Keeping up with technological changes has become a necessity for industries that seek to survive today. Organizations and companies will greatly benefit from starting a digital transformation.
Healthcare is a large and important industry that includes hospitals, medical devices, clinical trials, telemedicine, medical tourism, health insurance, medical equipment manufacturers, etc. In the aftermath of the 2020 pandemic, we have noticed that the healthcare industry is undergoing many changes. Technology is driving and enabling changes and improvements in the healthcare space.
The following are some of the benefits of digital transformation in the healthcare industry:
- Convenience in appointments: Telehealth is one of the recent developments in the healthcare industry, as is the whole concept of telehealth. Ever since the covid and pandemic began in early 2020, we saw a big shift toward telehealth. Telehealth is essentially being able to get care from your doctor or an appointment with your doctor without physically going to see your doctor. Telecommunications and information technology are used in telehealth. Doctors for future reference can record video appointments. The digital transformation of healthcare helps automate business processes related to patient care and certain patient-facing activities.
- Faster data collection and storage: Healthcare providers can utilize digital technology to centralize and standardize patient data and streamline the processes of capturing patient information.
There are many modern ways to collect data on patients and other people important to the healthcare industry more effectively such as websites, telephones, smartphones, gadgets, machines, and apps to collect data.
Electronic healthcare records are the systems that provide EHR (Electronic Healthcare Records) so hospitals and other healthcare organizations can keep track of patient data, such as what kind of care the patient receives, what kind of prescriptions they receive, who is their doctor, billing, and insurance.
- Medicine delivery at home: Companies that sell medicines can deliver their products to customers’ homes using digital technologies. Patients have to upload their prescriptions and they will get the medications delivered to their homes without physically going to a chemist’s shop.
- Supply and chain management: As healthcare (drug, machine, tool) costs increase, there is pressure on the healthcare industry to control those costs and even reduce those costs. Tools, platforms, or systems that are powered by digital technology (Analytics, machine learning, AI) can help organizations in their supply chain management. AI of these systems will assist them in identifying the best providers of materials, consumables, and other procurements that are necessary to support healthcare operations. These AI and ML-powered platforms will also allow them to optimize costs, streamline procurement processes, and identify the best backup vendors when one vendor is unable to meet their needs.
- Automation: Digital technology can help do many things in the healthcare industry, such as automation in scheduling appointments, delivering medicines, ordering, reminding doctors and patients of appointments, billing, sending reports to patients, engaging staff, and paying salaries. The benefits of automation include reduced errors, fewer overtime hours, convenience for doctors and patients, and greater efficiency.
- Better predictions and decisions: Artificial intelligence and machine learning are revolutionizing healthcare. Healthcare organizations have lots of data related to patients and other people related to the industry. Data patterns and trends emerge when machine learning and artificial intelligence are applied to big data. As AI analyzes the data that is stored in EHR, it looks for patterns and causes, and effects, in order to provide better decisions, and recommendations, and diagnose health issues that cannot be handled by humans since the data is too big.
By implementing digital technologies in the healthcare industry, resources will be managed more efficiently, customer experiences will be enhanced, and supply chains will be optimized. Healthcare organizations can use technology to make better decisions and provide better healthcare.
