NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, June 13, 2019

By Nick Paul Taylor

Philips has identified ways in which emerging economies lead the West in adoption and use of digital health technologies since it began publishing its annual Future Health Index report. Back in 2016, the report noted that emerging markets led the world in data sharing. In China and the UAE, 58% and 46% of patients, respectively, had shared data from connected devices with healthcare professionals. In the U.K., Sweden and Germany, the figures were 26%, 17% and 12%, respectively.

That data point and other findings led Philips to identify the potential for emerging countries to leap ahead of established economies and become the forerunners in digital health technologies. Philips’ latest survey of 15,000 patients and more than 3,000 healthcare professionals across 15 countries suggests that has now happened.

Photo courtesy of Andy Miah.