Improving healthcare in Asia with data

GPS trackers in the shoes of dementia patients to alert caregivers if they wander out of their safety zones; homes equipped with sensors and a video surveillance system to watch over the young and the elderly; wearable devices to remotely track any subnormal bodily function or activity and even to help predict falls among the elderly before they occur - these are no longer part of a pipe dream, and are, in reality, some examples of the use of technology in healthcare today.

In particular, with the demographic changes across Asia-Pacific, we are witnessing a corresponding rise in technology applications geared towards helping the elderly lead normal lives.

An ageing population with increasing life expectancy and a growing middle-class in the region has not only increased the overall demand for healthcare services, but also impacted the demand for hospitals. While global healthcare markets are forecast to grow at less than 6 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2012 to 2018, the Asia-Pacific healthcare market is projected to expand at more than double this CAGR - at 12.8 per cent over the same period, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan.