Technology is enabling healthcare transformation

Digital innovations are helping to transform and modernize more and more economic sectors rapidly. Healthcare providers delivering services in hospitals and health systems are using these tools to improve the health of populations and individual patients, reduce costs and make service recipients more comfortable. In the upcoming weeks, we want to dig deeper into some of the most prominent challenges and take a look at what ideas and solutions exist to overcome them.

Healthcare providers today have more technologies to choose from that facilitate rationale-based care. New systems allow them to engage patients in the treatment process, resulting in a better experience for service recipients and the provider itself. The technology in question is part of a revolution that is changing the entire sector today, moving it toward a value-based system and better integration and collaboration across different areas of healthcare.

The future is patient-centered

The future of healthcare will revolve around improving patient-centred care models. Healthcare delivery strategies are increasingly less focused on quantitative data and fee-for-service billing, and in their place is a value-based care model that motivates the pursuit of good patient outcomes.

Healthcare organizations will need more efficient data management, more widespread interoperability and better ways to measure performance. This will allow them to reduce healthcare costs, identify possible improvements and shape their internal structure to provide superior service with a patient focus. 

Why does the healthcare sector need to change?

The healthcare sector faces various challenges, such as restrictive regulations, privacy and rapidly rising costs - yet healthcare professionals are already feeling the benefits of a revolution completely changing the face of the sector.

Among the changes taking place are:

  • Modernization of medical IT systems toward more connected enterprise-class IT infrastructures that facilitate more efficient data management, interoperability and integration of medical systems.
  • Better connectivity of clinical devices allows medical staff to work faster and more efficiently, which means more time for the patient and lower healthcare costs.
  • Rapidly growing role of out-of-home and remote patient care, which removes a big part of the burden from Healthcare Providers.

AI and data-driven revolution

In addition to these developments, it's also worth mentioning revolutionary innovations in the form of artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics tools that allow large amounts of healthcare data to be scanned and organized at lightning speed so that the team caring for a patient can get their medical records faster. 

The combination of clinical and corporate AI networks will, in time, help improve the interoperability of healthcare solutions and provide organizations with additional tools to help the team perform fewer routine administrative tasks to gain more time for the patient.

Digital transformation in healthcare

The evolutionary process of how and when healthcare professionals use technology can be divided into three stages - digitization, breakthrough and transformation. Digitization is the introduction of digital solutions that help with routine healthcare processes or services.

Examples of how digitization has changed various medical services include CT and MRI scans, for example. The revolution has also extended to administrative tasks, such as billing, which has been automated through the use of digital tools. Above all, however, digitization has made it easier to store, view and share data.

Breakthroughs are occurring through the use of newer technologies, such as artificial intelligence, mobile technologies, analytical tools and the cloud, which are changing the way people, organizations and countries interact with each other.

Integration and interoperability of systems and organisations

Such disruptive, innovative solutions provide unprecedented ease of communication, making the system more consumer-driven. As healthcare continues to evolve, health systems will become increasingly integrated, and digitization will connect functions and processes between disparate businesses that were previously separate. Advances in electronic medical records and other solutions allow payers, providers and other organizations in the healthcare sector to collaborate more in the healthcare service area.

The healthcare sector is undergoing a digital transformation that will completely change how payers, providers, and others serve and interact with patients, customers and stakeholders. Healthcare, which previously relied on independent services, is now moving toward an integrated ecosystem in which healthcare professionals can solve the problems they encounter on a broader scale without forgetting the crucial role of the patient and providing valuable care.