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Are high-volume facilities better? It depends on how you analyze it

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It's often said that death rates and costs are lower and outcomes are better at facilities that perform high volumes of a procedure. But a report this week challenges that assumption and says more research is needed. Clinicians are using a flawed statistical model to correlate volume and outcome, according to a study in the journal Applied Health Economics and Health Policy. Hospital-specific factors that could affect outcomes are ignored in many models, and not every type of surgery is riskier at a low-volume facility, said Vivian Ho, a health economist at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

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HEALTH TECHNOLOGY

The digital hospital of the future

Article | May 30, 2022

​As the cost of care continues to rise, many hospitals are looking for long-term solutions to minimize inpatient services. Learn how technology and health care delivery will merge to influence the future of hospital design and the patient experience across the globe in this report developed by Deloitte US. Five use cases for the digital hospital of the future The future of health care delivery may look quite different than the hospital of today. Rapidly evolving technologies, along with demographic and economic changes, are expected to alter hospitals worldwide. A growing number of inpatient health care services are already being pushed to home and outpatient ambulatory facilities. However, many complex andv very ill patients will continue to need acute inpatient services. With aging infrastructure in some countries and increased demand for more beds in others, hospital executives and governments should consider rethinking how to optimize inpatient and outpatient settings and integrate digital technologies into traditional hospital services to truly create a health system without walls. To learn what this future of health care delivery may look like, the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions conducted a crowdsourcing simulation with 33 experts from across the globe. Participants included health care CXOs, physician and nurse leaders, public policy leaders, technologists, and futurists. Their charge was to come up with specific use cases for the design of digital hospitals globally in 10 years (a period that can offer hospital leaders and boards time to prepare). The crowdsourcing simulation developed use cases in five categories Redefined care delivery Emerging features including centralized digital centers to enable decision making (think: air traffic control for hospitals), continuous clinical monitoring, targeted treatments (such as 3D printing for surgeries), and the use of smaller, portable devices will help characterize acute-care hospitals. Digital patient experience Digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can help enable on-demand interaction and seamless processes to improve patient experience. Enhanced talent development Robotic process automation (RPA) and AI can allow caregivers to spend more time providing care and less time documenting it. Operational efficiencies through technology Digital supply chains, automation, robotics, and next-generation interoperability can drive operations management and back-office efficiencies. Healing and well-being designs The well-being of patients and staff members—with an emphasis on the importance of environment and experience in healing—will likely be important in future hospital designs. Many of these use-case concepts are already in play. And hospital executives should be planning how to integrate technology into newly-built facilities and retrofit it into older ones. Technology will likely underlie most aspects of future hospital care. But care delivery—especially for complex patients and procedures—may still require hands-on human expertise. Laying the foundation for the digital hospital of the future ​Building a digital hospital of the future can require investments in people, technology, processes, and premises. Most of these investments will likely be upfront. In the short term, hospital leadership may not see immediate returns on these investments. In the longer term, however—as digital technologies improve care delivery, create operational efficiencies, and enhance patient and staff experience—the return result can be in higher quality care, improved operational efficiencies, and increased patient satisfaction. These six core elements of an enterprise digital strategy can help you get started as you begin to push your hospital into the future Create a culture for digital transformation It is essential that senior management understands the importance of a digital future and drives support for its implementation at all organizational levels. Consider technology that communicates Digital implementation is complex. Connecting disparate applications, devices, and technologies—all highly interdependent—and making certain they talk to each other can be critical to a successful digital implementation. Play the long game Since digital technologies are ever evolving, flexibility and scalability during implementation can be critical. The planning team should confirm that project scope includes adding, modifying, or replacing technology at lower costs. Focus on data While the requirements of data interoperability, scalability, productivity, and flexibility are important, they should be built upon a solid foundation of capturing, storing, securing, and analyzing data. Prepare for Talent 2.0 As hospitals invest in exponential technologies, they should provide employees ample opportunities to develop corresponding digital strategies. Maintain cybersecurity With the proliferation of digital technologies, cyber breaches can be a major threat to hospitals of the future. Executives should understand that cybersecurity is the other half of digital implementation and allocate resources appropriately.

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HEALTH TECHNOLOGY

AI in Healthcare Businesses: From Efficient Uses Cases to ROI Growth

Article | July 5, 2022

It’s no secret now that healthcare is an in-demand field. Today, business leaders need modern and intelligent decision-making solutions for their customers and clients. They must also focus on the right investment areas and learn the tricks for investing, spending, and setting goals for revenue generation to accelerate business. With continuous developments in the healthcare sector, integrating AI into processes can help increase ROI. Therefore, if you, like any other business leader, are looking for solutions to empower your services and products in the healthcare domain, this article will help you through AI’s ultimate use cases and churn out a higher ROI. What’s with AI in Healthcare at Present? AI’s role in healthcare is evolving and enhancing traditional business operations, particularly marketing. According to a study by IBM, 71% of customers expect real-time communication. Thus, global demand is fueling the rising adoption of AI marketing solutions. The effects of AI in healthcare are evident. Gartner reports increased marketing efficiency and effectiveness (86%), improved decision-making (71%), better data analysis and new insights (79%). Global AI spending will rise from $450 million in 2019 to over $28 billion by 2024 is not surprising. Similar and further studies are ongoing on various use cases of AI in healthcare at scale. What are the efficient use cases of AI that will help healthcare businesses boost their ROI? Let’s find out. How is AI Applied in Healthcare? The promising applications of AI in healthcare to improve outcomes are very intriguing. While there is still much to achieve in the AI-dependent healthcare business, there is sufficient potential that tech companies are willing to invest in AI-powered tools and solutions. Let’s examine the potential examples of AI in healthcare to prepare and support business strategies accordingly and foster higher ROI generation. Predictive Analytics AI-based predictive analytics impacts a business by automating administrative tasks, predicting sales outcomes for a year, customers’ behavior and making strategies accordingly. According to a Forbes study, AI-based predictive analytics can save businesses $18 billion in tasks, expenses, and pricing. To understand this, one example of using AI to automate admin tasks is a collaboration between the Cleveland Clinic and IBM. Cleveland Clinic uses IBM’s Watson to mine big data and provides personalized services for customers and clients on marketing deeds. Some of the practical applications of AI and predictive analytics in healthcare are: Monitoring market trends to maximize marketing efforts Organizing datasets Creating marketing campaigns tailored to each demographic-based client Mining collective data for future decision-making Fraud Prevention AmerisourceBergen Corp detects fraud and misleading business operations through AI. A sales account team conducts audits with AI to detect usual lea and queries to prevent hefty expenses for businesses. The example explains that implementing AI in your process will help detect any significant fraud attempts inside your business operation. This will help your business save huge expenditures. Boost Sales By putting down false leads, AI helps in maximizing sales numbers, resulting in significant ROI generation. For example, AI transforms data into personalized data, which reduces the cost of operations. Chatbots Most healthcare businesses leverage chatbots on their websites to engage more and more customers and boost engagement. In this way, businesses tend to gain multiple leads and convert them into clients by providing the best marketing solutions. Chatbots are fruitful for AI start-ups in healthcare—small businesses can deploy AI to their websites. By doing so, they can save millions in administrative costs and attract numerous leads. The most prominent examples of AI in healthcare hail from giant tech titans such as IBM, Amazon, and Microsoft. They are assisting healthcare providers with AI to create and deploy digital-human employees. Segmentation of Marketing Targets Is your target audience not responding to your marketing campaigns (for example, by not clicking a link, subscribing or unsubscribing to a newsletter, or not registering for a medical event)? If that's the case, how should you go ahead? Using AI-based tools allows your marketing to easily identify target behaviors and reactions based on the type of marketing actions to be carried out. Analyzing these actions can help segment targets based on your company's marketing objectives. The most significant development took place in April 2022, when Amazon Alexa became fully HIPAA compliant. It works with health developers and service providers that manage protected information for customers. AI Leads to Data Modernization It’s all about the data—not any data! There’s a precise association between AI and data management, resulting in data modernization. According to a Cognizant research study, healthcare leaders have made significant progress in modernizing their data. In contrast, most upcoming businesses are expecting to do so by 2024. The maximum acceleration of AI in modernizing data will be seen in the manufacturing and marketing of healthcare products and services, respectively. It is because AI helps to churn data easily. The accessibility of data, in particular, becomes simpler with automation than doing it manually, which generates a massive amount of data. Such effects of AI in healthcare can be one of the prime reasons for the higher ROI of your business in the future. “There has never been a greater need for skilled analytic talent in health care. Because AI is becoming more strategic, organizations must ensure access to this skill set, either by growing their analytic teams or seeking out experienced partners." Steve Griffiths, CEO of Optum Enterprise Analytics AI Expenditure is on the Rise McKinsey says that by 2025, the use of AI in healthcare will be widespread, resulting in significant expenditure by global healthcare leaders. AI is a significant concern for healthcare decision-makers, investors, and innovators as customers extensively engage and react to AI-powered services and solutions. AI is constantly bringing improvements to almost all processes, including cost savings, management of services and products, and monitoring of multiple operations. Even small businesses in the healthcare industry are proactively investing in AI applications to match steps with the current wave of innovation in healthcare services. Accelerate ROI Using AI AI in healthcare is becoming one of the prime responsible technologies for accelerating ROI. Technology can eradicate multiple business growth challenges. Let’s find out how. Enhanced Performance As previously stated, use cases of AI in healthcare can relieve stress on employees. This would allow them to devote their time to more value-added marketing activities to churn more ROI. Emphasize Cost-Effectiveness Most of the businesses associated with healthcare are concerned about the costs involved. With AI, they now develop policies to spend less on non-essential activities and necessitate profit-oriented actions. "We believe in the potential of AI to deliver insights and operational efficiencies that unlock better health-care performance." Robert Musslewhite, CEO at OptumInsight Frequently Asked Questions How is AI used in healthcare? AI in healthcare automates and predicts processes by analyzing data throughout. It is used to predict potential customers, improve business management workflows, and manufacture medical products. How does AI drive growth in the healthcare industry? AI drives business growth by improving the ability to understand better day-to-day customer patterns and needs based on services and products. How is AI changing the Healthcare industry? AI applications in healthcare have demonstrated their potential to improve analytics and data management and assist service providers in making timely medical decisions.

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HEALTH TECHNOLOGY

Wearable Technology is the New Healthcare!

Article | July 19, 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.

Read More
HEALTHCARE ANALYTICS

Importance of Mental Health for Sustainable Development

Article | May 11, 2022

Mental illness is a fatal illness. Surprisingly, mental health is grossly underfunded all over the world. Despite countries' economic strength, there are still no long-term and solution-driven results for addressing mental health. According to WHO reports, only one in every fifty people receives medical treatment for severe mental illnesses. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a global initiative to create a more equitable and sustainable world. According to the World Health Organization, "there can be no health or sustainable development without proper mental health." As a result, mental health is one of the most critical pillars in creating a sustainable world in the future. In short, if mental health is good, sustainability will follow naturally. Positive Mental Health = Thriving Sustainability According to the WHO’s decision-making body, ‘The World Health Assembly (WHA),’ mental health deserves to be at the top of the sustainability agenda because it affects people of all ages. It means anybody can be diagnosed with a mental illness, which is directly proportionate to sustainable development. So, a similar amount of treatments, diagnoses, and awareness should help people overcome mental illness. However, on the other hand, according to the WHO's 2020 Mental Health Atlas, only 23% of patients with mental illnesses have been integrated into healthcare systems in developing countries. This highlights the undeniable fact that the world's 280 million people suffering from depression have been kept away from receiving a proper diagnosis, treatment, and care. Moreover, up to 85% of people with mental illnesses are untreated. The numbers are shocking! Such statistics are enough evidence to create a supportive culture free of the stigma that mental illness is incurable and encourage patients to seek help when they need it. It includes geography-specific mental health resources, proper diagnosis, care, medication, availability, accessibility, other requirements, and adequate support systems. Global Action is Key to Both Providers of mental health services cannot do it alone. Instead, it requires a strong global response. In this case, leading companies and legislative bodies should exert influence to promote cost-effective, widely accessible, and evidence-based treatments for mental health disorders. Some low-cost solutions to this global problem will eradicate it and bring about long-term development to support this point. As a result, the solutions are as follows Improving social and economic environments as part of sustainable development Integrating mental health into general primary health care Providing appropriate care and treatment through trained and supervised community members Using technology to introduce the most up-to-date solutions for mental health disorders Wrapping Up Transformation is essential today, both technically and in terms of humanizing. Otherwise, sustainable development will be impossible to achieve unless the enormous challenge of mental health is addressed. Therefore, healthcare leaders will need to develop transitional plans to increase coverage in real-time to accomplish this. This should include proper diagnosis and progressive tracking of mental health treatments.

Read More
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY

AI in Healthcare Businesses: From Efficient Uses Cases to ROI Growth

Article | May 30, 2022

​As the cost of care continues to rise, many hospitals are looking for long-term solutions to minimize inpatient services. Learn how technology and health care delivery will merge to influence the future of hospital design and the patient experience across the globe in this report developed by Deloitte US. Five use cases for the digital hospital of the future The future of health care delivery may look quite different than the hospital of today. Rapidly evolving technologies, along with demographic and economic changes, are expected to alter hospitals worldwide. A growing number of inpatient health care services are already being pushed to home and outpatient ambulatory facilities. However, many complex andv very ill patients will continue to need acute inpatient services. With aging infrastructure in some countries and increased demand for more beds in others, hospital executives and governments should consider rethinking how to optimize inpatient and outpatient settings and integrate digital technologies into traditional hospital services to truly create a health system without walls. To learn what this future of health care delivery may look like, the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions conducted a crowdsourcing simulation with 33 experts from across the globe. Participants included health care CXOs, physician and nurse leaders, public policy leaders, technologists, and futurists. Their charge was to come up with specific use cases for the design of digital hospitals globally in 10 years (a period that can offer hospital leaders and boards time to prepare). The crowdsourcing simulation developed use cases in five categories Redefined care delivery Emerging features including centralized digital centers to enable decision making (think: air traffic control for hospitals), continuous clinical monitoring, targeted treatments (such as 3D printing for surgeries), and the use of smaller, portable devices will help characterize acute-care hospitals. Digital patient experience Digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can help enable on-demand interaction and seamless processes to improve patient experience. Enhanced talent development Robotic process automation (RPA) and AI can allow caregivers to spend more time providing care and less time documenting it. Operational efficiencies through technology Digital supply chains, automation, robotics, and next-generation interoperability can drive operations management and back-office efficiencies. Healing and well-being designs The well-being of patients and staff members—with an emphasis on the importance of environment and experience in healing—will likely be important in future hospital designs. Many of these use-case concepts are already in play. And hospital executives should be planning how to integrate technology into newly-built facilities and retrofit it into older ones. Technology will likely underlie most aspects of future hospital care. But care delivery—especially for complex patients and procedures—may still require hands-on human expertise. Laying the foundation for the digital hospital of the future ​Building a digital hospital of the future can require investments in people, technology, processes, and premises. Most of these investments will likely be upfront. In the short term, hospital leadership may not see immediate returns on these investments. In the longer term, however—as digital technologies improve care delivery, create operational efficiencies, and enhance patient and staff experience—the return result can be in higher quality care, improved operational efficiencies, and increased patient satisfaction. These six core elements of an enterprise digital strategy can help you get started as you begin to push your hospital into the future Create a culture for digital transformation It is essential that senior management understands the importance of a digital future and drives support for its implementation at all organizational levels. Consider technology that communicates Digital implementation is complex. Connecting disparate applications, devices, and technologies—all highly interdependent—and making certain they talk to each other can be critical to a successful digital implementation. Play the long game Since digital technologies are ever evolving, flexibility and scalability during implementation can be critical. The planning team should confirm that project scope includes adding, modifying, or replacing technology at lower costs. Focus on data While the requirements of data interoperability, scalability, productivity, and flexibility are important, they should be built upon a solid foundation of capturing, storing, securing, and analyzing data. Prepare for Talent 2.0 As hospitals invest in exponential technologies, they should provide employees ample opportunities to develop corresponding digital strategies. Maintain cybersecurity With the proliferation of digital technologies, cyber breaches can be a major threat to hospitals of the future. Executives should understand that cybersecurity is the other half of digital implementation and allocate resources appropriately.

Read More
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY

3 IT Investment Strategies Hospitals Can Use to Improve Patient Care

Article | July 5, 2022

It’s no secret now that healthcare is an in-demand field. Today, business leaders need modern and intelligent decision-making solutions for their customers and clients. They must also focus on the right investment areas and learn the tricks for investing, spending, and setting goals for revenue generation to accelerate business. With continuous developments in the healthcare sector, integrating AI into processes can help increase ROI. Therefore, if you, like any other business leader, are looking for solutions to empower your services and products in the healthcare domain, this article will help you through AI’s ultimate use cases and churn out a higher ROI. What’s with AI in Healthcare at Present? AI’s role in healthcare is evolving and enhancing traditional business operations, particularly marketing. According to a study by IBM, 71% of customers expect real-time communication. Thus, global demand is fueling the rising adoption of AI marketing solutions. The effects of AI in healthcare are evident. Gartner reports increased marketing efficiency and effectiveness (86%), improved decision-making (71%), better data analysis and new insights (79%). Global AI spending will rise from $450 million in 2019 to over $28 billion by 2024 is not surprising. Similar and further studies are ongoing on various use cases of AI in healthcare at scale. What are the efficient use cases of AI that will help healthcare businesses boost their ROI? Let’s find out. How is AI Applied in Healthcare? The promising applications of AI in healthcare to improve outcomes are very intriguing. While there is still much to achieve in the AI-dependent healthcare business, there is sufficient potential that tech companies are willing to invest in AI-powered tools and solutions. Let’s examine the potential examples of AI in healthcare to prepare and support business strategies accordingly and foster higher ROI generation. Predictive Analytics AI-based predictive analytics impacts a business by automating administrative tasks, predicting sales outcomes for a year, customers’ behavior and making strategies accordingly. According to a Forbes study, AI-based predictive analytics can save businesses $18 billion in tasks, expenses, and pricing. To understand this, one example of using AI to automate admin tasks is a collaboration between the Cleveland Clinic and IBM. Cleveland Clinic uses IBM’s Watson to mine big data and provides personalized services for customers and clients on marketing deeds. Some of the practical applications of AI and predictive analytics in healthcare are: Monitoring market trends to maximize marketing efforts Organizing datasets Creating marketing campaigns tailored to each demographic-based client Mining collective data for future decision-making Fraud Prevention AmerisourceBergen Corp detects fraud and misleading business operations through AI. A sales account team conducts audits with AI to detect usual lea and queries to prevent hefty expenses for businesses. The example explains that implementing AI in your process will help detect any significant fraud attempts inside your business operation. This will help your business save huge expenditures. Boost Sales By putting down false leads, AI helps in maximizing sales numbers, resulting in significant ROI generation. For example, AI transforms data into personalized data, which reduces the cost of operations. Chatbots Most healthcare businesses leverage chatbots on their websites to engage more and more customers and boost engagement. In this way, businesses tend to gain multiple leads and convert them into clients by providing the best marketing solutions. Chatbots are fruitful for AI start-ups in healthcare—small businesses can deploy AI to their websites. By doing so, they can save millions in administrative costs and attract numerous leads. The most prominent examples of AI in healthcare hail from giant tech titans such as IBM, Amazon, and Microsoft. They are assisting healthcare providers with AI to create and deploy digital-human employees. Segmentation of Marketing Targets Is your target audience not responding to your marketing campaigns (for example, by not clicking a link, subscribing or unsubscribing to a newsletter, or not registering for a medical event)? If that's the case, how should you go ahead? Using AI-based tools allows your marketing to easily identify target behaviors and reactions based on the type of marketing actions to be carried out. Analyzing these actions can help segment targets based on your company's marketing objectives. The most significant development took place in April 2022, when Amazon Alexa became fully HIPAA compliant. It works with health developers and service providers that manage protected information for customers. AI Leads to Data Modernization It’s all about the data—not any data! There’s a precise association between AI and data management, resulting in data modernization. According to a Cognizant research study, healthcare leaders have made significant progress in modernizing their data. In contrast, most upcoming businesses are expecting to do so by 2024. The maximum acceleration of AI in modernizing data will be seen in the manufacturing and marketing of healthcare products and services, respectively. It is because AI helps to churn data easily. The accessibility of data, in particular, becomes simpler with automation than doing it manually, which generates a massive amount of data. Such effects of AI in healthcare can be one of the prime reasons for the higher ROI of your business in the future. “There has never been a greater need for skilled analytic talent in health care. Because AI is becoming more strategic, organizations must ensure access to this skill set, either by growing their analytic teams or seeking out experienced partners." Steve Griffiths, CEO of Optum Enterprise Analytics AI Expenditure is on the Rise McKinsey says that by 2025, the use of AI in healthcare will be widespread, resulting in significant expenditure by global healthcare leaders. AI is a significant concern for healthcare decision-makers, investors, and innovators as customers extensively engage and react to AI-powered services and solutions. AI is constantly bringing improvements to almost all processes, including cost savings, management of services and products, and monitoring of multiple operations. Even small businesses in the healthcare industry are proactively investing in AI applications to match steps with the current wave of innovation in healthcare services. Accelerate ROI Using AI AI in healthcare is becoming one of the prime responsible technologies for accelerating ROI. Technology can eradicate multiple business growth challenges. Let’s find out how. Enhanced Performance As previously stated, use cases of AI in healthcare can relieve stress on employees. This would allow them to devote their time to more value-added marketing activities to churn more ROI. Emphasize Cost-Effectiveness Most of the businesses associated with healthcare are concerned about the costs involved. With AI, they now develop policies to spend less on non-essential activities and necessitate profit-oriented actions. "We believe in the potential of AI to deliver insights and operational efficiencies that unlock better health-care performance." Robert Musslewhite, CEO at OptumInsight Frequently Asked Questions How is AI used in healthcare? AI in healthcare automates and predicts processes by analyzing data throughout. It is used to predict potential customers, improve business management workflows, and manufacture medical products. How does AI drive growth in the healthcare industry? AI drives business growth by improving the ability to understand better day-to-day customer patterns and needs based on services and products. How is AI changing the Healthcare industry? AI applications in healthcare have demonstrated their potential to improve analytics and data management and assist service providers in making timely medical decisions.

Read More
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY

Wearable Technology: A Pool of Opportunities in Healthcare

Article | July 19, 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.

Read More
HEALTHCARE ANALYTICS

Importance of Mental Health for Sustainable Development

Article | May 11, 2022

Mental illness is a fatal illness. Surprisingly, mental health is grossly underfunded all over the world. Despite countries' economic strength, there are still no long-term and solution-driven results for addressing mental health. According to WHO reports, only one in every fifty people receives medical treatment for severe mental illnesses. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a global initiative to create a more equitable and sustainable world. According to the World Health Organization, "there can be no health or sustainable development without proper mental health." As a result, mental health is one of the most critical pillars in creating a sustainable world in the future. In short, if mental health is good, sustainability will follow naturally. Positive Mental Health = Thriving Sustainability According to the WHO’s decision-making body, ‘The World Health Assembly (WHA),’ mental health deserves to be at the top of the sustainability agenda because it affects people of all ages. It means anybody can be diagnosed with a mental illness, which is directly proportionate to sustainable development. So, a similar amount of treatments, diagnoses, and awareness should help people overcome mental illness. However, on the other hand, according to the WHO's 2020 Mental Health Atlas, only 23% of patients with mental illnesses have been integrated into healthcare systems in developing countries. This highlights the undeniable fact that the world's 280 million people suffering from depression have been kept away from receiving a proper diagnosis, treatment, and care. Moreover, up to 85% of people with mental illnesses are untreated. The numbers are shocking! Such statistics are enough evidence to create a supportive culture free of the stigma that mental illness is incurable and encourage patients to seek help when they need it. It includes geography-specific mental health resources, proper diagnosis, care, medication, availability, accessibility, other requirements, and adequate support systems. Global Action is Key to Both Providers of mental health services cannot do it alone. Instead, it requires a strong global response. In this case, leading companies and legislative bodies should exert influence to promote cost-effective, widely accessible, and evidence-based treatments for mental health disorders. Some low-cost solutions to this global problem will eradicate it and bring about long-term development to support this point. As a result, the solutions are as follows Improving social and economic environments as part of sustainable development Integrating mental health into general primary health care Providing appropriate care and treatment through trained and supervised community members Using technology to introduce the most up-to-date solutions for mental health disorders Wrapping Up Transformation is essential today, both technically and in terms of humanizing. Otherwise, sustainable development will be impossible to achieve unless the enormous challenge of mental health is addressed. Therefore, healthcare leaders will need to develop transitional plans to increase coverage in real-time to accomplish this. This should include proper diagnosis and progressive tracking of mental health treatments.

Read More
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Spotlight

Northwest Community Healthcare

Northwest Community Healthcare is an award-winning organization, with nationally recognized physicians, state-of-the-art technology, and inpatient and outpatient services in a full range of medical specialties.

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Swift Medical Launches the World’s First All-in-One Hyperspectral Imaging Device to Make Healthcare More Accessible

Swift Medical | March 03, 2022

Swift Medical, the global leader in digital wound care technology, unveiled the Swift Ray 1, a groundbreaking hardware device that wirelessly attaches to a smartphone camera and captures comprehensive clinical data to better support assessment, treatment and monitoring of skin and wound conditions. The Swift Ray 1 fits in the palm of a clinician or patient’s hand, making powerful medical imaging accessible anywhere, from the hospital to the home. Further, this advanced imaging enables the capture of accurate clinical data for every patient, regardless of skin tone, making wound care more equitable for everyone. “The future of wound care goes beyond what the naked eye can perceive and beyond the walls of the clinic, which is why our dream has always been to equalize and improve healthcare access for humanity through intelligent diagnostics. The Swift Ray 1 gets us one step closer by helping clinicians and patients see below the surface of the skin, to heal wounds faster or prevent them from ever even developing.” Carlo Perez, co-founder and CEO of Swift Medical The Swift Ray 1 captures and analyzes important physiological characteristics of wounds that can indicate causes for concern and/or improper healing, such as signs of infection, bacterial colonization, tissue compromise, perfusion, inflammation and blood oxygen levels. The new device illuminates these invisible, beneath-the-skin characteristics through long-wave infrared, near infrared, ultraviolet and enhanced RGB imaging technology - enabling powerful clinical workflows. The Swift Ray 1 works seamlessly with Swift Medical’s proprietary wound management software application and provides clinicians with unparalleled insights into a patient’s wound healing, informing clinical and operational decision-making. It also integrates directly into many of the leading EHRs to help clinicians both improve clinical efficiency and ensure that all relevant medical information is recorded in the patient’s chart. “The technology can fit in your pocket. That means it can go anywhere a doctor or nurse goes. It means it’s on them, whenever they need it, wherever their patients are,” said Mike Comer, Founder and CEO at Wound Care Advantage. “There’s no forgetting it on the shelf or fumbling around with wires and clunky imaging devices. You just take it from your pocket and snap a photo. It really does make wound care accessible anywhere.” Chronic wounds are one of the biggest public health challenges worldwide, and are often associated with other prevalent chronic conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension. More than 8.2 million patients are currently suffering from chronic wounds in North America. As rates of obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions continue to skyrocket, the number of patients at risk of developing wounds will continue to rise. The challenges of providing wound care are exacerbated by the reality that high quality care traditionally requires highly trained clinicians using multiple pieces of bulky, expensive equipment in an institutional setting. Conversely, the Swift Ray 1 allows any clinician to capture and share images at any bedside, enabling healthcare organizations to provide more accessible, efficient and preventive care. The Swift Ray 1 supports a variety of use cases, including early detection of deep tissue injuries and prevention of pressure injuries; identification of wound infections and inhibited wound healing; and remote physiological monitoring of chronic wound patients in the home. The Swift Ray 1 is also ideal for pharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations engaged in clinical trials. About Swift Medical Swift Medical is the global leader in digital wound care. Our mission is to make empathy driven wound care ubiquitous through AI-powered diagnostic technology. We are the trusted wound technology partner of more than 4,100 healthcare facilities in North America across the continuum of care. Our solutions empower healthcare providers to deliver standardized, accessible and equitable wound care for every patient - with advanced, high-precision imaging, compliant documentation, clinical analytics and remote care.

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FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE

MedX Health Corp. and Al Zahrawi Medical Supplies LLC Announce Distribution Agreement for Leading-Edge Teledermatology Screening Platform in UAE

MedX Health Corp. | November 22, 2021

MedX Health Corp. (“MedX” or the “Company”) and Al Zahrawi Medical Supplies LLC ("Al Zahrawi") are pleased to announce a Memorandum of Understanding between the companies on a two-phase commercialization pilot and distribution agreement for MedX’s leading-edge DermSecure® Screening Platform at select United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) oncology and dermatology clinics beginning this month. The three-month pilot will involve an estimated 1,000 patients at four dermatology and oncology clinics in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Upon the successful completion of the two phases, the MedX DermSecure® Screening Platform will become more widely available at clinics and health care facilities across the UAE. As the largest distributor of medical devices in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, the partnership with Al Zahrawi positions MedX for continued growth in other Middle Eastern markets including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain. This initiative is the latest in a series of commercialization pilots recently launched in Europe and the Middle East as part of MedX’s global commercialization strategy, building on pilots underway in the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. Additional commercialization pilots are anticipated in the coming months. “At Zahrawi, we are passionate about providing the highest quality products and services to healthcare facilities and laboratories across the GCC,” said David Fawzy Yassa, Business Development Director at Al Zahrawi. “MedX’s teledermatology platform meets these high standards, with a proven ability to improve outcomes for dermatology patients. We’re eager to work with MedX to bring the platform to more patients across the UAE market and other GCC nations.” Teledermatology is a subspeciality of dermatology that offers safe and effective virtual care – patient screening and assessment – eliminating the need for in-person appointments with a dermatologist. Unlike other teledermatology screening tools available, MedX’s DermSecure® Screening Platform features high-resolution image capture technology for moles, lesions and other skin conditions, providing a complete, virtual dermatological assessment by a certified dermatologist within just 72 hours. MedX’s leading telemedicine platform allows health-care practitioners to quickly and accurately assess suspicious moles, lesions and other skin conditions via its image capture technology, SIAscopy®, and its secure, cloud-based patient management system, DermSecure®, which transmits and stores patient data throughout the assessment process. MedX’s SIAscopy® is the only technology that captures five images, including four spectrophotometric images 2mm below the skin’s surface. “This pilot is a significant step forward in growing MedX’s global presence, particularly among countries in the GCC region. During this time of rapid growth for our company, we look forward to working with trusted partners like Al Zahrawi to expand our global footprint and improve more patient outcomes.” Sylvain Desjeans, MedX CEO Naman Demaghlatrous, MedX Managing Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa, added, “Our pilot in the UAE is an important foothold in the GCC region – it represents the first of six markets we want to penetrate in the Middle East. Following the successful completion of this UAE pilot, we’ll be seeking other similar opportunities in Saudi Arabia and other GCC nations in the months ahead.” According to Omnia Health, melanoma skin cancer is of growing concern in the UAE as one of the most common malignancies in men, with an incidence rate of 14.5%.1 The World Health Organization estimates that cancer rates in the Middle East will double by 2030.2 Early and rapid detection of melanoma is key to improving patient outcomes. About MedX Health Corp MedX, headquartered in Ontario, Canada, is a leading medical device and software company focused on skin health with its SIAscopy® on DermSecure® telemedicine platform, utilizing its SIAscopy® technology. SIAscopy® is also imbedded in its products SIAMETRICS®, SIMSYS®, and MoleMate®, which MedX manufactures in its ISO 13485 certified facility. SIAMETRICS®, SIMSYS®, and MoleMate® include hand-held devices that use patented technology utilizing light and its remittance to view up to 2 mm beneath suspicious moles and lesions in a pain free, non-invasive manner, with its software then creating real-time images for physicians and dermatologists to evaluate all types of moles or lesions within seconds. These products are cleared by Health Canada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Conformité Européenne for use in Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, Brazil and Turkey. About Al Zahrawi Medical Supplies LLC Zahrawi Group is a leading company dedicated to contributing to the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman markets by supplying high-quality products and services to hospitals, clinics, laboratories and analytical industries. Zahrawi Group is continuously expanding, progressing and contributing to the prosperity of the people and economy of the region. Zahrawi Group represents an extensive profile of internationally renowned Healthcare and Laboratory manufacturers, such as Medtronic, Agilent Technologies, Dako, Sakura, BD, Sysmex, Cepheid, Hitachi, Sebia and many others. Zahrawi Group continues to show sustainable growth year over year with Dhs 583 Million in revenues in 2020.

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The top 6 policy priorities that could improve behavioral health care access at hospitals and save billions

Fiercehealthcare | May 13, 2019

Issues such as the opioid epidemic and an increased suicide rate in the U.S. are increasing demand for behavioral health care services even as challenges such as workforce shortages and payment policies are restricting patient access.But policy changes such as improved reimbursement could help the nation's hospitals better address those access issues, according to a new analysis from the American Hospital Association.While nearly one in five Americans is affected by a behavioral health disorder, many individuals are unable to access the services they need," the authors of the report wrote. "Hospitals and health systems play a central role in meeting the health needs of their community.

Read More

DIGITAL HEALTHCARE

Swift Medical Launches the World’s First All-in-One Hyperspectral Imaging Device to Make Healthcare More Accessible

Swift Medical | March 03, 2022

Swift Medical, the global leader in digital wound care technology, unveiled the Swift Ray 1, a groundbreaking hardware device that wirelessly attaches to a smartphone camera and captures comprehensive clinical data to better support assessment, treatment and monitoring of skin and wound conditions. The Swift Ray 1 fits in the palm of a clinician or patient’s hand, making powerful medical imaging accessible anywhere, from the hospital to the home. Further, this advanced imaging enables the capture of accurate clinical data for every patient, regardless of skin tone, making wound care more equitable for everyone. “The future of wound care goes beyond what the naked eye can perceive and beyond the walls of the clinic, which is why our dream has always been to equalize and improve healthcare access for humanity through intelligent diagnostics. The Swift Ray 1 gets us one step closer by helping clinicians and patients see below the surface of the skin, to heal wounds faster or prevent them from ever even developing.” Carlo Perez, co-founder and CEO of Swift Medical The Swift Ray 1 captures and analyzes important physiological characteristics of wounds that can indicate causes for concern and/or improper healing, such as signs of infection, bacterial colonization, tissue compromise, perfusion, inflammation and blood oxygen levels. The new device illuminates these invisible, beneath-the-skin characteristics through long-wave infrared, near infrared, ultraviolet and enhanced RGB imaging technology - enabling powerful clinical workflows. The Swift Ray 1 works seamlessly with Swift Medical’s proprietary wound management software application and provides clinicians with unparalleled insights into a patient’s wound healing, informing clinical and operational decision-making. It also integrates directly into many of the leading EHRs to help clinicians both improve clinical efficiency and ensure that all relevant medical information is recorded in the patient’s chart. “The technology can fit in your pocket. That means it can go anywhere a doctor or nurse goes. It means it’s on them, whenever they need it, wherever their patients are,” said Mike Comer, Founder and CEO at Wound Care Advantage. “There’s no forgetting it on the shelf or fumbling around with wires and clunky imaging devices. You just take it from your pocket and snap a photo. It really does make wound care accessible anywhere.” Chronic wounds are one of the biggest public health challenges worldwide, and are often associated with other prevalent chronic conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension. More than 8.2 million patients are currently suffering from chronic wounds in North America. As rates of obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions continue to skyrocket, the number of patients at risk of developing wounds will continue to rise. The challenges of providing wound care are exacerbated by the reality that high quality care traditionally requires highly trained clinicians using multiple pieces of bulky, expensive equipment in an institutional setting. Conversely, the Swift Ray 1 allows any clinician to capture and share images at any bedside, enabling healthcare organizations to provide more accessible, efficient and preventive care. The Swift Ray 1 supports a variety of use cases, including early detection of deep tissue injuries and prevention of pressure injuries; identification of wound infections and inhibited wound healing; and remote physiological monitoring of chronic wound patients in the home. The Swift Ray 1 is also ideal for pharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations engaged in clinical trials. About Swift Medical Swift Medical is the global leader in digital wound care. Our mission is to make empathy driven wound care ubiquitous through AI-powered diagnostic technology. We are the trusted wound technology partner of more than 4,100 healthcare facilities in North America across the continuum of care. Our solutions empower healthcare providers to deliver standardized, accessible and equitable wound care for every patient - with advanced, high-precision imaging, compliant documentation, clinical analytics and remote care.

Read More

FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE

MedX Health Corp. and Al Zahrawi Medical Supplies LLC Announce Distribution Agreement for Leading-Edge Teledermatology Screening Platform in UAE

MedX Health Corp. | November 22, 2021

MedX Health Corp. (“MedX” or the “Company”) and Al Zahrawi Medical Supplies LLC ("Al Zahrawi") are pleased to announce a Memorandum of Understanding between the companies on a two-phase commercialization pilot and distribution agreement for MedX’s leading-edge DermSecure® Screening Platform at select United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) oncology and dermatology clinics beginning this month. The three-month pilot will involve an estimated 1,000 patients at four dermatology and oncology clinics in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Upon the successful completion of the two phases, the MedX DermSecure® Screening Platform will become more widely available at clinics and health care facilities across the UAE. As the largest distributor of medical devices in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, the partnership with Al Zahrawi positions MedX for continued growth in other Middle Eastern markets including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain. This initiative is the latest in a series of commercialization pilots recently launched in Europe and the Middle East as part of MedX’s global commercialization strategy, building on pilots underway in the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. Additional commercialization pilots are anticipated in the coming months. “At Zahrawi, we are passionate about providing the highest quality products and services to healthcare facilities and laboratories across the GCC,” said David Fawzy Yassa, Business Development Director at Al Zahrawi. “MedX’s teledermatology platform meets these high standards, with a proven ability to improve outcomes for dermatology patients. We’re eager to work with MedX to bring the platform to more patients across the UAE market and other GCC nations.” Teledermatology is a subspeciality of dermatology that offers safe and effective virtual care – patient screening and assessment – eliminating the need for in-person appointments with a dermatologist. Unlike other teledermatology screening tools available, MedX’s DermSecure® Screening Platform features high-resolution image capture technology for moles, lesions and other skin conditions, providing a complete, virtual dermatological assessment by a certified dermatologist within just 72 hours. MedX’s leading telemedicine platform allows health-care practitioners to quickly and accurately assess suspicious moles, lesions and other skin conditions via its image capture technology, SIAscopy®, and its secure, cloud-based patient management system, DermSecure®, which transmits and stores patient data throughout the assessment process. MedX’s SIAscopy® is the only technology that captures five images, including four spectrophotometric images 2mm below the skin’s surface. “This pilot is a significant step forward in growing MedX’s global presence, particularly among countries in the GCC region. During this time of rapid growth for our company, we look forward to working with trusted partners like Al Zahrawi to expand our global footprint and improve more patient outcomes.” Sylvain Desjeans, MedX CEO Naman Demaghlatrous, MedX Managing Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa, added, “Our pilot in the UAE is an important foothold in the GCC region – it represents the first of six markets we want to penetrate in the Middle East. Following the successful completion of this UAE pilot, we’ll be seeking other similar opportunities in Saudi Arabia and other GCC nations in the months ahead.” According to Omnia Health, melanoma skin cancer is of growing concern in the UAE as one of the most common malignancies in men, with an incidence rate of 14.5%.1 The World Health Organization estimates that cancer rates in the Middle East will double by 2030.2 Early and rapid detection of melanoma is key to improving patient outcomes. About MedX Health Corp MedX, headquartered in Ontario, Canada, is a leading medical device and software company focused on skin health with its SIAscopy® on DermSecure® telemedicine platform, utilizing its SIAscopy® technology. SIAscopy® is also imbedded in its products SIAMETRICS®, SIMSYS®, and MoleMate®, which MedX manufactures in its ISO 13485 certified facility. SIAMETRICS®, SIMSYS®, and MoleMate® include hand-held devices that use patented technology utilizing light and its remittance to view up to 2 mm beneath suspicious moles and lesions in a pain free, non-invasive manner, with its software then creating real-time images for physicians and dermatologists to evaluate all types of moles or lesions within seconds. These products are cleared by Health Canada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Conformité Européenne for use in Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union, Brazil and Turkey. About Al Zahrawi Medical Supplies LLC Zahrawi Group is a leading company dedicated to contributing to the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman markets by supplying high-quality products and services to hospitals, clinics, laboratories and analytical industries. Zahrawi Group is continuously expanding, progressing and contributing to the prosperity of the people and economy of the region. Zahrawi Group represents an extensive profile of internationally renowned Healthcare and Laboratory manufacturers, such as Medtronic, Agilent Technologies, Dako, Sakura, BD, Sysmex, Cepheid, Hitachi, Sebia and many others. Zahrawi Group continues to show sustainable growth year over year with Dhs 583 Million in revenues in 2020.

Read More

The top 6 policy priorities that could improve behavioral health care access at hospitals and save billions

Fiercehealthcare | May 13, 2019

Issues such as the opioid epidemic and an increased suicide rate in the U.S. are increasing demand for behavioral health care services even as challenges such as workforce shortages and payment policies are restricting patient access.But policy changes such as improved reimbursement could help the nation's hospitals better address those access issues, according to a new analysis from the American Hospital Association.While nearly one in five Americans is affected by a behavioral health disorder, many individuals are unable to access the services they need," the authors of the report wrote. "Hospitals and health systems play a central role in meeting the health needs of their community.

Read More

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