Healthcare technology has evolved immensely in recent years. It’s changing the way patients and physicians engage with each other and medicine. Technology in healthcare enables patients and caregivers to connect more easily, for medical teams to collaborate faster with greater effects, and it’s helping patients gain greater control over their health information.
These strides are largely due to new innovations in the information technology sector. Solutions such as cloud computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and automation tools are rapidly changing the medical processes. And there’s no sign of slowing down these advances anytime soon.
But which of these new technologies are impacting both doctors and patients? We’ll explain in this article.
Technology in Healthcare: Advancing Patient and Doctor Experiences
Achieving better patient outcomes, in less time, and with less stress and resources has always driven developments in medicine. Now that information technology is being leveraged by the healthcare industry, medical teams have found better ways to connect with patients and streamline organizational processes.
Examples of how technology is impacting the future of healthcare:
- Less invasive treatment options
- Improved patient outcome
- Better collaborations between physicians and care teams
- Personal data is protected
- Remote patient monitoring capabilities
- Increased access to medical files for patients
- Easier management of chronic conditions
- Faster access to primary and surgical care
- Greater information accuracy
Top Trends in Healthcare Technology
Which trends are having the greatest impact on how care is given and received? Here are six healthcare technology trends leading changes in for patients and physicians:
Telehealth and Remote Care
Telehealth connects patients and caregivers when an in-person visit isn’t possible. Video calls, mobile apps and other integrated data solutions help patients get better, more convenient, access to care. Doctors are better able to deliver quality treatment, especially to patients in rural or underserved areas.
Modern telehealth solutions saw a sharp rise in use during the covid-19 pandemic. However, as covid-19 restrictions are being lifted, and in-person office visits are becoming normalized again, telehealth remains being widely used. In January 2022, approximately 38% of of patients received primary care through telemedicine.
Some recent stats on how telehealth is impacting patients and doctors are:
- 78% of patients are satisfied with virtual care options.
- 77% of doctors are likely to use telehealth for chronic disease management.
- Telemedicine is saving patients more than 90 minutes of time per doctor appointment.
Moving forward, we expect to see more medical teams lean in to telemedicine solutions to improve patient care and for clinics and care facilities to realize greater efficiency, profitability, and enhance its numerous benefits.
Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Telehealth Solutions?
IoT and Wearables
The internet is everywhere, and now it’s becoming integral to how physician’s monitor and care for their patients. Sometimes referred to as the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), this market is growing fast and is expected to be worth over $175 billion by 2026.
Being able to monitor a patient’s physical health remotely is a key advantage of IoT in healthcare. It gives care providers accurate, real-time insight into their patients’ health. For instance, glucose levels, heart rate, blood pressure, and more can now be monitored and recorded with devices that require minimal patient-doctor interaction.
It’s clear this is just the tip of uncovering IoMT’s full potential. Emerging trends in IoMT include:
- IoT connected inhalers
- Smart contact lenses
- Parkinson’s Disease monitoring
- Monitoring of hand hygiene
- Mental health monitoring
- And more
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is helping healthcare professionals in more ways than just telehealth solutions. It’s improving both patient care and facility operations. Medical teams use cloud solutions to improve workflow efficiencies, ensure greater patient information accuracy, connect physicians to specialists faster, and much more.
Benefits that healthcare systems tend to experience upon migrating to the cloud include:
- Lower IT maintenance and infrastructure costs
- Ability to handle vast volumes of information more easily
- Better compliance with HIPAA regulations and other governing bodies
- Protect patient’s Personal Health Information (PHI) more easily
- Ease compliance with the HITECH Act
Did you know… Source: Healthcare IT Today |
Top Cloud Computing Solutions for Medical Professionals
Here are a few examples of how medical facilities, clinics, and care providers are leveraging the cloud:
- Data warehousing. Data warehouses ensure medical teams remain compliant with information security and privacy regulations. They improve access to critical records, patient files and more. EHRs can be stored in a data warehouse.
- Medical CRMs. Cloud-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms are used to manage all patient information and visit history, as well as streamline billing and insurance processes.
- Diagnosis and Imaging Solutions. Diagnosis and imaging solutions are helping physicians ensure consistency of care and increasing the accuracy and reliability of diagnosis processes.
Smart Pills
A smart pill is a small, ingestible device that monitors your health from inside your body. This emerging technology may prove to be a viable option for health conditions that are difficult to treat without exploratory surgery or other invasive procedures.
This could include diagnosing gut disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or as a probe-free option for routine colorectal screening.
Other ways smart pills could potentially be used in the future is to ensure patient’s are remembering to take medications or identify indicators of cardiac disease.
Robot-Assisted Surgery
Robot-assisted surgical procedures is not a new trend in healthcare technology, however, recent advances in robotics is bringing it to the forefront of medical research. The potential to increase patient access to surgical care, and to improve surgical outcomes, is the primary goal of many researchers in this field.
For instance, the startup company, Virtual Incision, has developed the world’s first miniature robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system. This is one example of innovation that’s fueling the expected value of the global surgical robots market to grow by 18 percent each year between 2023 – 2030.
Cybersecurity
While technology trends are improving the healthcare sector as a whole, they’ve also introduced new types of online security risks that are costing healthcare organizations millions. For instance, CommonSpirit Health, a Catholic health network was the unfortunate victim of a ransomware attack that cost them more than USD 150 million.
However, data breaches are no longer the only cybersecurity concern impacting the medical industry. Medical devices that connect to the internet, such as a bluetooth enabled insulin-pump are now at risk of a cyberattack.
To combat such events, healthcare businesses are increasingly tightening cybersecurity protocols and leveraging expert cybersecurity services. For organizations, this means boosting their internal cybersecurity investments or outsourcing their cybersecurity needs to a managed outsourced cybersecurity provider with expertise in healthcare security.
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Embrace Technology with ISOwire
Incorporating technology into a medical practice is a huge, but worthwhile undertaking. Not only can it help facilities improve patient experiences, it can lower overhead costs, improve office workflows, ensure compliance with regulations and increase profits.
To learn more on how information technology can benefit your medical facility, reach out to our team. We’re happy to help.