The healthcare industry is undergoing rapid transformation since the Covid-19 pandemic. There is a growing popularity towards tech adoption in the healthcare sector and industry leaders are allocating massive budgets towards technology-led innovation. However, they are also curious about cost-effectiveness of innovations, value-proposition of digital technologies, and the factors driving their digital strategies towards success. Digital transformation in healthcare summarizes all their attempts toward building an efficient, technologically strong, and value-driven healthcare ecosystem.
What is Digital Transformation in Healthcare?
Digital transformation in healthcare refers to the integration of digital technologies to enhance the quality of patient care, improve operational efficiency, and drive better health outcomes. Imagine a world where electronic health records consolidate patient data, where telemedicine breaks geographical barriers of healthcare access, and where AI-driven medical devices enhance diagnostics with precision. This is what digital transformation is about.
Consider the impact of online appointments making healthcare more accessible, SaMD(Software as a Medical Device) revolutionizing medical device capabilities, and AI algorithms aiding in drug discovery. These advancements not only streamline operations but also redefine patient care experiences, empowering individuals to actively engage in their treatment decisions and collaborate with healthcare professionals like never before.
Why Healthcare Businesses Are Aiming for Digital Transformation?
Healthcare businesses are increasingly aiming for digital transformation by reshaping the industry and empowering both providers and patients alike.
Consider the profound impact of telehealth and virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the world grappled with lockdowns and social distancing, these digital solutions became a lifeline, bridging patients and healthcare providers through remote monitoring while maintaining quarantine protocols.
But the benefits of digital transformation extend far beyond pandemic-like emergencies. Take for example, automation in administrative tasks, such as appointment scheduling and billing, has streamlined operations, reducing the workload for medical professionals and allowing them to focus more on patient care.
The rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is putting immense pressure on healthcare systems worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, NCDs currently account for 74% of all deaths globally. Digital solutions, such as AI-powered SaMD and predictive analytics, are proving invaluable in early detection, personalized treatment, and preventive care programs offering patients a greater chance to sustainability and success of treatment.
By 2030 there will be a global deficit of 10 million skilled healthcare workers as estimated by the World Health Organization. The global shortage of skilled healthcare professionals is a pressing concern. But here, too, digital transformation can play a pivotal role, simplifying workflows and automating routine tasks, reducing the strain on healthcare workers and safeguarding their well-being.
Interestingly, the digital transformation of healthcare is not just about technological advancements in medical workflows; it’s also a response to the evolving demand for personalized care. A McKinsey survey reported a rise in adoption of telehealth by patients up to 40% from 11% before Covid-19. This indicates patients now prefer to be treated from the comfort of their home.
As healthcare leaders navigate this digital revolution, the imperative to reduce costs and improve operational efficiencies has never been more crucial. In the United States, about a quarter of all healthcare spending is wasted owing to administrative complexity. With data-driven insights and a relentless focus on value-based care, healthcare institutions can unlock new pathways to sustainable, high-quality care.
The Roadmap to Innovation in Healthcare Industry
In today’s changing healthcare world, it’s crucial to make positive changes and deal with tricky problems by embracing innovation smartly. Here’s a simple five-step plan to encourage innovation in healthcare. Following these steps helps hospitals improve how they work, boost patient care, and make big advances in healthcare.
Step 1: Begin with the Base
Assess your existing IT infrastructure, tech stack, and SaaS integrations. Identify what’s working well and where improvements can be made, laying the foundation for transformative advancements.
Step 2: Conduct Needs Assessments
Perform a need analysis of each department, while considering budgetary constraints and key performance indicators, such as HCAHPS scores, ROI, and patient/staff satisfaction. Talk to every stakeholder about the current solutions and applications, understand their implementation in various workflows, and identify the challenges that come along.
Step 3: Build the Process and Technology Roadmap
Meticulously design the process and technology roadmap, determining the stages involved with clearly defined milestones. Clarify ownership and responsibility for the integration or modernization of legacy healthcare applications. A healthcare organization may lack an internal IT officer to guide through this and can opt to outsource an IT services partner.
Step 4: Execution and Delivery
Partner with a reputable healthcare digital transformation company, one that possesses comprehensive knowledge of digital transformation technologies like cloud and AI, implements effective project management mechanisms, and offers end-to-end services. Ensure your chosen partner has the core competency to modernize and also upgrade features aligned with current trends.
Step 5: Provision for Ongoing Support
Establish a robust support system to ensure the smooth digitalization of healthcare. Your digital transformation provider should set up a continuous monitoring process to watch out for bottlenecks during the transformation process. They should be able to equip your team with the necessary knowledge and skills to work in the newly found environment.
Trending Digital Transformation Solutions for Healthcare Industry
The digital transformation wave is reshaping healthcare in exciting ways. Here are some of the trending applications making a significant impact:
Telemedicine and Virtual Care
Doctor-on-Demand
Imagine skipping the waiting room! Telemedicine platforms connect patients with doctors virtually for consultations, follow-ups, and even mental health sessions. This not only increases access to care but also offers convenience, especially for individuals in remote areas or with busy schedules.
Chronic Disease Management
Telehealth platforms are revolutionizing chronic disease management. Patients with conditions like diabetes or heart disease can receive remote monitoring, medication adjustments, and consultations, leading to improved self-management and better health outcomes.
Remote Patient Monitoring
Wearable devices and sensors are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They can collect vital signs, sleep patterns, and activity levels, providing continuous health data for doctors and enabling early detection of potential issues.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare
Enhanced Diagnosis and Decision Support
AI algorithms are assisting healthcare professionals in diagnosis and treatment planning. By analyzing medical images, patient data, and vast medical research, AI can offer insights for more accurate diagnoses, personalized medicine, and improved decision-making.
Drug Discovery and Development
The traditional drug development process can be lengthy and expensive. AI is accelerating this process by analyzing massive datasets to identify potential drug targets, optimize drug development pipelines, and personalize medicine further.
Robot-assisted Surgery
Robotic surgery systems offer minimally invasive procedures with improved precision, faster recovery times, and potentially less blood loss for patients. Surgeons can leverage robotic arms for enhanced dexterity and control during complex procedures.
Big Data and Analytics in Healthcare
Predictive Analytics of Disease
Analyzing vast healthcare datasets holds immense potential. Predictive analytics can identify potential health risks in individuals and populations, allowing for preventative measures and early intervention. This proactive approach can lead to better health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs.
Personalized Medicine
Big data empowers healthcare providers to tailor treatment plans and medication regimens to individual patients. By analyzing genetic makeup, medical history, and real-time health data, doctors can offer personalized medicine for a more targeted and effective approach.
Population Health Management
Analyzing population health data offers insights into trends and disparities within communities. This knowledge allows healthcare systems to develop targeted interventions that address specific population health needs, ultimately improving overall health outcomes.
The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
Patient Portals
Imagine having your medical records readily available at your fingertips. Patient portals allow secure online access to medical records, lab results, appointment scheduling, and communication with healthcare providers. This fosters patient engagement and empowers individuals to manage their health information more actively.
Wearable Devices
Smartwatches, fitness trackers, and other wearables are becoming ubiquitous. These devices can track heart rate, blood pressure, activity levels, and sleep patterns, providing valuable real-time data for personalized health insights and potential risk identification.
Connected Medical Devices
Medical devices like pacemakers and glucose monitors are becoming increasingly interconnected. They can transmit data wirelessly, enabling remote monitoring for improved patient care, timely interventions, and better management of chronic conditions.
Software as a Medical Device (SaMD)
Software today can work as a standalone entity to diagnose, treat, monitor, and offer suggestions without being integrated into a hardware medical device. According to the FDA, if an app is utilized in the cure, detection, treatment, mitigation, or prevention of diseases, it must be considered as a SaMD. Software that leverages AI to analyze chest X-rays and detect Covid or other diseases is a SaMD. SaMD intends to increase the affordability of diagnostics and treatment for patients by reducing the dependency on expensive and non-portable medical hardware.
Smart Hospitals
Hospitals are embracing IoT to optimize resource utilization, improve patient safety, and streamline logistics. Connected devices and sensors can monitor room temperature, equipment status, and patient flow, leading to a more efficient and patient-centric healthcare environment.
Blockchain in Healthcare
Secure Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
Blockchain technology offers a secure and tamper-proof platform for storing and managing EHRs. This ensures data integrity, improves accessibility for authorized providers, and empowers patients with greater control over their health information.
Supply Chain Management
Counterfeit drugs pose a significant threat. Blockchain can track the movement of medications and medical supplies throughout the supply chain, ensuring authenticity and preventing counterfeit products from entering the system.
Clinical Trial Data Management
Blockchain can enhance the security and transparency of clinical trial data. This fosters trust in research and development processes, potentially leading to faster advancements in healthcare.
Use Cases of Digital Transformation in Healthcare
Telemedicine platforms like Teladoc and Amwell enable patients to consult healthcare professionals remotely, reducing the need for in-person visits and improving access to care, particularly in rural or underserved areas.
Wearable devices such as Fitbit and Apple Watch empower individuals to monitor their health metrics and share real-time data with their healthcare providers, facilitating proactive and personalized care.
Athenahealth Inc., a leading healthcare technology company, has successfully implemented a robust centralized network security architecture on Amazon Web Services (AWS), significantly enhancing its resilience and monitoring capabilities for egress traffic.
VigeoDash, a leading Homecare Healthcare Provider in the North American market, built a SaaS based BI platform for enabling end-to-end streamlined operations for home healthcare service providers across the North American market. The platform was built to provide administrative services, clinical data governance, and business development solutions to its customers leveraging AWS Cloud, Snowflake, Python, and React stacks.
Conclusion
Successful implementation of digital transformation in healthcare comes with its own share of challenges. A major concern is data privacy in sensitive information regulated industries like healthcare. Also, there is a need for effective change management as healthcare professionals are mostly clueless about the latest digital transformation landscape. All this might become difficult for a healthcare business to ensure internally, and they may consider looking for an outsourced IT team to seamlessly adopt the changes without worrying about the process.
