JEDDAH — With GCC healthcare IT spending set to top $550 million in 2015, healthcare providers must anticipate the next wave of healthcare technology to enhance patient care and reduce costs, industry experts announced today in the build-up to GITEX Technology Week 2015. Healthcare IT spending in the GCC is set to grow by 24 percent from $444 million in 2011 to $551 million in 2015, with features such as e-health and mobile health tools driving efficiency, reducing costs, and meeting increasing demands from patients, according to a recent report from Alpen Capital. In the face of a massive global shift from reactive to predictive and proactive healthcare, increasingly tech-savvy patients are using the Internet and mobile apps to focus on healthy lifestyles, wellness and wellbeing, according to a new report by Frost & Sullivan. Among the healthcare innovations that will shape a new generation of healthcare and wellness over the next five years are implantable biochemical and digestible sensors that can monitor critical health indicators, gamification to help people adopt routines and diets, robotic nurses that can help old age patients, personalized genomics for identifying illnesses, diagnostic wearables, 3D printed medication, and exoskeletons, according to Frost & Sullivan. “The GCC's increasingly tech-savvy patients are putting pressure on the regional healthcare industry to adopt the latest health information technology innovations – a trend that has the potential to significantly reduce the financial strain on both patients and governments,” said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Exhibitions & Events Management, Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). “GITEX Technology Week 2015 will provide an ideal platform for healthcare providers to experience the latest in healthcare innovation - from more efficient patient data management solutions to cutting-edge mobile innovations driving patient welfare.” Healthcare solutions among GITEX Technology Week 2015 exhibitors include mobile-enabled smart lenses by Google and Novartis that measure blood glucose from tear fluid, and real-time healthcare analytics by SAP that can track and control the spread of contagious diseases, which have proven effective in fighting Ebola in West Africa. Global thought leaders in digital health will discuss how consumers, patients and healthcare providers can create better solutions, outcomes and lower healthcare costs worldwide at the GTX TechVerticals Conference. The 35th GITEX Technology Week – held under the theme of “The Internet Future of Everything” – will run on Oct.18-22, 2015 at DWTC. — SG
