Clement Pacaud, managing director of Visiomed, which runs the high-tech medical centre Smart Salem in the Middle East, told European Scientist that the market is booming due to improved prevention, an ever-expanding field and artificial intelligence.
The European Scientist: You are an expert in digital health and run a high-tech health center in the Gulf region. These concepts are often misunderstood. How would you explain digital health?
Clément Pacaud: Digital health is built on the concept of the 5Ps: personalized, preventive, predictive, participatory and evidence-based. To achieve this, digital health is based on the extraction and analysis of data, which is precisely the cornerstone of tomorrow’s health. Digital health promises to make the most of this data to guide healthcare decisions, treatment approaches and patient knowledge. The high-tech health center is a practical application of digital health.
TES.: As an operator of high-tech medical centers, your company is just one link in the chain. Who are the main players?
CP: Digital health or high-tech health is a concept that was first conceived mainly at government level. Every country, every hospital and every society sees it as an essential asset for tomorrow’s healthcare. In France, it is the subject of a strategic acceleration plan funded with 650 million euros, launched very recently. In the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, the development of digital health is widely encouraged by government authorities that value innovation in all sectors of society.
No matter how necessary, the impetus provided by public authorities is still insufficient. Today, digital health is driven mainly by groups of innovative “medtech” companies, research centers, hospitals or healthcare institutions that put it into practice every day. According to studies, the global digital health market could be worth around 240 billion euros. It is a huge hotbed of opportunities and innovation. Above all, it is already changing patients’ lives. In all areas of healthcare, many digital tools have already been validated by the medical community and their effectiveness has been proven by studies.
TES.: What are the specific benefits for patients?
CP: Two things: speed of execution and personalization of the patient experience. Regarding the first point, we demonstrate every day in our medical centers how the full digitalization of procedures significantly reduces waiting times and facilitates the logistical flow of patients. This benefits not only our customers but also our medical staff. Regarding the second point, patients’ health data is already digitized and they can undergo a range of tests tailored to their needs and requirements, from administrative health checks (visa, driver’s license, etc.) to full medical examinations. Looking at digital health more generally, patients can learn more about their risk factors, their likelihood of developing certain diseases and the preventive measures to avoid them. This is a clear benefit in terms of extending a healthy lifespan and reducing the onset of diseases that have a large societal cost. It is therefore not surprising that digital health is now a priority for health authorities in many countries.
TES.: We often talk about the contribution of artificial intelligence to digital health, but we don’t really understand the reality of it…
CP: Let’s not get us wrong. Artificial intelligence is first and foremost a tool for healthcare professionals, not an end in itself. Artificial intelligence is based on a two-fold approach: firstly, it is quantitative, in the sense that it can quickly process huge amounts of health data. It is also qualitative, in the sense that it can detect things that are difficult to identify with human expertise alone. Artificial intelligence in medicine is already fully operational and is increasingly used in medical and preventive strategies in public and private institutions around the world. Innovation in this field is a continuous process, with new contributions and possibilities coming regularly, so I don’t think it will ever end. You only have to go to specialized trade fairs to see how innovation moves at breakneck speed.
TES.: So you’re already using it?
CP: In fact, AI is already directly integrated into Smart Salem Medical Center. Currently, we use specific AI software to analyze X-rays and assist doctors in diagnosing patients. This is also reflected in our development approach. We are constantly looking to develop potential partnerships with medtech companies specializing in medical AI and other technologies across various specialties, such as Mammography 2.0 to optimize breast cancer diagnosis, using blood tests to improve identification of exposure to certain cancers, or even laboratories offering genomic testing to identify predisposition to certain diseases. Keeping our finger on the pulse of the medtech innovation ecosystem will allow us to integrate the best AI tools into the center’s medical services as much as possible and stay on the cutting edge of digital health.
If you ask me what a Smart Salem 2.0 Center should be, I would say that Smart Salem is already one of them. Our goal is to add elements of innovation and service bit by bit. If we find an operational technology that delivers evidence-based results that can meet our needs, we can quickly integrate it into our services. The medical technology ecosystem focused on artificial intelligence is great because it opens up a whole new world of possibilities in the medical field.
TES.: Could this high-tech healthcare model be applied elsewhere?
CP: Digital medical centers have established themselves everywhere in the world in terms of the promise of faster and safer diagnostics. But they need to be adapted to the needs of public authorities and local residents. In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the majority of our revenues are currently related to administrative medical examinations for foreign workers’ residence visas. This is specific to countries with a high level of labor migration. We found that there are more than 80 countries around the world that face similar needs due to the presence of a large number of foreign workers, such as Australia, Canada, and Singapore. In the UAE, administrative examinations were carried out by public health centers that struggled to keep up with the demand. From the time a patient arrived at the examination room until he was discharged, very long processing times, sometimes up to 10 hours, were required, with delays of days or even weeks in processing medical data and issuing visas. In a way, we have completed our offer and streamlined the process. It takes an average of just 5 minutes to carry out all medical examinations and less than 30 minutes to obtain a residence visa.
But the DNA of a high-tech medical center lies above all in its flexibility and adaptability. It can be designed to carry out a complete examination from a preventive point of view to identify patients’ risk factors or it can be integrated into a cancer center. A high-tech medical center is, first and foremost, a set of tools designed to meet a specific need. As for future locations, we have decided not to set any restrictions in any way. At the same time, we would like to strengthen our network of existing locations in the Gulf region in the future, since the region is growing rapidly and there is a great demand for our services.
TES.: But the United Arab Emirates seems to be particularly fertile ground…
CP: The quality and efficiency of the services provided by our center are recognized by local residents and authorities, as evidenced by our growth in 2023 (41% increase in the number of tests in 2023, equivalent to a 38% increase in revenue compared to 2022). The authorities are promoting our services and have full trust in us to carry out a mission that is very strategic for them. Our IT systems are directly integrated with those of the Dubai Emirate Health Authority, giving us a true public-private partnership. This is the basis for a very long-term relationship based on trust.
It is right to describe the UAE as fertile ground. The digitization of administrative procedures, the digitalization of healthcare and, more broadly, innovation in the healthcare sector are all priorities in the country’s economic diversification plan. The same is true in Saudi Arabia. We are currently launching our operations and our services are fully aligned with the Vision 2030 plan currently being rolled out by the local government. One only needs to take a quick look at the COVID-19 pandemic management to see how much of a priority innovative digital health has become in the UAE and across the Gulf. In the face of widespread chaos in Europe, they deployed impressive testing capacities and ultimately barely had to reduce travel. This means Visiomed is well placed to thrive in this ecosystem on all fronts.
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