this satisfaction, including with regard to ease of arrangement (51%), general convenience (48%), being listened to and understood (49%), being given the right level of attention and time (49%), and even follow-up care (51%).
As virtual health becomes a more normalised option for patients, healthcare service providers have a responsibility to help build trust with patients and optimise their care experience. With better understanding of the needs of patients and barriers to adoption, and more dedicated training for clinicians looking after patients through virtual channels, the quality of virtual health can be enhanced to better alleviate pressures on patients and the healthcare industry.
Over to you
Virtual health solutions are a great way for healthcare providers and employers to enhance healthcare support for the workforce. The flexibility and time savings offered by telemedicine, for example, can help busy workers access health services much more easily, ensuring that their health issues are addressed in a timely manner and offering peace of mind.
Sources:
1. The 2023 Global Medical Trends,rebound to 10.2% in 2023.
