2025 Global health care outlook
Extended wait times for clinician appointments or clinical tests can negatively affect the patient experience. Consumers who rely on public health systems, for example, might need to wait days or weeks for an appointment. In 2023, for example, Canadians experienced a median wait time of 12.9 weeks for an MRI scan, which was two weeks longer than the previous year.14
When expectations are not met, patients relying on a public health system might have less flexibility to switch clinicians or care locations compared with those with private health coverage or those who pay out of pocket. However, the democratisation of information is slowly changing this situation, empowering patients to make their own medical decisions.
Patients now have access to a growing wealth of detailed health data. The increased use of this information, combined with apps and digital tools, can help patients make informed decisions and take control of their health journeys. In addition, their interactions with the retail and finance sectors are raising their expectations for health systems and doctors. Experiences with these industries are changing expectations and preferences among patients, which could have a profound impact on health systems in 2025.
Nearly three quarters of surveyed health system executives (72%) listed “improve consumer experience, engagement, and trust” as a priority in 2025. Consider this: The Ritz-Carlton aims to “delight” its customers using data to create personalised experiences.15 Similarly, data and digital tools could help health systems anticipate adverse health events and transform the patient experience. Algorithms built from EMR data, for example, could help identify cardiac patients who are likely to have a second heart attack, enabling clinical staff to work with those patients to reduce their health risks.16
Alternative sites of care, such as virtual health or hospital-at-home, could help meet changing patient expectations. Nearly 90% of health system executives expect the expanding adoption of digital tools, connected care delivery, and virtual health to influence their strategies in 2025. Virtual health has the potential to improve accessibility and reduce wait times. In rural parts of India and Indonesia, for example, the closest medical facility can be several hours away, and scheduling a medical procedure might take weeks or months. India’s health care sector is undergoing a digital transformation to make services more accessible and affordable (See sidebar, “Many countries in Asia are moving toward digital transformation”).17 In more advanced countries, virtual health is being combined with patient portals and apps to improve engagement by connecting patients to care teams and other parts of the health care ecosystem.
Many countries in Asia are moving toward digital transformation
While there is interest in digital transformation, health care leaders and government officials in some countries in Asia are ensuring they have the right data in the right format and location to move forward effectively. For example, all nine private hospitals in Singapore have committed to sharing patient health information with the country’s national EHR, the Ministry of Health announced in late 2024.18 Malaysia is currently in the process of establishing a national EMR.19 IHH Healthcare, a private company that operates 80 hospitals across 10 countries, recently moved some on-site hospital database systems in Malaysia and Singapore to the cloud.20
In Japan, the government is developing a system to consolidate data across various health care systems and platforms. It is also promoting the widespread adoption and interoperability of cloud-based EMRs to help accelerate health care digitisation. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare is easing regulatory barriers and offering subsidies to support the nationwide sharing of medical information.21
India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare created the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission to establish a health ecosystem to digitally connect hospitals, clinics, insurers, doctors, labs, and pharmacies.22 The country’s National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers recently introduced preliminary standards for hospital information systems and EMR systems.23
In Indonesia, 80% of health care facilities are “untouched by digital technology,” and 270 million patient records exist only on paper, according to a 2024 report from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia. The government’s Blueprint of Digital Health Transformation Strategy provides health care stakeholders with a roadmap toward digital transformation.24
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