Role of Medical 4.0 in Recovery of Healthcare during COVID-19 Pandemic
The fourth medical revolution (Medical 4.0) represents the applications of electronically supported Information Technology, high level of automation, personalized therapy, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled intelligent devices enabled through the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant effect on global healthcare industry. Fortunately, the healthcare industry has shown remarkable recovery in terms of patient treatment capacity, employment numbers, employee wage rate, etc. in recent months. To what extent information technologies, particularly Medical 4.0 technologies, helped in the recovery process?
The larger question is: Can Medical 4.0 technologies adequately handle the ongoing situation and the challenges of COVID-19 or similar situations? This research studies Medical 4.0 exclusively in the context of COVID-19. At the completion of the project we will (1) identify the significant supporting technologies of Medical 4.0, (2) their capabilities in influencing health outcomes, and (3) indicate significant applications of Medical 4.0 in healthcare during COVID-19-type pandemics.
Rationale: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare system will be felt for decades, and the magnitude and costs are inestimable. Hospitals are facing increased pressure from tight labor and wage markets, especially for experienced staff, as well as rising pharmaceutical and supply chain costs. Medical 4.0 technologies might ease this situation.
After a sharp drop at the beginning of the pandemic, jobs in both the health and non-health sectors have begun to return. Employment had begun to rise again in healthcare sector by May 2020, though while the pandemic recession is over, recovery is incomplete. The health industry had reported 95% of pre-pandemic job numbers by July of 2020, but non-healthcare jobs did not return to 95% of pre-pandemic levels until almost a year later in June 2021. The recent outbreak of Omicron infections has added new constraints to the healthcare system.
Pandemic psychology is another issue. The increase in job quitting among healthcare workers has received attention in the media, though a large number of workers are quitting jobs across all industries (the “great resignation”) – in fact, quit rates were at the highest levels ever recorded in October 2021. The long-term effects on the health sector labor market from the pandemic are unknown, but changes in the delivery of healthcare (such as the growth of telehealth and other Medical 4.0 technologies) may lead to lasting shifts in the health industry. Further research is needed to understand the motivations of employees when choosing to accept or leave jobs, as well as how the pandemic has shifted the supply of, and demand for, healthcare workers in the long-term.