More than ever, information and technology have played a dominant role in the healthcare profession. Aside from new life-saving healthcare technologies, software to process the endless amount of data generated has been crucial. It has often seen healthcare providers trying to strike a balance between the patients’ wellbeing and experience and managing costs.
Improved patient experience
Using modern technology such as AI (augmented reality) and self-check-in kiosks are all being used to make the patient’s experience slicker, and more enjoyable. Trying to improve not only the personal interaction with those who walk through the door by removing old formal customers but improving the technological interaction is all culminating in patients being satisfied with their overall experience.
Mobile healthcare
With an aging population and a vast list of chronic illnesses to follow suit, the methods of healthcare have had to adapt. Public sector healthcare is seeking better access and quality, and it’s looking to the private sector for innovation and efficiency. Improved mobile access improves the positivity of healthcare experience and not only provides a technological improvement but also occasionally a cost reduction.
Healthcare essentials such as medical records, remote monitoring and communications have also made a shift to being online, meaning that care can now be universal regarding how it is reached, both physically and virtually.
Tracking devices
On top of the trend of technology being applicable to multiple areas of the healthcare industry now, it is also being used to keep track of personal health. There are allegedly 70 million people in the U.S. using wearable tracking devices to monitor their fitness plan, sleep pattern and calorie consumption. ECG monitors are now being implanted in smartwatches to spot irregular heartbeats, which signifies an interesting and potentially life-changing move in personal healthcare technology.
Data analysis
The categories and quantity of data being processed through the healthcare system is vast. An awful lot of money sloshes around in the finance end of the healthcare system, particularly when it comes to overpayments. Overpayment recovery can be time-consuming, and so using companies, such as FRG, to manage this is both helpful and effective. Using new software and technology to process this data means that trends and cost-drivers can be spotted, all of which helps to improve financial performance.
Quality, not quantity
Stakeholders are trying to move the focus from quantity to quality, and this is taking the form of reform policies. There are now programs trying to improve operational efficiency, the modernization of technology and its uses, the management of the population’s health and also what determines population health factors. This focus on not just the face-to-face interaction quality but also the insight quality is being used to more accurately understand the broader issues in hand. By gaining more data insight, the care delivery methods can also adapt.
Whether it’s personal data or company data in the healthcare system, it seems that more than ever data is being collected and analyzed on our behalf. New apps and technologies might not only be used to make the system more effective but also potentially save lives.
