The healthcare industry is evolving rapidly and with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has witnessed immense growth and changes in the past few months. We can undoubtedly say that this trend will continue for several years in the future. With constant innovation, the sector is trying to keep up with the digital era. The healthcare facilities and institutions are investing in emerging technologies and training the employees to be well-versed in them. Thanks to the digitized system that data sharing and management have become more efficient and organized. Also, patients care and recovery is hassle-free.
Despite all these efforts of adapting to the latest trend and making a shift toward a flexible environment, this industry still lags in implementing digital strategies. There is a massive scope of transformation to achieve complete digitization. Yes, with the help of healthcare software development services, organizations have created interconnected processes and systems for staff members that enable them to accomplish their tasks accurately and effectively. The positive impact is significant and healthcare is reaping a myriad of benefits. However, there is a long way to go to master digital technology and ensure enhanced business growth. Soon, we can expect new and innovative trends in the sector that will redefine it and bring revolution.
Before, taking a look at what the coming years will look like in the healthcare sector, let’s understand what exactly digital transformation is.
Digital Transformation in Healthcare
When you ask a layman about what is digital transformation, most of them will have a simple answer. It is the integration of digital technologies into different areas and aspects of the healthcare business, such as patient interaction, services, healthcare services, data management, regulators, etc. With this common definition in mind, most healthcare centers and organizations implement changes in the business. However, the results are often unsatisfactory. Why? Because technology and processes are continuously evolving, hence disrupting long-standing practices.
However, if you ask an IT expert/consultant or connect with a healthcare software development company, they will tell you that digital transformation is beyond these basic changes. It is about maintaining pace with trends and technological advancements. The concept aims at streamlining healthcare providers’ work, reducing human errors, optimizing systems, reducing costs, mitigating risks, improving results and patient care, and more through web and mobile experience.
Digitization in healthcare improves overall patient experience, quality of care, and delivery of services. For a value-driven and complete transformation, you need a cultural change that introduces new business models and encourages new ideas in healthcare enterprises. Moreover, it must ensure smooth communication between patients, regulators, and healthcare providers.
Now, let’s take a look at the trends we can expect in the future of the healthcare industry:
On-demand Healthcare
The first thought when you hear on-demand is consumers getting easy access to goods and services at their convenience, anytime, anywhere. Mostly, we have experienced on-demand services for cabs, food, etc. Now, as the healthcare industry is also spreading its wings in digital innovation, patients can seek services from experts without waiting in long queues or booking appointments. Also, their busy schedules may not allow them enough time for a doctor visit and that is where on-demand healthcare can prove to be a blessing. We know that people spend half of their time on mobile devices and in the healthcare sector as well, patients are using smartphones to obtain information, such as doctors, hospitals, medical facilities, and booking appointments. Also, this will give a fair chance to freelance doctors and experts as they can offer their services online.
Seamless Data Management
We need not tell you the amount of data that hospitals and healthcare centers have to deal with daily. There are records regarding medical history, treatment, insurance claims, appointments, and whatnot. They have to capture, store, and use the medical data, reports, and invoices often. Of course, a lot of time, energy, and effort are consumed, especially when you work manually. Also, there are chances of errors, miscalculations, and missing details. With digitization, hospitals can process the data instantly while making the workflow seamless, faster, and efficient. The daunting task of data management is streamlined which further contributes to better patient care. There will be centralized workflow and storage which will enable staff to retrieve the data within no time.
Rise of Telemedicine
The 2020 pandemic has accelerated the use of telehealth and telemedicine. As soon as the lockdown was announced in different countries in March-April, almost 45% of patients utilized diabetes telemedicine rather than visiting doctors in person. They could consult experts and get prescriptions online without direct contact with healthcare workers or other patients. In fact, it is so useful and popular now that users are likely to continue with it even after the pandemic is over. The reason behind the success of telehealth is quick adoption by patients as they are comfortable with this solution. Also, doctors and patients can see medical records in the app. They can use interactive voice response to communicate with each other through digital speech. Other features include appointment management, security, encrypted messaging, wireless testing, audio/video communication, etc.
Treatment with AR/VR
Just a few years back if you tell anyone that a video game-like device can reduce pain, you would have got nothing but a blank stare. But, with time and technological revolution, it has become one of the greatest realities of healthcare. People are no longer interested in visiting doctors every few days or taking painkillers that work like drugs. They consider VR a safer and effective alternative to drugs. The technology may still be trying to make its place in the sector but you will soon witness that it will be used to treat pain, anxieties, stress, and stroke. Honestly, it is not even half of what virtual reality is capable of in the medical field. With advancements and innovation in healthcare app development services, VR technology can help treat patients to overcome motor deficiencies. Also, doctors and other medical experts can use AR/VR to hone their skills or plan surgeries.
Predictive Healthcare
We all are familiar with the positive impact of big data in the medical sector but soon predictive healthcare will also help in predicting diseases and illnesses that might become a huge problem in the future. The information collected through big data can not only be used to analyze admission rates and plan the staff for facilities but it can also help companies to develop healthier lifestyle recommendations for patients. An analyst can evaluate the keyword activities across social media and major search engines to identify common searches for medical conditions., health, and illness. They can prepare a predictive model to anticipate a serious disease that would hit the nation and strategize how to deal with it. Apart from this, predictive analysis can also be used on a smaller scale. Businesses can determine when to hire temporary employees due to outbreaks of flu.
Conclusion
By now, you must have realized that you can no longer ignore digital transformation in your healthcare business. It is everywhere and soon, it will play a key role in the quality of service and overall healthcare condition. Hence, it is high time that you bring the change in your service and enterprise as well. Rest assured that once you get on board, you will be able to control costs and mitigate critical challenges. Transform your healthcare center now and offer your patients best-in-class services.
About The Author
Alicia Canon
Alicia works with the editorial team of A3logics, a leading enterprise software development company. Exploring the latest technologies, reading about them, and writing her views have always been her passion. She seeks new opportunities to express her opinions, explore technological advancements, and document the details. You can always find her enjoying books or articles about varied topics or jotting down her ideas in a notebook.
