3. Learning from forerunners


The third theme looks at how some countries have leapfrogged others when it comes to health technology and how digital health technologies are increasingly becoming part of the everyday healthcare experience for both healthcare professionals and patients. For example, the surveyed individuals in China, Saudi Arabia and India more frequently said they take action related to their health as a result of tracking key health indicators via digital health technology or mobile health apps. The experiences of digital health technology forerunners provide lessons that all countries can learn from and apply to their own healthcare systems.

"We know from the previous three editions of the FHI study that it is hard for countries with a developed healthcare system to change, simply because of the legacy," said Jan Kimpen. "So we should learn from countries with an emerging healthcare system that have leapfrogged in the adoption of digital technologies. Technology is no longer a limiting factor, the important thing for all of us is to be prepared for change."

Since 2016, Philips has conducted original research to help determine the readiness of countries to address global health challenges and build efficient and effective health systems. Details on the methodology and a full list of sources are available here.


The Future Health Index surveys were fielded from March 4 to May 19, 2019 in 15 countries (Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, The Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Poland, U.K. and U.S.) in their native language. The survey was conducted online and offline (as relevant to the needs of each market) with a sample size of 1,000 per market for individuals (general population) and 200 per market for healthcare professionals. The exceptions were the US and Germany, which each had slightly larger samples of healthcare professionals. For the general population audience, the survey is representative of key demographics e.g. age, gender, region, location type (rural/urban), income/SEL/education and ethnicity (where appropriate to ask). This was achieved through a mix of balancing and weighting. In Saudi Arabia and Brazil, the survey is nationally representative of the online population. The survey length was approximately 15 minutes for the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands, and approximately 10 minutes for the remaining markets. The total sample from the survey includes 3,194 healthcare professionals (defined as those who work in healthcare as a doctor, surgeon, nurse practitioner, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse or nurse across a variety of specializations) and 15,114 individuals that represent the adult general population.

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