Health 4.0 as a catalyst to a dysfunctional service delivery: The case study of Johannesburg public hospitals.

Service delivery is a dynamic unique input-output-outcome process that changes, as the Stakeholders’ requirement changes; which functions range from quality care delivery, operational performance efficiency, organizational support, monitoring and management of resources. Dysfunctionalities stem from burden of diseases, waste, and abuse of resources, inadequate procurement practices, population surge, theft, poor decision-making, fraud, managerial incapability to match service with demand, un-noted expiry, and counterfeited drugs, ineffective referrals and unreliable tracking systems, long waiting times and excessive length of hospital stays. Current surveys in healthcare boundaries indicate results, in service delivery, with dissatisfaction level of 76%. This research investigates the performance cause-effects of hospitals underpinned by a lack of integrated information and communication systems. To achieve best healthcare service practice and quality delivery, integration of the facets requires the inclusion of healthcare 4.0: an electronic data exchange within entire value chain that eliminates inefficiency, and ineffectiveness. This paper presents Health 4.0 concept as an inevitable seamless modular accelerant that interoperates, virtualizes, decentralizes and converges data across services to ensure personalized healthcare outcomes. Using the concept design principles, the paper further pinpoints Service orientation, real-time capability, cost reduction and efficiency leveraging the entire health value chain.