Health Technology, Digital Healthcare
Article | September 8, 2023
Explore the evolution of healthcare by diving deep into these EHR trends, as they pave the way for the future of EHR. Embrace cutting-edge solutions to enhance patient care and optimize operations.
1. Introduction
2. Significance of EHR Trends
3. Top 10 EHR Trends Shaping the Healthcare Industry
3.1 EHR Interoperability
3.2 Patient-reported Outcome
3.3 Patient Portals
3.4 Generative AI
3.5 Cloud-based EHR
3.6 Voice-enabled EHRs
3.7 Predictive Analytics
3.8 Robotic Process Automation
3.9 Telehealth-EHR Integration
3.10 Blockchain for EHR Data Integrity
4. Future Scope
1. Introduction
Electronic health records (EHRs) have transformed the medical industry by revolutionizing how medical information is recorded, accessed, and utilized. This article focuses on the EHR trends and innovations that have reshaped the healthcare field, paving the way for a more efficient and patient-centric future.From enhanced interoperability to cutting-edge technologies, professionals can unravel the key trends propelling future of EHR toward a new era of healthcare delivery.
2. Significance of EHR Trends
The importance of EHR software technology trends is highlighted by their transformative influence on the healthcare sector. This transformation was further expedited by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which played a critical role in the increased adoption of telehealth services. As the pandemic necessitated alternatives to in-person visits, the demand for efficient and remote medical services surged, propelling telehealth to the forefront. Yet, looking beyond pandemic responses, the ongoing adoption of EHR trends in healthcare can significantly reshape how healthcare functions. Embracing these EHR trends enhances efficiency, facilitates personalized care, improves data exchange, drives data-driven insights, and empowers patient engagement. Irrespective of global events, it remains essential for healthcare facilities to stay abreast of these trends to remain adaptable and deliver optimized care, ultimately benefiting both providers and patients.
3. Top 10 EHR Trends Shaping the Healthcare Industry
Recognizing significant industry trends becomes crucial in a field that is constantly subject to technological advancement and global change. From adopting advanced technologies to prioritizing sustainability and customer-centric approaches, these EHR trends hold the power to bring about significant transformations across the healthcare sector.
3.1 EHR Interoperability
EMRs face a notable limitation in their ability to integrate with other systems, whereas EHRs offer robust interoperability, enabling seamless data exchange among healthcare facilities. As the demand for interoperability grows, the distinction between EMRs and EHRs becomes increasingly blurred, with vendors referring to products as EMRs that closely resemble what was initially known as EHRs. In response to this trend, developers and IT specialists continually update EHR systems to comply with interoperability policies, making EHRs more appealing for organizations seeking comprehensive and connected healthcare records.
3.2 Patient-reported Outcome
Patient-reported outcome or PRO EHR integration involves incorporating patient-reported outcome measures into electronic health record systems. PROs gather information directly from patient records about their health status, symptoms, and quality of life. These insights provide valuable subjective data for healthcare providers. For orthopedic patients at the clinic, completing surveys on their smartphones via a mobile link is easy. Clinicians can access patient responses during or after appointments to offer tailored care recommendations based on survey readings. Access to patient-reported outcome data empowers clinicians to deliver patient-centered care, fostering greater patient involvement in their treatment journey.
3.3 Patient Portals
Patient portals in EHRs are pivotal in modern healthcare practices as the industry embraces digital transformation. Patient portals within EHR systems are crucial to empowering individuals and facilitating communication between patients and healthcare professionals. These portals enable patients to access their personal health information securely. Patients can schedule appointments, ask questions, and even have virtual consultations, making healthcare more accessible and patient-centered. With improved communication and engagement, patient portals bridge the gap between individuals and healthcare professionals.
3.4 Generative AI
Integrating generative AI tools with Electronic Health Record systems holds immense promise for advancing healthcare industry. Generative AI can significantly enhance EHR software precision and overall technology, resulting in streamlined daily workflows and enabling healthcare providers to prioritize patient care. By utilizing patterns and structures from existing data to create new content resembling the training data, generative AI brings valuable improvements to EHR systems. These benefits include efficiently filling in missing data, enhancing clinical decision support, automating documentation and coding processes, and ensuring billing accuracy, thereby alleviating the burden on healthcare providers.
3.5 Cloud-based EHR
Cloud computing is gaining traction as medical organizations explore the benefits of outsourcing administrative and clinical services, including medical billing, reporting, lab integration, and more. With the increasing adoption of EHR systems, the advantages of easy access to patient data have become crucial. As the patient population continues to grow, the complexity of data rises, demanding solutions that ensure secure storage and accessibility. Embracing cloud-based infrastructure becomes imperative in this scenario, granting healthcare professionals the flexibility to access data using tablets or smartphones safely. This integration empowers clinicians to enhance their productivity in the clinical environment, laying the groundwork for long-term success by offering mobility solutions that cater to evolving healthcare demands.
3.6 Voice-enabled EHRs
Integrating voice recognition technology with EHR systems is a significant advancement for clinicians. By allowing hands-free input of information and patient data, voice recognition technology reduces inaccuracies and speeds up information recording. Additionally, with the support of AI, EHRs equipped with voice recognition can assist doctors in recognizing historical patient trends and making accurate diagnoses. As companies strive to incorporate AI into EHRs through voice-enabled technology, physicians can effortlessly access patient data and inquire about specific health parameters, such as the last recorded iron levels from a blood test. This streamlined approach improves efficiency and enhances the overall healthcare experience and decision-making process.
3.7 Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics applications have become a significant driving force within the healthcare industry, yielding profound impacts on diverse areas, including cancer treatments and emergency staffing optimization. As the field continues to evolve, the adoption of predictive analytics technology is expected to expand further. Specialized healthcare app development services utilize AI-powered analytic methods, such as statistics, data mining, and modeling, in conjunction with AI capabilities to offer clinical outcome predictions based on real-time device data and electronic health records. This integration aims to elevate the patient experience and improve care delivery, equipping healthcare professionals with valuable insights to make more informed and proactive care decisions.
3.8 Robotic Process Automation
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is driving the expansion of the automated data capture market for electronic health records worldwide, owing to its ability to enhance workflows and ensure increased accuracy. By automating data capture through robot-based processes, RPA eliminates the need for manual data entry, leading to improved precision. In the healthcare industry, RPA serves as an effective technique to address EHR flaws without requiring a complete system redesign, permitting the utilization of digital labor to preserve efficient processes while resolving underlying issues. By employing system algorithms and programs, RPAs efficiently automate tasks typically carried out by human resources, accelerating the digitization of medical facilities and promptly addressing imperfections.
3.9 Telehealth-EHR Integration
Integrating EHR systems with telehealth platforms revolutionizes healthcare by facilitating remote care and streamlining clinical workflows. This alliance will enable medical organizations to deliver high-quality patient care from a distance while ensuring the swift and secure transfer of patient information between systems and interfaces. The combined power of telehealth and EMR systems enhances virtual care activities, automates data entries, and synchronizes insurance information in a single window, thus optimizing efficiency and productivity for healthcare providers and their staff. Moreover, this integration strengthens patient-physician engagement and fosters seamless collaboration among healthcare teams.
3.10 Blockchain for EHR Data Integrity
While blockchain technology gained prominence through its association with cryptocurrency, its application in healthcare is steadily gaining momentum. By utilizing cryptography, blockchain ensures the utmost security and integrity of EHR data, limiting access to authorized individuals only. In healthcare, blockchain brings value, from validating clinical trials and verifying claim results to monitoring medicine distribution, authenticating prescriptions, and combating insurance fraud. Additionally, smart contracts leverage blockchain to automate actions based on predetermined outcomes, reducing the need for extensive human involvement. Although the adoption of blockchain in healthcare technology is still in its early stages, several EHR systems have already incorporated it to enhance security, scalability, and confidentiality measures.
4. Future Scope
The convergence of IoT devices and big data technology is set to revolutionize the healthcare experience, offering unprecedented digitization and patient engagement. The disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have underscored the need for healthcare institutions to adapt and embrace technological advancements. Careful selection of the right EHR system is crucial for healthcare organizations, and a structured approach that involves key stakeholders, requirements definition, vendor evaluation, and implementation planning is essential for successful EHR implementations. The ultimate goal remains to enhance patient care, streamline workflows, and achieve operational efficiencies. While EHRs have already made significant strides in the industry, the future of electronic health records holds even more excellent benefits and technological impact, with healthcare mobile app developers playing a vital role in the value-based healthcare model and preparing for EHR optimization.
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Healthtech Security
Article | August 31, 2023
In today's uber-fast-paced world, the human race, in general, has gotten highly comfortable running on all cylinders in the rat race of life, especially people in India. Our country is a land where opportunities are aplenty, and competition is ever-present, which makes every day life so tedious and constant that taking a breather is something that people can rarely afford. This has led to increasing cases of anxiety, depression, high blood pressure and insomnia. These cases rose to such high numbers that it gave way to one of India’s most prominent industry sectors: The Wellness Industry.
Though the industry captured global attention between 2015 and 2017, a study conducted by McKinsey & Company found that the wellness industry is currently valued at $1.5 trillion globally. This sudden boom can be attributed to the realisation that it is more important to remain healthy than getting healthy. Furthermore, the report, produced after analysing 7500 consumers in six countries (including India), has offered keen insights into consumer behaviour. When it comes to wellness consumers, their trends can be grouped into six categories:
Health: People are now investing in many remote medical devices that can constantly monitor their state of well-being. With the increase in popularity in digital wearables, telemedicine, and remote patient monitoring services, this trend is bound to increase.
Fitness: People are exercising more. Whether it’s jogging, going to the gym, investing in a pedometer, FitBit, etc., there has been a steady increase in people exercising more.
Nutrition: Dieting has always been a significant part of being healthy. An increase in dietary food, supplements, nutrition coaches can be observed in recent years.
Aesthetics: With a major chunk of India’s youth population getting invested in their social media, notably the pictures that they post, aesthetic well-being has seen a sharp increase. This includes investments in specific Athleisure clothing apparel (Nike, Addidas, Puma), skincare products (collagen supplements, face masks), and plastic surgery.
Sleep: Burning the midnight oil is counterproductive. There has been a steady increase in consumers willing to invest in sleep medications, specialised mobile applications that track their sleep and the state of their sleep, ASMR generating devices, White noise devices, and other products that can enable a consumer to maintain a healthy sleep cycle.
Mindfulness: Introspection, understanding the body and its processes to the molecular level, and figuring out ways to implement clarity of thought and methods for improving focus have been huge draws for the wellness industry. Furthermore, with central government’s schemes like AYUSH and the introduction of International Day of Yoga by the United Nations, this particular trend has seen enormous growth.
Impact of these trends on the future of Indian wellness industry
Organic Products: According to APEDA, India has become one of the largest producers of organic products. A growing number are actively investing monthly in organically grown produce, meat that is organically processed, oil that is wood-pressed or cold-pressed, cosmetics made from organic materials, and clothes made from pure cotton instead of manufactured materials. People becoming more conscious of what they put in their bodies has led to a steady increase in organic shops across India.
Exercise, Dieting & Nutritional Supplements: From using simple Calcium supplements and energy drinks to adhering to a strict diet regimen, today’s consumers are genuinely worried about falling sick. This has led to an increase in purchasing supplements. Another trend can be observed where an increasing number of consumers have started buying vitamin, Zinc, and iron tablets, to shore up immunity. Furthermore, Indians have begun consuming gluten-free cereal, cold-pressed juices, Kale products, Avocados, and other food products recommended to be healthier alternatives. Indians have also become BMI-conscious, and an increasing number of them have started to invest in gyms, yoga/cardio classes, exercise-wear, sports wearables, and other products that can enable a person to work out more effectively.
Constant Increasing Demand for Oxygen: Even before the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, getting access to 99% breathable oxygen has pure oxygen was a necessity considering the rising concerns of pollution in Indian cities. As per the ‘World Air Quality Report, 2020’ prepared by Swiss organisation, IQAir, 22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities are in India, with Delhi being ranked as the most polluted capital city globally.
Moreover, people who indulge in extreme physical workouts exercise, or suffer from high-altitude sickness, need oxygen handy to maintain their wellbeing. In India, prominent wellness companies like UCS Wellness Pvt Ltd have made significant strides to ensure that every individual has access to oxygen through their innovative specially outfitted 18-litre aluminium-bottled oxygen cans of 18 litres under their brand gO2therapy. With the pollution rate showing no signs of slowing down, and the steady increase in demand for oxygen, it would be no surprise to find every household medical kit fitted with a portable oxygen cylinder.
Transitioning to Digital Platforms: With the increase in popularity of Telemedicine and Remote-patient monitoring, healthcare and the wellness industry are gaining an aggressive online presence. There are many online exercises/online videos, fitness apps, meditation apps, motivational apps, power coaches, and so much more. Indians find it easier to use these online tools combined with a digital wearable to keep their well-being in the best of conditions.
Investing in Social Media Influencers: With the increase in online dependence, the voice of social media influencers is soon to be gospel when it comes to maintaining a fit body and healthy mind. Much like how mainstream celebrities endorse various products, the wellness industry has seen great rewards in deploying online influencers to support their products. Typical examples can include a famous workout specialist advertises particular apparel, gadget, energy drink, or brand of Whey Protein distributors as part of their video.
Alternatives to Allopathy: In the Indian market, the wellness industry has seen a shift in paradigm where an increasing number of consumers opt for Siddha, or Ayurveda substitutes, instead of conventional medicine. This is seen more in the age group of 40+. This particular age group has patients with a long history of high BP, high cholesterol, and other ailments that require continuous monitoring and medication. They feel that the healthier choice is in traditional medicine or treatments like Panchakarma, Ayurveda, or Siddha. Conventional medication provides them with little to no side effects, which is the primary reason for its increasing popularity.
India is expected to become a wellness hub in the global community following a 12% growth per annum. The Make in India initiative is expected to bring in more investments and opportunities in this sector. The Ministry of AYUSH, with a separate department for Yoga, has been exempted from service tax. A budget of around ?3,400 crores has also been earmarked to be spent over the next five years to help set up and strengthen Ayush Wellness Centers under the National Ayush Mission. This has sparked an increase in startups and businesses focusing on the wellness sector.
Meanwhile, the global pandemic is also giving rise to a new consumer behaviour called wellness rebound where they are becoming more health-conscious and striving towards regaining their health soon after recovering from an illness. Considering the aftermath of the pandemic, the aggressive implementation of technology, and the constant consumer market in India, it can be inferred that the wellness industry will evolve and expand further with little to no backslide.
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Health Technology, Digital Healthcare
Article | July 14, 2023
Yes, empathy has become a fad.
Connecting to another human is actually something cool kids do now. If a brand doesn’t have an impact model that includes a practical social issue, consumers tend to not take that brand seriously. In this case, empathy needs to be revisited beyond the trend itself for these strategies to have real, lasting impact.
Practical strategies around compassion meanwhile have similarly become an intrinsic part of social impact organisations. They have become so commonplace that prosocial behaviour has strayed into a kind of tokenism. It is common for instance for consumers to donate their hard-earned money to companies who focus their energies on trying to alleviate real-world issues.
The question then is whether this proxy for compassion isn’t in fact watering down human connections, as well as our positive impact on the issues business and organisations seek to solve with our help.
Postmodern behavioral science
If it is, then we must understand why and how to change that. This is where postmodern behavioral science provides a possible better alternative to social impact strategies. Postmodern behavioral science suggests that the current approach to understanding human behaviour lacks even a rudimentary understanding of empathy, defined in the area of social impact as a discursive strategy that allows us to feel what the group we are trying to help is feeling.
Of course, compassion has very close ties with empathy. Empathy is an innate ability we all have, one that we can learn to develop and fine-tune over time. It is our emotional connection to another human, though one that lies beyond our own ego. It takes the perspective of the person who is struggling and seeks to understand their life, their struggle, and their worldview. It also resolves to value and validate their perspective and experience — something that donating money to a social impact cause does not.
In its broader definition, empathy is a shared interpersonal experience which is implicated in many aspects of social cognition, notably prosocial behavior, morality, and the regulation of aggression.
Empathy has a host of positive after-effects when applied as an interpersonal experience. If a social impact organisation is preoccupied with raising capital, then it is likely to disregard the practical worth of empathy for those who truly want to achieve its mission.
Immersive empathy
One way that behavioral science can contribute is to utilise tools that can help augment the experience of those in need for those needing to understand those needs. Both AR and VR can help people visualise and follow the stories of those who require compassion. These create virtual environments for partners, governments, and consumers to experience with the people they seek to help.
But of course, much of human behaviour is geared toward seeking pleasant experiences and avoiding unnecessary pain. Our in-built hedonic valuation systems guide decisions towards and away from experiences according to our survival instincts.
This is precisely why business owners who want to encourage empathy in their customers go the easy route, but should seek a more participatory frameworks to inspire and provide experiences for those on board with a social mission.
Then there are issues like financial literacy in underserved populations, access to clean water, education for women and girls, and environmental conservation, to name a few of the problems that social impact companies are attempting to tackle.
If a company is trying to tackle an issue such as access to clean water, then rather than start there, it should first ask exactly how this issue arose and developed. It should question the beliefs that underpin this chronic social inequality, those that inform policies, practices, cultural taboos, and beliefs about water and people’s access to it.
To simply respond to an issue in its developed form is to leave it unfixed. We must be willing to reverse engineer the origins of that issue that got us to where we are. In other words, human behaviour is not the only component to consider in this.
The main behavioral framework public servants should take with them is to develop a nudge unit solely based on the relationship between behavioural science and technology.
This is mainly because technology is an inevitable part of how we now relate to one another. Immersive Compassion meanwhile should embrace tools like AR/VR that seek to create empathetic environments and valuable impact longevity.
To fully embrace empathy as an organisation is to create relevant and rigorous responses that go as far as to alter the infrastructure of its target goals. Optimising social impact comes down to optimising human experience.
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Health Technology
Article | May 18, 2022
Do you know you can now wear technology?
With the help of wearable technology, it's now easier to keep track of useful information in one go! This go-to technology has made people’s lives easier and smoother health-wise.
In the last five years, more people have started using wearable technology to monitor health data and live healthier lifestyles.
According to the Deloitte Global Survey, today, more than 80% of people are interested in using wearable technology. Statista also studied that the ear-worn wearable technology market will be worth more than 44.16 billion US dollars by 2023. These data show that customers are gravitating toward wearable technology due to its simplicity and convenience.
The Tech is Getting Smarter
Wearable technology has enabled the concept of self-checking, evaluation and monitoring of certain health conditions.
The Internet of Things (IoT) technology is transforming and improving the entire lifestyles of millions of people. So it's no surprise that the technology is spreading. Thanks to IoT and AI, which have pushed these technologies into individuals’ hands in the form of smartwatches, fitness bands, and other devices. In this case, app development has also been a critical success factor.
Consumers of all age groups actively use wearable technology for multiple physical benefits, such as monitoring daily activities (running, walking), water intake, heartbeat, sleep cycles, blood pressure, oxygen level, and mobility levels. In fact, the tech helps them to stay motivated by maintaining and extending their good habits.
Wearables can measure these characteristics through an effective data model that is instantly responsive. The readings can be saved, displayed, or forwarded to a doctor for medical study. This interface of wearable technology saves money and time traveling to clinics, hospitals, GPs, and other medical facilities.
The next feature that only wearable technology provides is reminders and inspiring information! Due to the addition of automatic functionalities, users have invested considerably in wearables and sparked the usage at the current time.
Furthermore, wearable technology is also seen in other medical devices such as ECG monitors, which is again a cutting-edge consumer electronic device that users can use to measure electrocardiograms at home. A Deloitte study found that due to the rising demand and supply together, nearly 200 million wearable gadgets will be marketed globally by 2023.
Transforming Healthcare Towards Intelligence
The pandemic accentuated the importance of wearable technology the most, particularly for health monitoring. As a result, the technology was available in every second home.
Wearable innovation is exceptional with the advancements in sensors, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and algorithms. Sensor data provides insights regarding an individual's activity levels, cardiac pattern discrepancies, and other aspects. For example, many companies and manufacturers employ PPG, Raman spectroscopy and infrared spectrophotometers to enable blood pressure monitoring features in smartwatches and portable medical devices.
The combination of technology with intelligence is creating a whole new world of healthcare where individuals can track, record, and improve their health issues in a lesser timeframe.
A Committed Future of Healthcare
So, will technology for health improvement thrive?
The answer is yes. Wearable technology delivers real-time health data and allows consumers to improve their health without incurring high costs. Consumers' willingness to share their data with healthcare professionals indicates a surge in future demand for wearable technology gadgets.
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