2017 has seen a lot of trends emerging in the healthcare industry and it is expected to be revamped in the upcoming years The year 2018 is said to witness how technology will contribute in uplifting the healthcare sector with transparency being one of the key concerns.
Startups are expected to bring innovation while refurbish the sector by combining technologies like AI (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning with traditional practices in the healthcare.
This is based on Indian market position, thereby providing services to some of the rapidly growing companies in the healthcare industry. As we enter the year 2018, here are some of the emerging trends that talks about how digitization and transparency are important for healthcare ecosystem.
Artificial Intelligence and Cloud:
The adoption of artificial intelligence is on the rise, making the healthcare ecosystem more organized. AI will help in solving many problems of the patients, doctors, hospitals as well as the overall healthcare industry.
Earlier, patients didn't have appropriate information about the right doctor, hospital or the treatment. Now, with the help of AI-based applications, people can directly talk to doctors, physician, and expertise for the best treatment.
Moreover, patients accustomed their medical record files every time, however, with the introduction of electronic medical records system they can access data anytime. The medical billing system, on the other hand, will help in making data streamlined and structured.
It is expected that by 2020, around 20 percent of healthcare and 40 percent of science organizations will achieve productivity through the adoptions of AI technology between 15 percent and 20 percent.
The Need for Transparency in Healthcare:
The need for transparency has become the most vital component in the healthcare industry. Patients must avail their rights to the prescribed treatment, medical records and history.
Transparency in healthcare will drive positive patient outcomes and greater satisfaction. The patients can provide their identifications like Aadhaar number to check information online such as prescribed medicines, tests and doctor's information all at one place from anywhere.
They can also contact doctors and physicians through video call to ensure that the correct procedures are carried out.
Internet of Thing in Healthcare Sector:
In the coming years, it is anticipated that many healthcare providers will adopt IoT-based asset tracking and inventory management system in hospitals. This is expected to improve patient's safety, staff satisfaction and operational efficiency.
The rise of IoT will also support providers and organizations in making operational decisions and will aggregate as well as integrate data thorough IoT-enabled platforms.
It will provide a new foundation for gaining insights into hospital operational, asset management and human resources management, thus, enabling optimization of assets and reduce operational costs.
With the rise of the Internet of (Medical) Things (IoMT), mobile and wearable devices can be used to identify the risk factors and provide preventative treatment to the patients. It can be used to predict healthcare trends and problems.
The visualization of clear and concise clinical action that provides value to the patient, physician, and healthcare system will emerge as an effective solution. Patients can also share their experience about their care and the procedures at the hospital during the treatment, how the staff and hospital work, etc.
They will engage themselves more with their care providers with the help of technology as it will enable them to measure, collect and share their experiences. The personalized patient data is important for clinicians to keep patients engaged to ensure continuity of care.
Benefits of Electronic Health Record:
Our healthcare providers should pay attention to Electronic Health Record (EHR) to offer reliable access to patient's complete healthcare information to diagnose the problem at an early stage.
These electronic health records give information such as new medication and notify healthcare providers about any life-threatening or upcoming disease.
With this, the providers can make changes in the treatment as per the disease to avoid any serious consequences for patients and provide better results in the treatment. It also helps to quickly access and looks into the problem areas and correct operational problems.
Wearable devices:
The other technology that has come up is wearable medical devices that collect data anytime and anywhere. They are sensor based accessories that are designed to help people become active, eat well, sleep better, etc.
These fitness or wearable devices are available in several forms like watches, footwear, chest straps and sensible glasses, area expected to grow within the coming years.
It will manage patient's heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar levels to name a few. It will also prevent and maintain their life as well as reduce trips to the doctor and save money.
Healthcare industries need to adapt to these changes in order to deliver the best health outcomes. The healthcare industry in India is ahead of many industries and has tested the capabilities of technology to improve services, knowledge, communication, outcomes, quality and efficiency.
In the coming years, the new technologies will redesign patient's experiences and will start using their experiences to differentiate markets.
Sourced from BusinessToday written by Mr. Prateek Ahuja