Cambodia & Health: Elias Engelking, an Essential Insight on the 4th Industrial Revolution

On October 30, 2025, the EuroCham Healthcare Forum and Innovation Exhibition 2025 brought together the main players in the health sector, from public decision-makers to private innovators, around a shared ambition: to shape a trusted, inclusive, and forward-looking digital health system in Cambodia.

Dr Elias Engelking

Under the central theme of digital health transformation, the event provided an exceptional platform to debate interoperability, regulation, artificial intelligence (AI), and governance challenges, while highlighting concrete solutions capable of increasing access to care and improving its quality throughout the country.

Cambodia & Dr. Elias Engelking: An Essential Insight on the 4th Industrial Revolution in Health

Among the notable figures, the intervention of Dr. Elias Engelking, a specialist surgeon and co-chair of EuroCham’s health committee, particularly caught attention. His analysis recalled that global health, and more specifically in Cambodia, is in the midst of what is already called the fourth industrial revolution.

“My friends, it is important to understand that this revolution is not limited to equipment or technology alone. It combines human compassion with digital innovations to radically transform the way we deliver care,” he declared.

Dr. Engelking traced the historical evolution that revolutionized medicine since the 19th century, from the introduction of anesthesia to the era of scanners and advanced imaging technologies.

Now, “robotics, gene editing, and digital platforms are redefining the roles of health professionals and shaping personalized, accessible care pathways,” he emphasized.

The Digital Platform, Driving More Accessible and Efficient Health

One of Dr. Engelking's key ideas is that digital health platforms are no longer just tools but are becoming true providers of integrated services. They connect hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, patients, and health authorities in a smart ecosystem that optimizes every step of the care pathway.

In this regard, he cited the concrete example of some mobile applications that allow a rural pharmacist to instantly verify health coverage validity, propose adapted treatments, and digitally record every interaction in real time. What was once slow, opaque, and costly is transformed into a smooth and secure service.

“Our grandmother in the province no longer needs to advance significant fees; everything is connected and reimbursed via a reliable and transparent digital platform,” he explained.

This transformation improves access, quality, and cost management while making the private sector an active partner in universal health coverage (UHC). Digitalization thus becomes a key lever to bring public health and the private Cambodian sector closer.

Governance and Regulation: Keys for a Reliable Digital Health System

However, this digital revolution also calls for clear frameworks and shared governance.

“We must clearly define who is responsible when an algorithm influences a health decision, how data flows securely, and how to guarantee citizens' trust in this system,” insists Dr. Engelking.

His intervention recalled the successes of other sectors in Cambodia, notably finance with the creation of robust institutions such as the Credit Bureau and the Bakong digital platform, the country's first interbank payment system. These examples show that public-private co-regulation can bring effective models to digital health.

Dr. Engelking also encourages setting up secure experimental spaces, the famous "regulatory sandboxes," where innovators and authorities can test new solutions together before their legal generalization.

A Call for Collaboration to Forge Cambodia’s Health Future

The physician-researcher made a strong call for reinforced collaboration, notably through the Cambodia Health Industry and Technology Alliance. This exchange platform aims to consolidate private, academic, and governmental efforts to build an inclusive, interoperable, and innovative health ecosystem at the national scale.

In his speech, he emphasized:

“The patient must be at the heart of this system, surrounded by a coordinated network of hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, support services, and laboratories, all digitally connected and working together for the best possible care.”

A Vision Focused on Humanity and Sustainability

Finally, Dr. Engelking reminds that while technologies are essential, the human dimension remains the fundamental pillar of any transformation. “Artificial intelligence is a co-creator, but it is our human conscience, our ability to feel, listen, and understand, that must color every innovation,” he concluded.

This successful alliance between technological progress, responsible governance, and humanism makes Cambodia a testing ground and a potentially inspiring model for the entire ASEAN region.

The EuroCham Healthcare Forum and Innovation Exhibition 2025 thus marked a key moment of dialogue and concrete actions to accelerate the rise of digital health solutions in Cambodia.