Platforms of Intelligence: Addressing COVID-19 and other emergencies

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its global march, there has been a scramble to predict where the virus will spread next, explain its behaviour and provide early warnings. A tiny Canada-based start-up, BlueDot, using data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and its analytical systems had picked up signs of the virus in late December 2019, before anyone knew about it. The discovery shot BlueDot into the limelight. Its founder, Kamran Khan, was at the cusp of realizing the thought that led him to found BlueDot: “Spread knowledge faster than the diseases spread themselves.”¹ Healthcare Payers, Providers, Pharmacy Benefit Managers and Pharma can take a page out of BlueDot’s playbook to stay ahead of the curve and improve how businesses respond to healthcare emergencies like COVID-19.

The surge in demand for healthcare services has been crippling. Test kits, masks, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), ventilators, sanitizers, hospital beds, isolation facilities, nursing staff and telemedicine capacity are scarce. The message in the big picture is sharp: It is not enough for the healthcare industry to be reactive.

What can healthcare providers do differently to stay better prepared?

The simplest step to take is to adopt a platform thinking approach. Using platforms, most solutions can be strategized in 3 days, designed in 3 weeks and developed/deployed in 3 months. These digital platforms draw their power from the ability to suck in vast amounts of near real-time data. They are embedded with analytical engines, AI and ML capabilities. They can track the health of populations and identify people at risk, enable real-time visibility of supply chain risks, provide supplier quality visibility and more important provide patient personalisation capabilities at scale.

ITC Infotech’s Intelligent Planning for Resilience (see Figure 1 for architecture) is one such unique solution that combines the power of early warnings, rapid simulation for anticipating impact across the supply chain and connected planning to help rewire the organization for superior “resilience” (see Figure 2). It is a “must-have” capability for healthcare providers. With a platform like this, healthcare businesses can respond effectively to the next emergency.

Figure 2: Intelligent Planning for Resilience

The platform, with a rich library of pre-built accelerators, is bundled with a rapid deployment methodology –3 days for strategy, 3 weeks for design and 3 months for development for the first minimal viable product.

Intelligence-led digital capabilities are now the source of differentiation and competitive advantage. More than that, coordinated data management and analytics will ensure providers become pro-active and respond to developing emergencies with accuracy. Whether it is quality-based reporting, financial modelling, or projects such as personalized health and science discoveries, they will benefit from platform thinking to deploy solutions at scale and speed.

We call these ‘Platforms of Intelligence’—systems that are designed to address the future of healthcare and remain resilient in the face of the toughest medical challenges.

To see if your business could benefit from our Platforms of Intelligence write to contact.us@itcinfotech.com