How Technology and Online Healthcare is Creating Jobs in the Healthcare Space The need to build robust online healthcare solutions is on the rise which in turn has led to a rise in employment opportunities in the healthcare space

With digital healthcare mushrooming over the recent years, the scope for new jobs in this field is limitless.

A Quick Look at the Present Scenario

Studies suggest that 72% of internet users look online for health information.

In response to these findings, a study shows that health care has indeed created more jobs globally than any other sector in 2016. In India too, healthcare has become one of the largest sectors both in terms of revenue and employment. The industry is growing at a tremendous speed because of the services offered and the increasing expenditure by the public as well private players.

Need

The rising need for digital healthcare solutions to make quality healthcare accessible to the global masses has paved way for job creation in various departments. The only way to address the gargantuan issue of the uneven distribution of doctors in the country is to embrace digital solutions. Currently, in India, we have only 1 doctor for every 1700 people as opposed to the WHO standard of 1 doctor for every 1000 people. Establishing new hospitals and healthcare centres is heavily dependent on physical infrastructure, therefore the need for novel digital healthcare solutions has triggered a requirement for new roles in the industry.

Shift in Consumer Behaviour

Users are gravitating towards ordering medicines online, booking lab tests and most importantly consulting doctors online. Studies suggest that a whopping 59% of offline hospital consultations start with an online search. The shift in consumer behaviour and the rise of digitalisation has opened up a plethora of opportunities. Right from software developers to growth hackers to content marketers; people being employed in the healthcare space have rocketed.

New Roles

While speaking about health care, we focus only on medicos, traditionally, only healthcare professionals had the choice to choose healthcare as a career option. A lot has changed since then, we see the brightest minds from non-medical backgrounds working with medicos to create synergy between healthcare and technology in order to make world-class healthcare accessible to one and all; we see marketers trying to promote the new developments and ensure that the masses make utmost use of the rapid health care advancements and allied services.

Advancements

With information technology enabling efficient management of healthcare industry; in areas such as statistical documentation, access to medical databases, consolidated news on research to predict upcoming medical trends, the opportunities of employment has also grown hand-in-hand. Starting with Ambulance care, professionals in dental, surgical, medical, fitness, nursing and allied areas are in huge demand in India. This is one of the chief reasons why the government is focusing on increasing the number of medical colleges.

Increased Rate of Growth

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India has predicted that with increased digital adoption, the Indian healthcare market, which is worth around US$ 100 billion, will likely grow at a CAGR of 23 per cent to US$ 280 billion by 2020. Reports suggest that over 40 million jobs are expected to be generated by 2020, in the healthcare pace alone. Medical tourism in the country has also been increasing, due to the affordability of treatments and other services. The industry is evolving at a rapid pace paving way for new jobs and roles.

Gamut of Online Solutions

Using online solutions for healthcare doesn't stop with a quick search to find offline healthcare providers. The scope of the online medical solutions has rocketed in the past couple of years. From online doctor consultations to ordering medicines to running diagnostic tests; everything is easily accessible online. Hence, the need to build robust online healthcare solutions is on the rise which in turn has lead to a rise in employment opportunities in the healthcare space.

Rise of Startups

The growth of startups in the healthcare industry is commendable. Startups work on solving healthcare problems using innovative technological solutions. RIght from inventing mobile devices for real-time problem solving to health trackers, there are startups working on every aspect to increase the efficiency of healthcare solutions and also to make healthcare accessible to the global population. This advancement has led to increasing employment opportunities.

A career in the healthcare industry looks promising, at the moment. Thanks to the rapidly changing technology and inventions contributed by startups in this space.