Research published this week by Philips gives an insight into doctors’ experience of COVID-19 and how they believe the healthcare industry should change in response.

The Future Health Index (FHI) Insights: COVID-19 and Younger Healthcare Professionals survey supplements the main FHI 2020 global report, The Age of Opportunity.

It captures feedback from 500 doctors under the age of 40 in five countries: France, Germany, the US, China and Singapore.

The survey reveals that during COVID-19, younger doctors changed their attitudes towards the relative benefits of different health technologies.

Before the pandemic, 60% ranked artificial intelligence (AI) as the top digital health technology that would most improve their work satisfaction, with 39% identifying telehealth as the top technology. Now following the pandemic, 61% rank telehealth as the digital health technology that would have most improved their experiences at this time, with AI falling to 53%.

For many younger doctors, working through COVID-19 has shown what a more technologically forward-thinking workplace could look like, with 44% reporting the pandemic exposed them to new ways of using digital health technologies. 

As the healthcare sector prepares for the future, many younger doctors hope these advancements will become permanent fixtures of their post-COVID-19 workplace environments.

When asked what changes in healthcare they most hoped would become outlast the pandemic, younger doctors ranked exposure to new types of digital health technologies (29%), new ways to use digital health technologies (29%), greater appreciation from patients (29%), and accelerated availability of digital health technologies (28%) as their top responses.

Jan Kimpen, Philips Chief Medical Officer, has discussed the FHI 2020 findings in two digital dialogue sessions: 'Leveraging digital to protect healthcare workers' and 'Leveraging digital for chronic care', which can both be accessed via the HIMSS Learning Centre on-demand directory.

Philips also co-hosted two sessions during the HIMSS & Healthcare 2.0 European Digital Event in partnership with the American Telemedicine Association (ATA). These sessions outlined critical ways to plan a telehealth strategy and embed it into care delivery models going forward.

In the Philips spotlight speaker session on 7 September, Kimpen addressed 'Critical care in critical settings: lessons learned from COVID-19: Supporting and protecting the frontline'.

During the second Philips session on 8 September,  Karsten Russell-Wood, Philips director of portfolio management, and Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the ATA, presented and participated in a panel session on 'Telehealth community: implementation masterclass'.  

Philips is also showcasing its advanced clinical and operational capabilities, embedded with AI and analytics at the HIMSS & Healthcare 2.0 European Digital Event.