The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of telemedicine and digital innovation in the Swiss healthcare sector. Local start-ups have developed solutions for contact monitoring, diagnostics and barrier management, propelling the health tech sector to rapid growth.
The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for the digital transformation of the Swiss healthcare sector, accelerating the adoption of telemedicine and stimulating the development of paramedical digital tools.
Before the crisis, digitization of the healthcare sector was seen as a priority, but hampered by complex IT environments, a lack of specialists and resistance to change. However, with the advent of the healthcare crisis, these obstacles have been overcome. A KPMG survey of 38 healthcare establishments revealed that the pandemic has changed attitudes, making healthcare providers more open to digital change.
Perhaps the most visible sign of this evolution is the accelerated adoption of telemedicine. For example, Geneva's Hôpital de la Tour has extended its use of the e-consultation platform of start-up Soignez-moi.ch. Other Swiss start-ups, such as eedoctors in Bern, have extended their offer to family doctors, hospitals and health centers. For its part, OneDoc in Geneva anticipated demand by developing a video consultation module in April, initially planned for the summer.
Beyond telemedicine, many Swiss start-ups have developed digital tools to meet the challenges of pandemics. The Swisscovid application, developed at EPFL, was one of the first initiatives to notify at-risk contacts, thanks to APIs from Apple and Google. Vaud-based start-up DeepLink has created chatbots to inform companies about support measures in the cantons of Vaud and Geneva.
Other companies have been quick to adapt or extend their products to help comply with barrier gestures. Technis, which specializes in connected flooring, has modified its technology to enable businesses to manage the number of people present simultaneously in a location. And Beekeeper, a German start-up, has enhanced its collaborative solution to enable companies to collect information on the health of their staff.
The pandemic has also given rise to new ideas for using data for diagnostic purposes. Projects such as the one at EPFL and MIT have developed algorithms capable of detecting an infection from the sound of a cough recorded with a smartphone. Zurich-based start-up Ava has launched a project in Liechtenstein to evaluate the ability of its fertility bracelets to detect COVID-19 at an early stage.
These innovations represent a major step forward for the Swiss health tech scene, which now boasts some 200 start-ups. According to Alfred Angerer, Professor of Healthcare Management at ZHAW, “the digital health sector and the start-ups associated with it will expand rapidly in the coming years. The COVID-19 pandemic will probably accelerate this trend.”
So, while the health crisis has been a challenge for many sectors, it has also enabled Switzerland to make a decisive digital shift in healthcare, paving the way for many forward-looking innovations.
Source : ICTjournal
