The document discusses how new technologies are changing healthcare in Central and Eastern Europe. It finds that telemedicine can help address issues like insufficient funds, long wait times, and expensive infrastructure investments. Over 60% of patients in the region are open to telemedicine solutions like teleconsulting and remote monitoring. Telemedicine provides benefits like higher quality care, lower costs, and more efficient use of resources. Factors driving telemedicine adoption include advanced technologies, changing patient demands, and a growing private healthcare market. There is significant interest from private stakeholders in investing in telemedicine. The recommendations are to enhance brands, optimize the patient experience, acquire patients effectively, design new operating models, and leverage collected healthcare data.

1. Patient in the digital world
How new technologies are changing the medical services
market in Central and Eastern Europe

2. PwC 2
Key findings
The time has come to revolutionise the functioning of the
healthcare systems in Central and Eastern Europe
Telemedicine is a great opportunity for all countries of
our region to catch up with more advanced Western European
countries and to solve many problems of today’s healthcare system
(insufficient funds, queues, expensive infrastructural investments)
The growth dynamics for private healthcare expenditure
in CEE countries amounts to 6% per year
As many as 60% of patients in Central and Eastern Europe are
willing to use telemedical solutions, especially teleconsulting,
telemonitoring, telediagnostics and telerehabilitation
PwC

3. PwC
Benefits
of using
telemedicine

4. PwC
Telemedicine has many benefits for the healthcare sector
4
2
Higher service quality, faster and better diagnosis, effective
treatment plans and progress monitoring
3
5 Shorter queues as a result of cost reduction and more efficient use of
resources
1
Better use of working time of physicians, nurses and other specialists
who are becoming increasingly scarce
4
Savings resulting from reduced capital expenditure related to
infrastructure
Lower service costs both for individual visits and costs related to
reduced number of visits

5. PwC
Drivers of
telemedicine

6. PwC
There are many factors indicating that the time is right for using
telemedical solutions
6
2
Availability of high-quality technologies supporting the provision of
telemedical services (hardware, software, communication)
3
1
Changing patient requirements in the digital world and their
openness to new technologies
4
An attractive and growing market for medical services in CEE,
with a large share of private expenditure and private providers
High interest on the part of private stakeholders willing to invest in
and implement telemedical solutions

7. PwC
The market for private medical services in Central and Eastern Europe is
worth nearly EUR 14 billion and continues to grow
7
• We estimate that private expenditure in our
region grows at a rate of around 6% per
year, nearly double the rate of public
expenditure growth
• Private expenditure related to outpatient
treatment represents more than 40% of total
expenditure in the segment
• The share of private expenditure is also
significant in other healthcare segments
(diagnostics, rehabilitation, long-term care),
which positively affects development of
telemedicine
1

8. PwC
Patients are already digital...
8
2
45%
Patient behaviours in the digital world
45% of people use or consider
using mobile apps – this is much
more than in the United Kingdom
(32%) or in Germany (24%)
30% of patients
own a smartphone
and that level
should rise to 60%
by 2019
70%
8
Nearly 70% of
patients have access
to the Internet and
that level should
rise to 85% by 2019

9. PwC
...and ready to use telemedicine
9
60% of patients in Central and Eastern
Europe are willing to use telemedicine
22

10. PwC
Technologies are sufficiently advanced to support the provision of
telemedical services
10
Fast communication systems
such as mobile devices for consultations on patient-to-physician or physician-to-physician level
Advanced medical equipment designed for the purposes of telemedicine
for example home stations with remotely connected devices such as scales, pressure measuring devices, holter monitors for ECG,
remote CTG, stethoscope
Smart electronics such as wearables
for example a watch with a heart rate monitor
Software and applications
such as modern software supporting diagnostic imaging, electronic patient files
Artificial intelligence tools
such as neuron networks enabling the use of historical data to diagnose new cases
Data mining tools
to change available information into data which can be used in treatment
33

11. PwC
There are many stakeholders in the market who are willing to
invest in telemedicine
11
4
Benefits from
implementing
telemedicine
• Reaching new patient groups
from smaller towns
• Lower costs of providing
services
• Reducing waiting room
occupancy
• Service expansion in online
channels
• Ensuring fast access to
specialists
• Intensifying cooperation
and education within an
organisation
• Extending the current
product portfolio
• Reaching new patient
groups from small towns
• Lower costs of providing
services
• Service expansion in
online channels
• Ensuring fast access to
specialists
• Increasing access to
potential patients
• Building own brand image
and recognition
• More effective working time
planning
• Having a platform in place
which provides patients
with free access to medical
information
• Possibility to analyse the
effectiveness of
manufactured drugs
• Building relations
with patients taking drugs
to treat specific conditions
• Strong analytical support
in clinical research
• Developing new business
models (e.g. pharmacies
with telemedical services)
• Entry into a new market
segment and use of key
skills such as construction
of devices, software
development
• Use of artificial intelligence
tools or data mining
• Ensuring the ability to
collect and analyse medical
data and providing
solutions
Clinic networks
offering medi-care
packages
Insurers Individual
physicians
Pharmaceutical
and consumer
goods companies
Technology
companies
4

12. PwC
Recommendations

13. PwC
We suggest the following recommendations for entities operating in the
healthcare sector
13
2
Enhancing brand image and recognition3
5
6
Development of methods to understand the patient and optimisation of
patient experience
1
Building a modern organisation for patient acquisition
4
Designing and implementing a new operating model
Collaboration with entities from the sector of consumer goods and services
Building a proactive, as opposed of reactive, approach to healthcare
7 Collecting data and using it in medical processes

14. Thank you
© 2016 PwC Polska Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the PwC Polska Sp. z o.o., member
firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity.
Szymon Piatkowski
Deputy Director
Head of CEE Healthcare Advisory
+48 519 507 781
szymon.piatkowski@pl.pwc.com
Mariusz Ignatowicz
Partner
Leader of CEE Healthcare and Pharma
+48 502 184 795
mariusz.ignatowicz@pl.pwc.com