Interview Session with Dr. Dinesh Visva Gunsekeran, Senior Lecturer (Medical Innovation) National University of Singapore, Physician Leader (Telemedicine), Raffles Medical Group, Singapore
Give us a short insight into what you’ll be speaking at the 7th Pharmacon Asia 2020.
I’ll be sharing about the emerging opportunities in major digital health domains (Digital platforms, Artificial Intelligence, Big data, Internet of Things) for the conduct of clinical trials and pharmaceutical drug discovery/distribution from the perspective of a practicing clinician and medical innovator/investor.
How has Covid-19 impacted the digitalization of the pharmaceutical industry?
COVID-19 has disrupted traditional models of face-to-face (F2F) healthcare that are being re-examined at all levels in clinical practice. The conduct of clinical trial recruitment and drug discovery/distribution is not spared.
What are the challenges faced when digitalizing the pharma industry, and where do you see growth opportunities?
These trends for digitisation in healthcare in the context of already skyrocketing costs/administration create mounting pressure for consolidation among stakeholders to leverage economies of scale in digital marketing, technology development/ adoption, and service operationalisation. By virtue of digitisation, consolidation also occurs at key touchpoints in the intersections of consumer health-seeking behavior and provision of digital clinical care, creating tremendous opportunities by way of holistic big data on patient journeys/experience, scalable avenues for representative clinical trial recruitment, and opportunities for digital marketing of medications (direct to consumer for over the counter drugs, and direct to provider for prescription drugs).
Tell us your view on the role of leadership in digital transformation
Leadership for digital transformation in the context of healthcare today needs to adopt high engagement, participatory approaches within healthcare organisations, and aggressive networking with other stakeholders in the healthcare system. Leaders need to be cognizant of micro- and mega-trends in healthcare to generate value through alignment, and accelerate operationalisation of new digital collaborations.
Share with us an interesting fact regarding your day-to-day role.
My daily roles span health innovation, investment, academia, and clinical practice. For the latter, during COVID-19, 90% of clinical care has shifted to online provision.
What conversations are you looking forward to having at the Digital Pharma Conference?
I look forward to conversations about potential collaborations in the space of healthcare digitisation, investments in digital solutions for digital drug distribution, and value-creation through stakeholder partnerships.
*Views and opinions expressed by guests are of their own, and do not necessarily reflect the view of Informa nor the company that they are representing.

Author

Dr. Dinesh Visva Gunsekeran
Senior Lecturer (Medical Innovation), National University of Singapore,
Physician Leader (Telemedicine), Raffles Medical Group, Singapore
Dr. Dinesh Visva Gunsekeran will be presenting “Tech Use in Trials, in the Case of COVID-19” at the 7th Pharmacon Asia event happening from 23 – 25 September 2020.
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