Future Health Index 2019

This Future Health Index 2019 report by Philips is exploring the impact of digital health technology on healthcare professionals and patients.

The Future Health Index 2019 explores the impact of digital health technology on healthcare professionals and patients. This latest report is based on a survey of 15,000 individuals and more than 3,100 healthcare professionals across 15 countries. Now in its fourth year, the Future Health Index examines the role of technology in the health system, to provide actionable insights to drive the transformation towards value-based care.

Theme 1: Engaged and digitally enhanced healthcare professionals

Healthcare professionals who use digital health records (DHRs) in their practice report that technology has a positive impact on:

• 69% Quality of care provided
• 64% Satisfaction for healthcare professionals
• 59% Outcomes for patients

Healthcare professionals also report that their own experience has been positively impacted over the past five years from data-related updates, such as:

• 57% Access to patients’ full medical history
• 44% Patients having access to their own health data
• 39% Ability to harness big data
• 37% Medical-grade health trackers
• 33% Digital health technology or mobile health apps

Theme 2: Empowered patients – access to data, more control

Patients are more collaborative with healthcare professionals when they have ownership of their health data.

• 84% of the general population with access to their digital health record (DHR) say they want their healthcare professional to have access too
• 64% of individuals who do not have access to their DHR, or don’t know if they have access, want their healthcare professional to have this access

Those with access to their DHR report better personal experiences in healthcare and better quality of care available to them than those who do not have access.

Technology continues to evolve and this will, in turn, be a driver of continuous transformation in health systems around the world. As the challenges and needs evolve from country to country, healthcare professionals and patients must be willing to adapt as they adopt new technologies, learning and adjusting as they go.