Health, a strategic issue for the future?
Leliana Valentina Pârvulescu, PhD
Psychologist, Behavioral analysis expert
Messenger RNA, viral vectors, inactivated vaccines and other adjutants are news we face at the end of this year. And we will certainly talk about this again at the beginning of 2021. The emergence of the medical subject was, without a doubt, one of the determining elements of 2020, to the point where it became our daily life. Health has become everyone’s business! Beyond the health authorities, which were obviously the protagonists, each company and organization integrated a health component into its operating procedures. It is a certainty, the protection of the integrity of employees, but also of consumers, has become a requirement for trade and services. Most recently, research firm Deloitte shows that health and safety concerns now determine how consumers evaluate their purchases and make decisions. Far from simple disinfectant gel dispensers, there are many innovations around workspace such as disinfectant lamps that guarantee a healthy environment, UV systems for public spaces, etc. After the Covid-19 pandemic, it seems clear that social organization and human relations will be permanently changed. In this context, it is also important to remember that digital change is now important and widespread and that health has become a strategic issue. Automation of remote processes, advances made possible by cloud technology and more generally the portability of health data across multiple platforms are some of the key points that impose digital as an important lever to improve healthcare. The latest report from the Forrester group shows that 2021 should be the year of IoT (Internet of Things) in health.
Smart device manufacturers will double their products in the healthcare sector, analysts say. Many people stayed home in 2020, leaving chronic diseases unadministered and symptoms undetected.
“In 2021, proactive involvement will increase using portable devices to track patient health at home. Consumer interest in digital healthcare devices will increase as people appreciate the convenience of home monitoring, an understanding of their health and the low cost of connected healthcare devices, ”notes Forrester experts. According to specialists, telemedicine will expand significantly, it has established itself as an important lever for treating patients, in total safety, further optimizing the flow to health professionals. Also, mental health pathologist could also be particularly affected by e-Health, up to a third of appointments could be made in virtual mode, starting in 2021. Predictive medicine will be of major importance, which will obviously continue to grow, with new challenges in light of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Advances in artificial intelligence applied to health, dedicated blockchain and online learning will undoubtedly be able to develop new protocols and new approaches. In this perspective, the personalization of treatments, based on the genomic approach, will give a new field of application to “precision” medicine. The WHO (World Health Organization) has just set up a Council for the Economy of Health for All, with a clear road map, namely, to put the principle of “health for all” at the heart of how we imagine economic growth. In November 2020, WHO General Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “The time has come to write a new story in which health is not seen as a cost, but as an essential investment for productive, resilient and stable economies at the same time. “It will be necessary for the governments of the planet to put the health of the population before the growth of their economy, there will be a radical change in the functioning of society, which will be based on health.
Will it be the same in Romania? Hard to believe or at least it will delay this strategy a lot, because unfortunately the well-being of citizens is put last, because it is necessary to change the mentality of people who do not know how to do preventive medicine, because it is necessary to change the mentality of our rulers who do not they value the health of the population.
