Healthcare 4.0 implementation: opportunities and challenges in the healthcare sector

Abstract

Healthcare 4.0 is the application of Industry 4.0 principles in healthcare, enabling real-time personalization of patient care. Although it has gained relevance in recent years due to the benefits of Industry 4.0, the concept is still little known by professionals in the Brazilian and international health sector. Using the literature review method and survey research with 26 experts in Healthcare 4.0, this study aims to identify opportunities and challenges in Healthcare 4.0 implementation projects in the health sector in Brazil. The relevance of this study is the identification of the main opportunities found: digital technology facilitates the collection of patient data; the strategic implementation of Healthcare 4.0 can bring competitive advantages to the organization; and the main challenges: the need for digital training of healthcare professionals for Healthcare 4.0, and the need to motivate everyone involved to adopt Healthcare 4.0, contributing to theory. The practical contribution is to help the healthcare professionals involved to understand the relevant points for successful Healthcare 4.0 implementation projects.