Change, Connectivity, and Challenge: Exploring the Role of Health Technology in Shaping Health Care for Aging Populations in Asia Pacific

Abstract

Aflthough the rapid increase in population aging observed across the globe poses significant challenges to the sustainability of health systems it has been paralleled by an exponential growth in health technologies. This article reviews the literature surrounding health technologies and explores how the future of aging and health care could be shaped by health technologies, with a particular focus on the Asia Pacific region. It shows that the field is wide in scope. The current expansion of information and communication technologies have brought a growing capacity to support health care, while future technology applications, such as robotics and 3D printing, offer a range of potential benefits to elderly populations. However, the uptake and level of development of health technologies varies widely throughout the region. Governments have begun developing frameworks to guide the implementation and monitoring of health technologies. However, a dearth of robust, evaluative studies, combined with the rapidly evolving nature of health technologies, present policy makers with a range of policy and implementation challenges, including issues surrounding infrastructure, funding, and the acceptability of technologies among older users. As health technologies play an increasingly pivotal part in health systems, there is a need to create robust mechanisms for ongoing assessment of health technology development.