South African healthcare professionals rate technology as highly as work-life balance
Unlike their peers in some of the other countries surveyed, younger South African healthcare professionals believe access and availability to the latest equipment or technology (93%) is as important as work-life balance (92%) when deciding where to work, possibly due to its potential to decrease their workloads and work-related stress.
Therefore, improved technology may be one way to retain their talent and expertise, as most younger healthcare professionals in South Africa (72%) are excited about the future of their profession due to technology. 57% of younger South African healthcare professionals believe that being at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is important when choosing a hospital or practice in which to work. This is mirrored in their positive perceptions of AI’s potential impact; 79% believe that AI will allow them to provide patients with more accurate diagnoses, and 77% believe that it can provide them with the tools to keep patients healthy – both above the average of the 15 countries surveyed at 71% each.
Alongside advancements in AI, younger healthcare professionals in South Africa rate digital health technologies as an important tool to achieve better patient outcomes (83%), improved patients’ experiences (77%), and believe it will create more time to spend with patients (60%). This on the backdrop of younger South African healthcare professionals reporting that they have insufficient data to influence outcomes (64%) and feel that the data they have available does not lead to actionable insights (48%) – a reality exceeding experiences of those in many of the other countries surveyed.
Technology has the power to transform delivery, improve patient care, provide work satisfaction and drive value-based care. It also gives younger healthcare professionals the ability to shape future healthcare systems with care at the core.