Rapidly evolving technologies along with demographic and economic changes, are allowing more healthcare services to take place in outpatient settings. Healthcare facilities of the future will look quite different than the traditional hospitals of today.

With aging infrastructure in some countries, and demand for more beds in others, healthcare stakeholders are re-thinking how to optimize inpatient and outpatient settings, how to best connect with consumers, and how to integrate digital technologies into traditional healthcare services to truly create a health system without boundaries or restrictions.

In many developing countries, there is often an acute lack of available primary healthcare facilities, especially in rural areas. The consequence is that many people are dying prematurely from illnesses and conditions that could have been treated had they been more readily diagnosed. The demand for healthcare facilities is not being met, especially in more rural areas, as they require large-scale capital investment over a period of years as well as a high level of specialist resources to build and operate.

In many cases, effective diagnosis and treatment of patients can be provided without the need to visit a hospital – over 90% of patients who visit hospitals do not end up being admitted. However, the lack of even primary healthcare facilities available, particularly to people in remote areas means that patients have to travel long distances for diagnosis and treatment. This often leads to patients delaying treatment until their illnesses have developed into an advanced stage with acute symptoms where intensive treatment is needed, placing an additional burden on limited medical resources.