A global pandemic now extending into its second year has caused disruption, dislocation and distress in every sector of the economy. Nowhere has this been truer than healthcare. Around the world, healthcare organizations have scrambled to cope with huge surges in patient numbers. Pharmaceutical companies have worked in a race against time to develop life-saving vaccines. Public health initiatives have proceeded at a scale previously unimaginable. And the whole sector has supported this through an accelerated rate of digital innovation.
Indeed, one of the legacies of the pandemic in healthcare will be the step-change in adoption of technology, virtual solutions and digital services. By challenging health systems as never before, Covid-19 revealed their ability to adapt quickly, test and experiment, and devise new solutions in real-time. It has also forced changes in consumer habits: introducing many more people to telemedicine, remote monitoring tools and the ability to take far greater control over their health and wellbeing.