‘IT initiatives are slowly but steadily emerging as a key focus area for public healthcare’

Tell us about the deal with International SOS? What would be the distinctiveness of the solution that Orange would provide?

Yee May Leong

Orange Business Services is supporting International SOS, the world’s leading integrated medical, clinical, and security services organisation, in the transformation and management of its entire communications infrastructure. As part of the five-year contract, Orange will redesign, consolidate and manage International SOS’s various networks across 118 locations in 50 countries. In addition, Orange will provide a fully managed, integrated and optimised network solution that empowers International SOS with application prioritisation and enables visibility and control over its infrastructure. Consolidation of existing firewalls and security architecture will enable centralised governance and control. Orange will also develop a centralised call centre architecture for the 27 assistance centres and add business continuity enhancements by providing a managed IP telephony solution.

The solution is distinct as it transforms International SOS’s existing architecture by making it centralised, visible and highly optimised. A robust, secure and reliable infrastructure is the centrepiece for effectively reaching out to International SOS’s members/customers. By making the assistance centres and the support infrastructure highly secure, robust and efficient, they are better equipped to handle emergencies, support people in need and move swiftly in a difficult environment with the help of reliable and industry leading technology.

A study by Frost & Sullivan claims that Healthcare IT market in India may touch $1,454 million by 2018. How poised is Orange Business Services to optimise the growth potential in this arena?

We provide a wide range of e-health solutions including machine-to-machine (M2M), embedded devices, security, infrastructure and networking – to build a connected healthcare ecosystem.

We have gained significant knowledge in e-health through Orange Labs, our research and development test-bed, and through our partner network.

For the last 15 years, we have been equipping hospitals and clinics with software, communication and infrastructure solutions. Today, we provide solutions that can help all players in the healthcare ecosystem work together, while focusing on the ways in which the latest technologies can make life easier for professionals and patients alike.

As a global player dealing in various markets around the world, how has Healthcare IT changed over the years? How receptive has India been vis-a-vis its global counterparts?

The level of IT maturity in healthcare varies across markets, and there are different solutions being adopted to suit each market’s unique needs. As an example, in certain mature markets, healthcare providers are adopting innovative solutions to address issues of rapidly ageing population. Networking of homes and care centres, machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for gathering patient data for monitoring and research, wearable tech devices that can transmit a patient’s real-time health statistics to their physician for remote monitoring etc. are some solutions being adopted. The vast amount of data collected can also be used for Big Data analytics to assess patient heath, identify patterns and for advancement of medical research.

On the other hand, in markets like India, IT initiatives are slowly but steadily emerging as a key focus area for public healthcare. Emergency response management delivered through contact centre solutions is one of the ways in which we are supporting the public healthcare sector in India. Orange has worked in more than 11 states for emergency response and management solutions. We have successfully implemented India’s first Emergency Response Centre integrated with the local authorities like police, fire, medical providers and other departments, capable of providing emergency services as quickly as possible.

We have also partnered with the Royal Government of Bhutan to deliver real time healthcare services to the people of Bhutan. We set up a Health Help Centre (HHC) that addresses health line call centre needs and emergency management with an anytime-anywhere approach. The new communication infrastructure provides the citizens of Bhutan access to a variety of healthcare services including a health advice solution, emergency response and emergency management through a health helpline call centre.

What are the focus areas for healthcare IT players in India? Which segments have the maximum potential?

With the rise of Indian middle class and access to better healthcare services, especially in the urban regions, Indian healthcare market is poised to grow rapidly. The use of information technology (IT) is playing a very important role in enhancing the healthcare delivery mechanisms.

Continued investments in research, manufacturing and delivery of quality IT solutions for healthcare shows the commitment of IT players in this growing market. There is a need for IT automation for supply chain management, healthcare governance and providing access for public healthcare in many markets across Asia Pacific.

Technologies such as video conferencing, remote monitoring, contact centre services (Dial 108 projects) will help in bridging the gap between governance and public distribution of healthcare services even in remote locations. On the other hand, virtualisation, cloud, DR will enable care givers and hospitals to focus on the real task at hand and stop worrying about IT.

Are there any more deals in the pipeline for Orange Business Services? If yes, elaborate.

Orange provides healthcare technology solutions to organisations worldwide. Asia-Pacific is a very important market for us as the adoption of IT healthcare in countries like India is fast transforming the healthcare services and facilities in these countries. While we have been working with several providers, we cannot share details at this stage.

What are the reigning trends in this industry? How beneficial are they in streamlining and improving healthcare delivery?

The healthcare industry is undergoing a transformation. It is gaining strength due to hospital modernisation, home healthcare, patient care innovation, medical tourism, rising government investments and the benefits of the public-private partnership model.

Some of the key trends in this industry are:

• ICT is enabling healthcare providers to streamline their offerings through the adoption of IT solutions for effective management of resources, improvement of time-lines for patient care delivery, conditioned health monitoring of patients and access to healthcare in remote locations
• Big Data Analytics and Cloud are being used for effective catalogue and management of patient records and research
• Cloud computing offers a huge opportunity for IT deployment in hospitals across India. Hospitals can leverage their IT assets across key functions through cloud computing. Cloud allows healthcare providers to do more with less investment and increase operational agility.
• Telemedicine, the use of IT for delivering health services and information over distances, has a substantial scope for growth in India. The use of telemedicine can aid in dealing with the shortage of healthcare staff and also improve the penetration of healthcare infrastructure and resources in the under-served rural areas.

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