How to manage diabetes

Health Technology, Digital Healthcare

Article | September 7, 2023

Introduction Top Upcoming Healthcare Supply Chain Trends to Know About Immediate Access to Medical Supplies Emphasis on Visibility and Tracking Investment in Technologies Artificial Intelligence Cloud Computing Data Analytics Healthcare Supply Chain Management Solutions: Features and Significance Why Is Supply Chain Management Software Gaining Prominence in Healthcare? Closing Thoughts Introduction With the ever-evolving and changing nature of the healthcare industry, organizations are discovering new methods to eliminate waste, reduce costs, and prioritize patient concerns. Despite the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the vulnerabilities of healthcare supply chains and caused shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other essential medical supplies, it has served as a catalyst for innovation and digital transformation in healthcare supply chain management solutions. Healthcare and medical organizations have learned the hard way to let go of the traditional ways of thinking, such as a mindset that prioritizes just-in-time supply chains and logistics optimization over everything else. Tight, fragile supply networks and lousy inventory management have caused severe shortages of pharmaceutical and medical supplies in the past. However, with the emergence of innovative technologies and trends, now is the time to adopt a new mindset that emphasizes supply chain resilience, flexibility, and agility, making supply chains stronger and adaptable. This will enable healthcare spaces to handle unexpected spikes in demand and survive unpredictable disruptions brought on by pandemics, natural disasters, or cyberattacks in the future. Top Upcoming Healthcare Supply Chain Trends to Know About In recent years, healthcare providers have been concentrating on supply chain management solutions not only to increase the effectiveness of supply chain networks but also to gain more visibility into the entire supply chain. With the goal of streamlining the ordering process, enhancing demand planning & inventory management, and informing purchasing contract decisions, healthcare providers have started to understand the potential of advanced healthcare supply chain solutions. Since then, these organizations have recognized the value of an efficient and dependable supply chain as a critical competitive differentiator. A substantial rise in medical and healthcare spending is being witnessed across the globe due to the rapidly increasing number of various diseases and conditions, such as chronic ailments, infectious diseases, and genetic disorders. According to a study, the national health expenditure in the U.S. reached US$ 4.1 trillion in 2020, including the spending of US$ 829 billion on Medicare and US$ 671 billion on medical aid. Hence, healthcare organizations, manufacturers of medical devices, and other entities participating in the medical supply chain are investing in innovative supply chain and logistic solutions to provide optimal and timely treatments to patients. Innovation is not only crucial for lowering operating expenses and simplifying business processes, but it is also necessary for providing superior care to patients and enhancing clinical outcomes. Let's see some of the top healthcare supply chain trends that are revolutionizing the healthcare sector. Immediate Access to Medical Supplies Medical equipment and component shortages are not new challenges for the healthcare industry. Hospitals and other medical establishments have faced continual disruptions in the supply chain over the last decade, starting from personal protective equipment and medical device shortages to improper management of medical inventory. This was especially witnessed in the past two years, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare producers previously adopted a strategy to either pay higher premiums for medical equipment or stockpile them on their balance sheets. However, the issue with this strategy was that during the acute and unprecedented shortage, fewer devices and parts were left to acquire and keep in inventory, which has compelled hospitals to adopt a more cautious supply chain strategy. Medical establishments need a more diverse pool of suppliers and cannot only rely on just-in-time inventory ordering. Hence, a swift rise in inclination toward adopting sophisticated supply chain solutions is being witnessed across the industry to monitor certain suppliers' run rates. This enables modern healthcare organizations to create more resilient and robust hospital supply chains and provide immediate access to medical inventory. Emphasis on Visibility and Tracking One of the most prevalent healthcare supply chain trends witnessed across the industry is the growing focus on visibility and tracking. Obtaining medical supplies, equipment, drugs and others safely, timely, and accurately from the factory floor to patients is the responsibility of the healthcare supply chain. As the industry shifts to value-based care models, the healthcare supply chain is experiencing enormous pressure to increase visibility, decline costs, and improve outcomes. With the advent of online shopping and the introduction of novel medical e-commerce platforms, manufacturers and suppliers of healthcare products are focusing on real-time tracking during transit and logistics operations. As a result, they are increasingly adopting advanced healthcare supply chain management software to enhance visibility, stream operations, and decrease delivery time. Investment in Technologies The efficient management of the healthcare supply chain is paramount for proper patient care and inventory control. The implementation of digital healthcare technology is an essential step toward the achievement of a higher level of efficiency in supply chain management. Digital healthcare logistics and supply chain solutions have the potential to generate long-term value for healthcare providers, which is one of the main aspects driving the transformation away from the conventional healthcare supply chain. It is improving patients' access to care while making it more efficient, cost-effective, and secure. In addition to this, the integration of advanced technologies is assisting hospitals and healthcare providers in reducing operational costs and identifying appropriate growth opportunities. The following are the technologies healthcare organizations are investing in to strengthen their supply chain management Artificial Intelligence The healthcare supply chain trend that is paving the way in the industry is artificial intelligence (AI). It is the future of the healthcare supply chain. The integration of the technology assists in improving logistics efficiencies via quicker data processing, continuous process improvement, and accurate demand-supply forecasting. By connecting historical data with external patterns that affect production, AI presents a chance to greatly increase the speed and precision of healthcare logistics and supply chain activities. In addition, it enables medical equipment manufacturers and suppliers to constantly record crucial operational data and preserve institutional expertise for future use. Cloud Computing Cloud computing technologies have played a significant role in transforming the healthcare supply chain management that is used today. It reduces expenses, shortens logistics operations, and increases data security by centralizing data and providing access to that data to numerous associated entities. With technological advancements, cloud computing is anticipated to gain huge popularity in creating a resilient supply chain with a well-knitted network of healthcare providers, manufacturers, and suppliers. And also provides next-generation features, such as transport route optimization and automatic inventory management. Data Analytics Data analytics provides a broader range of in-depth information that can be used to make operational processes more effective, inventory management more strategic, and decisions more accurate. It also assists in transforming the healthcare supply chain by providing access to cutting-edge methods like data mining, predictive forecasting, and predictive analytics to foresee future events with precision, assisting healthcare providers in forecasting further demand and supply interruptions. In addition to the increasing need for declining costs and transit time, drug manufacturers and healthcare aid suppliers are investing in advanced data analytics to assist them in visualizing the whole supply chain, including its pain points, inefficiencies, and strengths. Healthcare Supply Chain Management Solutions: Features and Significance The healthcare industry as a whole is thriving, and this growth is reflected in the more sophisticated and digital nature of healthcare supply chain management software. The solution helps medical facilities see the big picture by coordinating and integrating procedures that manage and control the flow of money, data, and items as a product or service, all the way from the point of production to healthcare spaces, allowing for more efficient care. The primary goals of these supply chain solutions, such as healthcare logistics software, are to improve visibility and efficiency throughout the distribution network. In recent years, these goals have expanded to include the strategic objective of improving supply chain agility and resilience— to cope with times of uncertainty, shortages, and volatility in demand and supply conditions. Getting supply chain management right in healthcare means that participating players will be able to effectively identify and resolve bottlenecks, possible interruptions, and other issues that arise anywhere along the end-to-end supply chain. As one of the features, these supply chain solutions have the potential to improve patient care and safety while reducing waste and wasteful expenses. Let's see a few more features of healthcare supply chain management software Procurement Management Logistics Management Inventory Management Order Management Warehouse Management Supplier Relationship Management Why Is Supply Chain Management Software Gaining Prominence in Healthcare? Due to increasing instances of medication and healthcare aid shortages, a strong need for modernizing the healthcare supply chain is being experienced by numerous hospitals, drug manufacturers, and suppliers. In addition, the growing use of medical e-commerce is further increasing the complexities in the inventory and logistics operations, making it difficult for the players mentioned above to provide timely delivery, reduce wastage, and ultimately save patients. To counter these challenges, medical establishments are emphasizing adopting more advanced and resilient supply chain management solutions, which assist them in streamlining and automating routine manual processes such as logistics operations, planning, forecasting, and others. The following are more reasons to encourage healthcare establishments to adopt resilient supply chain management software Logistics and Shipping Optimization Reduce Cost Effects Enhance Quality Control Increase Flexibility Better Collaboration with Suppliers Reduce Inventory and Overhead Costs Increase Output Enhance Transparency Decrease Delivery Time Closing Thoughts In today’s constantly evolving healthcare sector, medication manufacturers and hospitals are looking to adopt innovative solutions, such as healthcare logistics software, to eliminate waste, reduce costs, and improve patient care. The growing integration of AI, predictive analysis, blockchain, and other technologies is playing a major role in modernizing the healthcare supply chain and streamlining operations by automating and improving decision-making abilities. As the healthcare supply chain trends discussed above keep on creating new roads in the industry, supply chain management solutions, such as healthcare logistics software, are anticipated to become a necessity in the future. Thus, ahead-of-the-curve healthcare providers are seizing this instance as an opportunity to invest in cutting-edge technologies and shift towards using digital solutions to make their supply chains more robust and improve the flexibility of their logistics operations. FAQ What is Healthcare Supply Chain Management Software? Ans: A healthcare supply chain management software assists medication manufacturers and hospitals in sourcing, tracking, quality control, and logistics by automating operations, enabling them to manage costs, time, and inventory by planning and forecasting trends. What Are the Types of Supply Chain Management Software Used in Healthcare? Ans: The most common types of supply chain management software used across the healthcare sector are Logistics Sourcing and Procurement Inventory Management Warehouse Order Processing Shipping What Are the Key Performance Indicators of Supply Chain Management Software in the Healthcare Industry? Ans: Key performance indicators of supply chain management software in healthcare are Reduction in Cost Enhancement in Customer Service Time to Customer Forecasting Accuracy Flow of Logistics Process

Health Technology, Digital Healthcare

Article | July 14, 2023

Worried about how to improve your healthcare sales? Wondering where to begin? Of course, these questions demand genuine consideration. Healthcare professionals are some of the most valuable and vital members of the societiy. And you will have to take care of their unique needs if you want to sell your products to them. Over the years, selling in most of the industries has changed; the healthcare industry is no exception. The healthcare industry has been booming over the last decade. The boom has increased the necessity of managing patient care and innovating medicines exponentially. To cater to such rising needs, newer technologies are being adopted by the industry. Flatiron Health, a well-known healthcare technology and service provider, is using data analytics to tackle cancer. They believe that the technology industry is essential to solve healthcare issues. This New York-based start-up uses its cloud-based software platform and big data to connect to various cancer centers across the country. The key asset of the company is its ability to use data analytics to make meaningful recommendations. The annual revenue of Flatiron Health is US$100-500 million. Yes! you read it right. So, all you need is to have a smart healthcare sales and marketing strategy. Having an effective strategy will help you conquer the healthcare industry and increase your profit margin. One of the easy ways to increase your healthcare IT sales is to have a firm understanding of the ohospital's organizational structure Apart from that, you can analyze the organization by asking the following questions: • How does this particular healthcare organization compare with its competitors in this specific arena? • What is their current position in the industry? • What makes them stand out from their competitors? • What makes them unique? Just like the tips mentioned above, this article is all about tips and strategies to increase your healthcare sales leads. These tips will undoubtedly help you skyrocket your healthcare technology sales by reaching out to a wider audience. Attract Your Target Audience with Content Marketing Healthcare is always been trending on search engines through relevant keywords. People search for a related term like healthcare and wellness tips, local medical professionals and medical facilities, and jobs in healthcare. • One in every 20 searches is related to healthcare • 70% of visitors of hospital websites come from organic web search • 77% of all online health queries begin with a search So, using content marketing to attract audience is the best way to increase healthcare sales. Offering healthcare and wellness information through different online channels will help you improve your credibility and visibility. This step will strengthen the relationship between staff, patients, prospective employees, and the community and increase credibility. According to CMI B2B Content Marketing Report, 2019, 62% of B2B marketers said that they were more successful with content marketing than ever before. The healthcare technology industry is technical, and it can be highly challeging when you sell the product directly to high-level executives or physicians. So, you must invest time to create compelling content like blog posts, whitepapers, case studies, etc. It will increase your healthcare sales as this content will establish your expertise. So, all you need to do is generate informative and appealing content to position your company as an authentic thought leader, which will help you land more healthcare sales. Understand your Customer Better and Build Trust You cannot imagine a society without healthcare professionals. Obviously, you will have to go out of your way to have a deep understanding of their requirements if you want to sell technology to them. Requirements of each of your clients in the healthcare industry can vary. Hence a ‘one size fits all’ approach will not help when it comes to offering the best experience to every customer. Thus, it would help if you adapted to customer needs for successful healthcare sales. Furthermore, it is essential to realize that healthcare customers are different from other business professionals. Don’t beat around the bush when you get a chance to talk to them. Directly give them information on what they are looking for, staying respectful and professional. This will help you grab attention and generate interest.. Be flexible despite the odds and do whatever possible to solve their problems. Prioritize trust-building at all times. In any sales process, trust is a decisive factor, especially in healthcare sales. The reason for this is that if you are selling medical equipment, technologies, or pharmaceuticals, your clients are risking the well-being of their patients in your hands. So, to pull up the healthcare sales game, work on building up a strong relationship and trust with your clients. Know the Buyer’s Organizational Chart Unlike working with a small clinic with a single decision-maker, you need to deal with a purchasing department or a buying group when you sell to a big hospital. To ensure that you do not miss anybody, you may have to map out your client’s purchasing hierarchy and identify everyone in the hospital involved in the process. In the healthcare industry, every single client has a very different purchasing style. You can obtain this information from your known contacts and network within the organization. Knowing the organizational chart of your clients will help you expand your influence with in he organization and boost your healthcare sales. Focus on Your Client’s Customers Even for most effective sales organizations, it is remarkably challenging to sell to a client-driven and continually emerging industry like healthcare. However, if you make it through this competitive industry, you will have endless opportunities to add to your profits through successful healthcare sales. When dealing with a service-based industry, the best strategy is to serve your clients’ customers. Essentially, if you find a practical way to improve their experience, your clients will be happy and you can establish a long-lasting relation with them. Whenever you deal with a client from the healthcare industry, remember to focus on the actual patients. This strategic line of thought can surely bring you more healthcare sales and increase your annual profit. Get Started with Social Media Marketing This is fairly obvious that, in the modern world, social media has become a part of the everyday. There is no easier way to increase your client numbers than to promote your product or service on a platform that everyone uses. Facebook is the best social media platform. Mainly because senior people use it as they are likely to require medical assistance. A Facebook page is the best place for you to start with your social media advertising. It is an informational source that can increase the targeted traffic coming to your website. Due to the easy availability of information online, medical professionals do not depend upon salespeople. Instead, they do online research before making a purchase decision. Social media marketing can help you increase healthcare sales and be on the top at all times. Rapidly evolving regulatory forces, market dynamics, and consumer demands are constantly adding to the healthcare industry's complexity. Driving meaningful patient action and true engagement through your innovative sales and marketing solutions will increase your healthcare sales. This will also make you stand out from the rest of the pack, ending in a long-term relationship with all your customers. Ace your healthcare sales with these strategies and tips. Reach out to us if you are looking for any assistance. We at Media 7 provide all the B2B healthcare sales and marketing solutions. We focus on bringing in potential clients to your business platforms, converting them, and making them your happy customers forever. To know more about us, visit: https://media7.com Frequently Asked Questions What is a healthcare marketing strategy? Healthcare marketing strategy is usually an inbound marketing process. We bring forth all the resources that could bear against various threats and opportunities in a highly competitive healthcare business through the process. Why is healthcare marketing important? For the sustainable growth of the healthcare industry, healthcare marketing is very important and an integral part. Marketing of healthcare technologies and other new facilities in line with treatment is very important for the transformation of the industry. What is healthcare sales? The process of persuading healthcare clients and making them buy your products is healthcare sales. In the process, you will sell drugs, medicines, equipment, and technologies to healthcare clients. How can healthcare professionals drive sales? Focusing on your client’s customer is an innovative strategy for sales in healthcare. A healthcare professional is likely to buy your product if you prove that your product can make their patients' lives easier.

Healthtech Security

Article | November 29, 2023

Virtual reality (VR), the new technological advancement, is set to transform practices in the healthcare industry. According to Statista, it is estimated that, by 2022, the second largest market share of VR will be from the healthcare industry. Virtual reality in healthcare operates in various divisions to offer a greater quality of patient care and performance of medical professionals. For the health and healthcare industry, from the clinical process to the user, VR has a multitude of applications such as tutoring future doctors, generating new life-saving routines, etc. Virtual reality in healthcare can confront the challenges in the industry, including efficiently handling huge healthcare databases, training and development of medical professionals, patient engagement, disease awareness, medical marketing, patient treatment, etc. Virtual reality in the healthcare market, according to a report from Reports and Data, is expected to reach USD 8.03 billion by 2027 from USD 2.06 billion in 2019. This article discusses how virtual reality in healthcare is going to transform the industry by applying it in various divisions such as medical training, patient treatment, patient engagement, disease awareness, and medical marketing. Virtual Reality in Healthcare Training VR in healthcare can transport you to areas, inside of the human body, that otherwise would be impossible to access and view. Medical students currently use cadavers to learn, but cadavers do not react the same way live patients do. Also, cadavers are very difficult to get hold of. When VR is used in healthcare training, students can view even minute detail of all parts of the body. This view is possible in stunning 360° CGI reconstruction and creates training scenarios, which would replicate real surgical procedures. Virtual Reality in healthcare can be used to deliver high-quality surgical training. Using virtual reality, 4K 360° video of real-life surgery is filmed from multiple angles. Then it is combined with CGI models of the anatomy, which is being operated. This advanced use of virtual reality in healthcare provides medical students with an interactive and immersive training experience. Treatment Patient Education The ability of virtual reality in healthcare to see inside of the human body is useful for both doctors and patients. With the help of VR, doctors can take patients through their surgical plan. This is made possible by a virtual view of the anatomy and pathology of patients through a patient-specific 360° VR reconstruction. The result of this is an enhanced understanding of the treatment for patients and higher patient satisfaction. Robotic Surgery Robotic surgery is a recent innovation. A robotic device, such as a robotic arm, is used in a robotic surgery while being controlled by a human surgeon. This utilization of virtual reality in healthcare makes sure of fewer or no risk of complications in surgeries. This also makes the surgeon finish the surgery procedure faster with greater accuracy. The robotic devices are accurate with reduced blood loss, smaller incisions, and faster recovery. Mental Health and Psychological Therapy The unique ability of virtual reality technology to take you anywhere virtually can be utilized to create a powerful virtual reality simulation in healthcare of various scenarios in which psychological issues occur. This eliminates the necessity of a therapist accompanying patients to various scenarios such as a tall building or a crowded shopping center to provide proper counseling. These scenarios can be easily created with virtual reality technology in healthcare. Virtual reality in healthcare market has also been used to help autistic children in the classroom, curb memory loss, and gather data for dementia research. Pain Management and Physical Therapy Apart from psychological issues, the healing capabilities of VR are also used in pain management and physical treatment. According to a study by the UW Harborview Burn Centre and the University of Washington Seattle, a full VR immersion acted as a distraction for patients, who were undergoing physical therapy after a skin graft. This distraction subsequently reduced their feeling of pain. Virtual reality in healthcare is also found to be effective in reducing recovery time in physical therapy. Patients performing their daily exercises in a virtual environment, find the task to be more fun than usual. It also keeps the patients focused and helps them keep their spirits up and recover sooner. Patient Engagement With the help of virtual reality in healthcare, patients can experience a virtual tour of the inside of their bodies before surgeries. This is a 360-degree, three-dimensional (3D) tour. This enables patients to know their body, anatomy, and pathology, before the surgical procedures. Virtual Reality Medical Visualization platform is developed for the tour. These advancements with virtual reality in healthcare engage patients thoroughly, which reduces tension and lead to a speedy recovery. Medical Marketing The most popular and initial application of Virtual reality was marketing. Still, it continues to be one of the most effective and powerful marketing tools. The ability to use VR to project the future of healthcare is the most powerful tactic in healthcare marketing. With Virtual reality in healthcare, one of the most powerful tactics that you can have to market in the industry is to show people what changes they can expect when they start or stop exercising, lose or gain weight, the progress they make through cancer treatments, etc. As the possibilities of virtual reality in healthcare are endless, healthcare professionals and providers can attract more patients, doctors with high caliber, and nursing staff to your facilities. When those are in short supply, virtual reality in healthcare can be used as an excellent healthcare marketing tool to ensure expected results. Disease Awareness AbbVie, a pharmaceutical research & development company, created an experience to educate medical professionals and raise awareness among them regarding the daily struggle Parkinson’s disease patients undergo. The experience was demonstrated at a pharmaceutical industry trade show. People put on a headset and experienced how Parkinson’s sufferers navigate a virtual supermarket, meeting with difficult moments when they come in contact with other people. Such experiences with virtual reality in healthcare help raise awareness for various diseases among professionals and patients. Virtual reality presentations can be conducted to raise awareness of certain diseases. The Future of Virtual Reality in Healthcare A lot of applications of virtual reality in healthcare are in their nascent stage. In the coming years, virtual reality will be used more in healthcare, which will improve the effectiveness and accuracy of present procedures. It will also enhance the various human capabilities, for both patients and medical professionals. Virtual reality in healthcare has huge potential, but only limited by the ingenuity and creativity of people who create and apply the technology. VR will surely transform medical training, physical and psychological therapies, rehabilitation, mental health treatments, and patient engagement, among others. Virtual reality in healthcare holds the power to transform the way doctors are trained and treatment is provided to patients. According to reports from various market research companies, especially research done by Grand View Research, predict that, by 2025, virtual reality in the healthcare market will grow to a whopping US$5.1 billion. The major driving forces behind this growth are Rapid technological advancements in the healthcare industry and driving demand for rehabilitation and simulation training. Frequently asked questions How is virtual reality used in healthcare? In healthcare, virtual reality is used in treatment, training, and to raise awareness among medical professionals and patients regarding various diseases. Patients and doctors are made to view the inside of the human body using virtual reality. Where is virtual reality used in healthcare? Virtual reality is used in various sectors of healthcare to deliver high quality patient care. Treatment with the assistance of virtual reality also increases the efficiency of medical professionals. Virtual treating is applied in all aspects of medical treatment. What are the benefits of virtual reality? Virtual reality in healthcare saves both, the time and money of healthcare providers. It also makes the work of medical professionals more convenient. It eliminates unnecessary travel for treatments by making appropriate decisions. How virtual reality is changing healthcare? Virtual reality is changing the healthcare by providing different advanced ways of treatments, especially for physical and psychological therapy, surgeries, pain management, and stress management and by assisting the rehabilitation process effectively.

Article | May 19, 2021

As the COVID-19 pandemic upended the healthcare system, hospitals and doctor’s offices doubled down on technology and implemented a host oftelemedicine services, from virtual visits to remote patient monitoring and customized treatment plans. The results were unexpected. Not only did telemedicine help bridge the gap between physicians and patients during the health crisis, but arecent J.D. Power studyfound that telemedicine also delivered increased customer satisfaction, outpacing other healthcare services. Patient-centered care played the largest role in this shift. Technologies that let staff reach patients anytime, anywhere enabled providers to shift their functional focus away from simply treating issues to building better relationships.