The future of healthcare in Singapore. How an integrated use of Industry 4.0 Technologies will radically redefine the industry, firms' business models, and the doctor-patient relationships.

Abstract

Industry 4.0 in the pharmaceutical, medical devices, and healthcare sectors could have a significant impact as they can help maximize productivity by analyzing the data of patients. This is helpful as different medical technologies can be used concurrently. For example, the digital storage of medical data, providing awareness about the next virus mutation or outbreak of diseases, may increase the accuracy of data and analysis. It may also provide more personalized therapeutic treatments and medications, better patient care and a significant improvement in time and cost-efficiency. The application of Industry 4.0 technologies to the pharma, medical, and healthcare sectors may also play an important role in addressing and helping overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to the latest innovations in the space of biopharma and biotech.This research will examine how likely medical industries will adopt the integration of industry 4.0 technologies and the full integration of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Internet of Medical Things, Digital Health, and Telemedicine to elevate their competitiveness, to improve doctor-patient relationships, and to sustain innovation. This study will also examine how receptive the public is to use these technologies; the integration of technologies into the healthcare industry, and the future of digital health. This research focuses on the Singapore medical industry and on the opinions of Singaporeans and the predictions of industry experts. Using qualitative methodology, this research is exploratory in nature, given the early-stage developments in the implementation of integrated 4.0 technologies in the digital health space. In addition, this study aims to assess the future potential benefits of integrating these advanced technologies into the medical and biopharma industries for the healthcare system of Singapore and its citizens. Finally, this study will seek to contribute to the existing literature in the fields of digital health, Blockchain-based health devices, Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), and Telemedicine, and to the integrated use of these technologies to create new value innovation opportunities and business models in the rapidly expanding digital health space of Singapore.