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Download PDF FileCHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Healthcare is a primary sector for any country in the world. The lives of people are directly related to it which gives it a key position for reforms and innovations. The development in digital technology has helped various sectors in improving their spread of information. This is important in the healthcare sector because the results can be huge (McArthur et al., 2016, pp. 36). The reforms in this sector are changing due to the interest of entrepreneurs in this field.
Contextual Background
The increased demand for high-quality health services has encouraged people all over the world to invest in new technologies that could help the process of diagnosis and treatment of different diseases and ailments. In the past, investors have been more interested in commercial activities such as the food and retail industry. However, the capacity in the conventional areas has caused people to invest their time and resources in the healthcare sector (Campbell et al., 2016, p. 4). There have been some reservations due to the accuracy of activities involved in the health sector because risk cannot be taken when it comes to a patient’s health. However, the development of technology and digitalization in various procedures has brought great exactness in the work of the health sector.
Research Problem
In this era of digitalization, people want their work done in the fastest and most efficient manner. Moreover, globalization through Internet technology has enabled people to become highly aware of the modern tools and systems being used in different professions (Batterham et al., 2016, pp. 3). There have been many studies that discuss the implementation of biomedical technology in healthcare with the aid of other technological innovations (Gordon and Catalini, 2018; Luo et al., 2016; Qi et al., 2017; Ok et al., 2015). Most of the studies discuss the implementation of advanced biomedical technology within the healthcare sector (Darwish, Ismail Sayed, and Ella Hassanien, 2019; Miller et al., 2017; Chen and Huang, 2018). However, not much literature is found when searching for the challenges faced by entrepreneurs during the implementation of advanced biomedical technology within the healthcare sector. Additionally, not much literature is found that discusses the challenges faced by entrepreneurs who are planning to implement such technology within the healthcare sector of the UK. Thus, this study aims to address this problem which is faced by the entrepreneurs who enter the health sector and have difficulty in implementing modern techniques in this profession within the healthcare sector of the UK.
Aims and Objectives
The main of this study is to evaluate the challenges faced by entrepreneurs during the implementation of advanced biomedical technologies within the healthcare sector of the UK. The researcher has identified the following objectives:
To study the challenges in the implementation of advanced biomedical technology in healthcare from a theoretical perspective
To identify various biomedical technologies currently being employed in the healthcare industry
To explore the challenge faced by entrepreneurs in the implementation of advanced biomedical technology in healthcare in the UK
To provide recommendations to mitigate the challenges faced by entrepreneurs during the implementation of biomedical technologies in the healthcare sector of the UK
The rationale of the Study
The rationale of this study is to find out the issues faced by businessmen who invest in innovative technologies for healthcare. In the past, several studies have been conducted to analyze the problems in healthcare systems including the human resource management procedures, digitalization, and relevant areas (Schopman, Kalshoven, and Boon, 2017; Iivari et al., 2017; Manogaran et al., 2017). However, not many studies discuss the numerous challenges that entrepreneurs face when they plan to invest and implement advanced biomedical healthcare technologies, and the actual problems faced by entrepreneurs in bringing advanced biomedical technologies into healthcare within the UK are not yet observed by researchers in detail (Thongpravati et al., 2016, pp. 1222). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the challenges faced during the implementation of advanced biomedical healthcare technology within the healthcare sector of the UK.
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The Healthcare sector is highly influenced by technological advances in recent years. People from different professions are involved in developing efficient systems for better health facilities (Wilden et al., 2018, p. 51). There are certain problems that people face while bringing these biomedical technologies for public use.
This literature review shall start with the analysis of entrepreneurs in healthcare and then the innovative technologies being used in this sector will be studied. This will be followed by the challenges faced in the implementation of such advanced procedures in healthcare and the relevant theoretical framework in the area. Finally, the chapter summary shall conclude this chapter.
Theoretical Framework
The introduction of advanced biomedical equipment has received a mixed response from the professionals in this field and the public. Hospitals find it difficult to adopt such technologies because they have to shift their systems entirely to welcome the new tools.
In Norway, the adoption of telehealth consultations was less than 1% despite high encouragement from the state towards it (Greenhalgh et al., 2017, p. 156). According to Walia et al., (2019, p. 1238), there are several barriers when it comes to implementing new technologies in health centers because the corresponding laws need to be observed. Moreover, the high complexity of inventions naturally makes them tough to use in common facilities. One cannot guarantee the correct working of a device unless it is tested hundreds of times and in the case of health equipment, the quality assurance has to be greater than usual. Consequently, the biomedical technology invented today shall have to wait for some years before it reaches widespread use (Setiawan, 2019, p. 847). This gap in the time frame then introduces more inventions so there is always a need for upscale among health facilities all over the world.
Entrepreneurs in Healthcare
In the study of Salminen et al. (2014, p. 456) entrepreneurship is a relatively old concept when it comes to healthcare. There has been important work done during World War Two by individuals who came to the rescue of injured people. The motivation to serve humanity is an underlying reason why a great number of people wish to enter this field. However, the subdued pace of innovation in healthcare is attributed to the global market in healthcare (Naughton and Foss, 2019, pp. 55-64). Financial factors cause a big hindrance to advanced biomedical technologies being used in widespread health facilities. Some individuals have developed electronic health services on their own but they cannot be considered effective in every region of this world.
Innovative Technologies in Healthcare
Thongpravati et al. (2016, p. 1222) in their study highlight that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been used in healthcare and have been observed to have huge potential in several domains in the area. From conventional administrative work to highly advanced surgical treatments, advanced biomedical technologies can play their role in making this sector more efficient. The development of electronic healthcare platforms has enabled users to access the services of doctors at any time and location in the world. Modern applications can monitor heart rate, blood pressure, sugar level, and many other things which are important for a routine health check-up (Thongpravati et al., 2016, p. 1222). The recent development in the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is still finding its way into the health sector on a large scale (Aceto et al., 2018, p. 125). However, the use of advanced biomedical machines for treatment and microelectronic devices such as sensors and implanted devices used in surgery are widely used all over the world. The huge number of intelligent devices allows a non-medical person to check and diagnose the majority of problems related to healthcare which is a significant indicator of the level of innovation in this profession (Batterham et al., 2016, p. 4).
Challenges in implementing advanced biomedical technologies in healthcare
The study of Wharton et al. (2017, p. 367) stated that the development of advanced medical technologies is not so simple to implement on large scale due to several issues involved in it. The main reason is that patients are usually sensitive when it comes to their health and they are not willing to take risks. The modern systems which can be operated without a person are mostly not trusted by people because of the absence of human beings controlling them (Wherton et al., 2017, p. 367). Another issue is the cost connected with advanced machinery for healthcare. The tools used in one region of the world may not be possible in others due to administrative issues such as maintenance, trained staff, availability of resources, and social pressures (Davenport et al., 2018, p. 259). Hospitals in Eastern countries find it difficult to purchase and operate advanced medical equipment because people cannot afford such high costs of treatment. Additionally, it is not easy to adopt new systems because people want real-world examples of patients who have been tested and cured with such biomedical tools which is not possible if it is introduced recently (Greenhalgh et al., 2017, p. 367).
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Chapter Summary
The challenges in the implementation of modern biomedical systems in the healthcare sector are highly varied and complex. While the potential benefit of such tools cannot be ignored, their utilization is still a question mark for many countries of this world. People are not willing to spend a fortune on their treatments even if they have the resources because several technologies are new and have not been tested before. In this review, the researcher has studied the entrepreneurs in this profession, the range of innovative technologies being used, the challenges in their implementation, and the theoretical framework related to this study. All of the data is taken from resources that lie in the past six years so that the analysis is kept up to date.
CHAPTER 3: METHODS
From the developed research objectives, it can be easily identified that the research philosophy of positivism can help explore different challenges that are experienced by the entrepreneurs of the healthcare sector in implementing advanced biomedical technologies. Moreover, the use of positivist research philosophy helped the researchers in deducing the solutions for overcoming the experienced challenges by the healthcare entrepreneurs of the UK. Further, the researchers used the qualitative method of research so that the study may find a descriptive perception of participants related to the research topic.
Moreover, the researchers used the primary data collection method. This primary data collection technique is considered as an interview that would be conducted from a total of six participants including 3 entrepreneurs and 3 employees working at medical healthcare who own their healthcare institute or are affiliated with any other major healthcare banner. The data was collected through interviews where the themes would be made according to the response of the participants. This type of analysis helped the researcher in conducting thematic analysis based on the brief perception of participants on the phenomena. Conducted thematic analysis of the collected data helped the research in identifying the brief perception of the challenges faced by the healthcare entrepreneurs in implementing the bio-medical technologies in the overall health care practices. The time horizon for the selected research was based on the longitudinal time horizon so the research can remain valid for future researchers who plan to research the same topic in the future time.
CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS
Thematic Analysis
Role of entrepreneur in encouraging the use of advanced biomedical technology in the medical sector
Entrepreneurs are the ones that see the capacity for investment or future growth in any industry. In terms of medical sectors, entrepreneurs are a representation of innovation, as they bring innovative ideas in front of top management to utilize competencies and resources for taking the organization towards growth (Naughton and Foss, 2019, pp. 55-64). One of the statements from an entrepreneur indicated that:
“I have been an entrepreneur for around eight years, I solely bring creativity to the healthcare sector via investing in modern technology. My particular focus has been on biomedical technology as this technology plays a prominent role in minimizing the operational cost of healthcare institutions which minimizes the pressure from patients related to their cost of healthcare that gives me satisfaction. When medical institution incurs a low cost, it leads to profitability and this biomedical technology such as laser surgery and prosthetics improve the quality of treatment hence attracting more patients which also results in more profit. So I try my best to persuade the usage of advanced biomedical technology at healthcare institution via investing in them to improve the quality of healthcare”.
By analyzing the above statement, it can be evaluated that entrepreneurs invest in advanced biomedical technology for improving the quality of healthcare and bringing innovation to the treatment process to attract patients. Moreover, the application of advanced biomedical technology increases the profitability of healthcare institutions by reducing operational costs.
Role of employees working at medical institutions in promoting the usage of advanced biomedical technology
According to the study by Aceto et al. (2018, p. 125) in literature, the employee working at a healthcare institution aims at improving the quality of healthcare by suggesting the usage of advanced biomedical technology. However, one of the themes indicated that:
“As an employee, I believe that usage of advanced biomedical technology brings preciseness in the treatment process. From my experience, there is considerable surgery that cannot be performed by humans but with the use of robotic surgery, those surgeries have now become possible. Thus, I, as employees make sure that these technologies are employed in our healthcare institution to make the impossible treatments possible”.
By analyzing the above statement, it can be evaluated that the employee works for improving the process of medical treatment by recommending the use of advanced biomedical technology for doing critical surgeries.
Current status regarding the usage of advanced biomedical technology in healthcare institutions in the UK
The integration of technology with medicine brings convenience to the lives of patients and healthcare professionals. One of the studies in the literature highlighted that biomedical technology allows healthcare professionals in doing robotic surgery without their presence at a hospital and makes minimally invasive procedures safe. However, an employee working at one of the healthcare institutions in the UK said that:
“Currently, our hospital is initiating robotic surgeries that result in less scarring and minimization of recovery time for the patients. Also, with the help of biomedical technology, our hospital can diagnose the disease on a cellular level that can be managed via the production of antibodies. Moreover, vaccines have been made that can treat the diseases like malaria, polio, and MMR.
By examining the above response, it has been found that currently, UK medical institutions are using robotic surgery via the utilization of advanced biomedical technology. Furthermore, the orthopedic internal fixation device is being used to repair the broken bones without the presence of a human surgeon.
Challenges experienced by employees and entrepreneurs of the UK in employing advanced biomedical technology in the healthcare sector
The major challenge faced by entrepreneurs in the UK in encouraging the use of advanced biomedical technology in the healthcare sector is the involvement of the government and lack of funding (Wherton et al. 2017, p. 368). Additionally, the study of Greenhalgh et al. (2017, p. 369) regarded that employees tend to face difficulty in using advanced biomedical technology which stops the healthcare institution from utilizing advanced biomedical technology. Although, one of the respondents stated:
“One of the issues that I always encounter is lack of accessibility in research and development of biomedical technology. I, as an entrepreneur believes, that biomedical technology would replace the service of humans and substantially increase the quality of healthcare. However, research on these technology demands extensive investment that does not provide profit. Hence, huge entrepreneurs prevent investing in such projects.”
By analyzing the above statement, it has been interpreted that lack of accessibility minimizes the drive of entrepreneurs for investing in this biomedical technology. Moreover, the limited accessibility limits employees in learning the implication of such biomedical technology.
CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Discussion
The results indicated that entrepreneurs and employees play an important role in promoting the use of biomedical technology in the healthcare sector of the UK. The research explores the level of challenges that are being faced by the entrepreneurs in healthcare for delivering and using the bio-medical technologies in their healthcare centers. This is because every challenge faced by the entrepreneurs of healthcare is different from one another. Gordon and Catalini (2018) have identified that with the use of biomedical technologies in the healthcare sector the entrepreneurs can easily access the big data analytics for their patients and then can easily develop good healthcare practices that were supportive of the potential growth. It was also discussed by Qi et al., (2017) that mentioned challenges of using the bio-medical technologies can be mitigated when the entrepreneurs start their business operations after consulting the right regulating authorities and right technology vendors. This practice of consultancy can make the entrepreneurs familiar with the working of bio-medical technologies that only benefit their business after being successfully implied.
It was also discussed by Ok et al. (2015) that the determination of drug usage for the patients with the bio-medical technology data will ease the functions of entrepreneurs in running their healthcare institutes because the data of the patients and other physician credentials will be safeguarded from theft through the use of effective electronic security system. The use challenge of the increase in the business costs can be removed when the entrepreneurs will think about the long-term successful operations of their healthcare institute.
Conclusion
The current research can be concluded easily by acknowledging that every entrepreneur in the healthcare industry experiences different challenges in using bio-medical technologies for supporting its operations effectively. It was discussed in the literature that many studies provide benefits of using the biomedical technologies in the healthcare sector but they fail in giving explanations about how to mitigate the experienced challenges by the entrepreneurs. The current research uses the positivism research philosophy that helps the current research in collecting the primary data through the use of interviews and developing the research results with the use of thematic analysis.
The developed results explain the fact that every challenge of implementing bio-medical technology in healthcare is important for finding a remedy. This is because there is no significant relationship between the discussed challenges so the remedies must be developed with the establishment of workable strategies. In the discussion part, it was discussed that the entrepreneurs should be making effective strategies for implementing the technologies so that the level of impact received from challenges can be minimized effectively. It was further discussed in the discussion part that the entrepreneurs should have their meeting with the technology development authorities and the previous members of the healthcare sector for identifying the right way to avoid the challenges while implementing the bio-medical technologies.
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Appendix
Interview Questions
What role do you have as an entrepreneur or an employee at your healthcare institutions?
What challenges do you face in implementing advanced biomedical technology in your healthcare institutions?
What kind of advanced biomedical technology is currently being used at your healthcare
institutions?
How these advanced biomedical technologies are providing benefits to your healthcare
organization?
How do you think you can counter the restrictions being imposed on employing advanced
biomedical technology at your healthcare institutions?
Do you think your healthcare institution would drive toward growth in the future by employing
advanced biomedical technology?
