‘Digital health tech to bring down healthcare cost’

CHENNAI: Scaling up digital health technologies will bring down the cost of healthcare per individual and help provide targeted care, said Grace Lethlean, co-founder and chief product officer of ANDHealth, an Australian government-backed health-tech accelerator.

Speaking to this newspaper recently, she said there is a cost saving when it is provided for the masses. “Once you build a test, (price for) 10 people, it’s the same for 10,000 people (or) 10 million people. You can get widespread screening and diagnostics done through digital health. And then you can just care for those who need care and be efficient.”

“We’re going to see cheaper care, but not compromising on the quality,” she added.  ANDHealth, which supports evidence-based health technology, has helped start-ups raise $86 million and generated $34 million in revenue till now. Lethlean facilitates and mentors start-ups from ideation to building evidence and taking it to the market.  She said there are good opportunities for digital diagnostics, medication adherence and helping patients manage lifestyle diseases like diabetes. Responding to a question, she said digital technologies could provide equitable and unbiased care for women, based on the data. “It’s not looking at you and thinking, Oh, you’re a woman, you’re whining,” she adds.

Lethlean emphasises financial support in developing, scaling and providing digital health tech to the masses and start-ups need to find a suitable business model.“Start-ups should understand who’s going to use it and who’s going to pay for it as they’re very different. Often the healthcare provider and the government will pay for you to use it at your home,” she said.