Improving efficiency in healthcare: Contingent workforce methods and outcomes

Healthtech Security

Article | August 31, 2023

Unlock EHR interoperability solutions with this article. Discover how healthcare overcomes EHR interoperability challenges to facilitate seamless information sharing for better clinical decisions. 1. Exploring Hurdles in EHR Interoperability 2. Addressing EHR Interoperability Challenges: Mapping Effective Paths 2.1 Upgrading from Outdated Legacy Systems 2.2 Managing Inconsistent Information Across Multiple Sources 2.3 Overcoming Organizational Resistance to Sharing Data 2.4 Balancing Security and Consent 2.5 Harmonizing Data Standards Across Diverse Software Systems 2.6 Optimizing Training Resources for EHR Interoperability 2.7 Strategizing Costs for Specialist-driven Interoperability Management 2.8 Navigating Budget Constraints in EHR Interoperability 2.9 Unifying Patient Identification Standards Across HIEs 2.10 Advancing Allergy Management to Enhance Patient Care 3. Embracing Interoperability for a Connected Healthcare Future 1.Exploring Hurdles in EHR Interoperability Despite significant efforts and investments in health information systems and technology, coupled with many years of widespread availability, the full benefits of electronic health records (EHRs) still need to be realized. The reality is that most physicians continue to rely on faxing and mailing patient records, just as they did a decade ago. Numerous government-certified EHR products are being used, each utilizing distinct clinical terminologies, technical specifications, and functional capabilities. These differences make it challenging to establish a unified standard interoperability format for data sharing. Interestingly, even EHR systems built on the same platform might not be interoperable, as they are frequently highly customized to an organization’s specific workflow and preferences. Given these circumstances, the article examines ten challenges and their corresponding EHR interoperability solutions to enhance patient care. 2.Addressing EHR Interoperability Challenges: Mapping Effective Paths The primary goal of healthcare interoperability is to enable seamless sharing of health-related information between healthcare providers and patients, aiding in clinical decision-making. Here are several challenges to accomplishing this aim, along with their corresponding interoperability solutions: 2. 1 Upgrading from Outdated Legacy Systems One of the significant challenges in achieving EHR interoperability is the need to transition from outdated legacy systems. Many healthcare facilities still rely on older, proprietary EHR systems that need more compatibility and standards to communicate seamlessly with modern, interconnected healthcare networks. These legacy systems often need more data exchange capabilities, leading to inefficiencies, data inconsistencies, and barriers to collaborative patient care. The intricate process of upgrading or replacing these systems while ensuring data integrity and continuity of care poses a considerable obstacle to achieving comprehensive EHR interoperability. Healthcare institutions need to implement a strategic and phased approach to address this challenge. This involves assessing the existing EHR, identifying interoperability gaps, and selecting modern healthcare interoperability solutions that adhere to industry standards, such as Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (HL7 FHIR) and open APIs. A well-defined migration plan should be developed, including data migration, new system integration, and staff training. Collaboration with EHR vendors, IT experts, and clinical stakeholders is crucial to ensuring a smooth transition. 2.2 Managing Inconsistent Information Across Multiple Sources As patients move through different healthcare settings and encounter various medical professionals, their health information becomes distributed across multiple sources, leading to discrepancies, duplications, and variations in data. This inconsistency can compromise patient safety, treatment accuracy, and healthcare quality. Furthermore, different institutions' varying data formats, coding systems, and documentation practices exacerbate the challenge of creating a unified and accurate patient record. A potential solution to this challenge involves developing and adopting standardized data exchange protocols. By implementing common data standards and practices, healthcare providers can ensure that patient information is accurately represented and uniformly understood across different systems. In addition, robust data validation processes and reconciliation algorithms can help identify and rectify inconsistencies during data integration. Moreover, creating a centralized patient identity management system that links various patient records to a single, accurate identity can significantly mitigate the issue of duplicated or mismatched information. 2.3 Overcoming Organizational Resistance to Sharing Data This EHR interoperability challenge pertains to the reluctance of healthcare institutions, clinics, and providers to readily exchange patient information and medical records due to concerns over data privacy, competitive advantage, and operational complexities. This resistance often leads to fragmented patient care, hindered medical research, and compromised clinical decision-making. Addressing this challenge necessitates the establishment of clear data-sharing protocols, robust privacy safeguards, and incentivized collaboration. By fostering a culture of trust, emphasizing the collective benefits of data exchange, and implementing interoperability standards, the healthcare ecosystem can encourage reluctant organizations to actively share essential patient data, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes and more efficient healthcare delivery. 2.4 Balancing Security and Consent This challenge in EHR interoperability revolves around the delicate equilibrium between ensuring patient data security and privacy while enabling the seamless sharing of EHRs across different healthcare systems. Striking the right balance involves addressing concerns about unauthorized access, data breaches, and patient consent preferences. While robust security measures are necessary to safeguard sensitive health information, overly stringent restrictions can hinder the efficient exchange of vital medical data, potentially impeding timely and informed patient care, medical research, and healthcare system efficiency. Potential EHR interoperability solutions to this challenge include implementing a layered security and consent management approach. This involves combining strong encryption, authentication protocols, and access controls to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of EHRs. Moreover, the adoption of standardized and granular consent mechanisms empowers patients to regulate both access to their data and the purposes for which it can be accessed. An integrated framework that employs advanced technologies like blockchain for secure audit trails and data-sharing logs can enhance transparency and accountability. Furthermore, patient education and awareness campaigns can empower individuals to make informed data-sharing decisions, fostering a collaborative environment where security, consent, and interoperability coexist harmoniously. 2.5 Harmonizing Data Standards Across Diverse Software Systems This challenge encompasses integrating and exchanging medical data across various software platforms and applications used within the healthcare industry. To tackle this challenge, a comprehensive solution includes the widespread adoption and adherence to standardized data formats, coding conventions, and communication protocols by developers, healthcare organizations, and EHR integration software. To address this challenge, a comprehensive solution involves the establishment of standardized data formats, coding conventions, and communication protocols widely adopted and adhered to by EHR software developers and healthcare organizations. This could be achieved through industry collaboration, government regulations, and incentives for adopting interoperability standards. Additionally, implementing APIs that translate and map data between different formats can help bridge the gap between diverse software systems. 2.6 Optimizing Training Resources for EHR Interoperability This hurdle involves preparing healthcare professionals, IT staff, and other stakeholders to effectively navigate and implement interoperable EHR systems. Ensuring that healthcare personnel possess the necessary skills and knowledge to seamlessly integrate, maintain, and utilize interconnected EHR systems amidst rapidly evolving technology and standards poses a significant hurdle. This challenge involves understanding the intricacies of interoperability protocols and grasping the broader context of data security, patient privacy, and efficient data exchange among diverse healthcare entities. To address this challenge, developing comprehensive and up-to-date training programs that cover both technical aspects (interoperability standards, APIs, and data formats) and practical considerations (security protocols, data governance) is crucial. Collaborations with vendors, industry experts, and academia can ensure the training content remains aligned and updated with current EHR trends. Integrating EHR interoperability education into medical and IT curricula can also lay a foundation for future professionals. Continuous learning opportunities, including EHR analytics courses, certifications, and knowledge-sharing platforms, can further bolster the continual development of skills and knowledge exchange. This process cultivates a skilled workforce capable of fully leveraging EHR interoperability while upholding the integrity and privacy of patient data. 2.7 Strategizing Costs for Specialist-driven Interoperability Management This challenge pertains to the complex and costly task of ensuring seamless data exchange among diverse EHR systems, mainly when managed by specialists with domain-specific knowledge. These specialists play a crucial role in tailoring EHR interoperability solutions to the unique needs of their medical domains. Still, the financial implications of such endeavors can be substantial, involving customization, integration, and maintenance expenses. Finding an effective solution requires a multi-faceted approach involving standardized interoperability frameworks, modular system design, strategic resource allocation, and collaborative partnerships among EHR vendors, healthcare institutions, and specialists. By optimizing the balance between customization and standardization and leveraging technological advances like APIs and cloud computing, healthcare ecosystems can mitigate costs while achieving efficient and secure data exchange that benefits patients and healthcare providers. 2.8 Navigating Budget Constraints in EHR Interoperability This issue relates to healthcare organizations' significant financial limitations when striving to establish seamless EHR data exchange across disparate systems. As healthcare entities aim to enhance patient care coordination and data accessibility, the cost of implementing and maintaining interoperable EHR systems becomes a substantial hurdle. This challenge necessitates a delicate balance between allocating resources for EHR integration, customization, and ongoing maintenance while ensuring that patient data remains secure and accessible to authorized stakeholders. A possible avenue to deal with the budget constraints in EHR interoperability is the strategic adoption of open-source frameworks. By leveraging open-source solutions, healthcare organizations can reduce licensing fees and development costs associated with proprietary systems, allowing them to allocate resources more efficiently. Additionally, collaborating with industry consortia and governmental initiatives that promote standardized data exchange protocols can foster economies of scale, streamlining the implementation process. Moreover, investing in cloud-based technologies can offer scalable and cost-effective data storage and sharing infrastructure. 2.9 Unifying Patient Identification Standards Across HIEs The crux of this issue involves the need for consistent patient identification methods across different healthcare systems and data-sharing networks. This inconsistency results in errors, data duplication, and compromised patient safety as information is exchanged between entities. Without a standardized patient identification system, accurate matching of patient records becomes a complex endeavor, hindering the seamless exchange of EHRs and undermining the potential benefits of interoperability. To address this challenge, a comprehensive solution involves establishing and adopting a universally recognized patient identification standard that spans all participating HIEs. This standard could include using unique patient identifiers or a combination of demographic, biometric, and cryptographic identifiers to ensure accurate and secure patient matching. Additionally, implementing advanced data governance practices, strong privacy protections, and robust data validation algorithms would enhance the accuracy and security of patient identification. Collaboration between healthcare organizations, government agencies, and technology experts is crucial to developing and implementing this standardized approach, fostering a more interconnected and effective healthcare ecosystem while safeguarding patient privacy and data integrity. 2.10 Advancing Allergy Management to Enhance Patient Care Healthcare providers need help seamlessly sharing allergy-related patient data across different EHR platforms, hindering comprehensive patient care. This lack of interoperability leads to fragmented information, potential medication errors, and compromised treatment decisions, ultimately impacting patient safety and outcomes. One viable solution for addressing this challenge is to establish standardized data exchange protocols alongside a unified health information exchange framework. Implementing FHIR standards can enable the consistent and secure sharing of allergy information among EHR systems. Additionally, incentivizing healthcare organizations to adopt these interoperability EHR standards and invest in compatible technologies will promote a cohesive ecosystem where allergy data can be accurately and swiftly exchanged. Collaborative efforts among EHR vendors, healthcare providers, and regulatory bodies are essential to ensure the seamless flow of allergy-related information, resulting in enhanced patient care, reduced medical errors, and improved healthcare efficiency. 3.Embracing Interoperability for a Connected Healthcare Future With the goal of a cohesive healthcare future in mind, the value of embracing interoperability is immeasurable. This article highlights the essential role of interoperability in overcoming the challenges posed by fragmented data and improving patient outcomes. As healthcare systems continue to develop, the smooth exchange of EHRs becomes crucial, fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders and facilitating well-informed decision-making. By creating an environment in which EHRs can seamlessly communicate, healthcare providers have the potential to offer more comprehensive, patient-centered care, minimize duplication, and expedite both diagnoses and treatments. Although achieving an interoperable healthcare ecosystem may involve complexity, the benefits of efficiency, precision, and overall quality of care underscore its necessity as a transformative journey.

Digital Healthcare

Article | November 29, 2023

Is your health technology company publishing content online? Not sure how to make your health tech content marketing effective? Each step taken in the process of content marketing matters. Skipping essential steps may negatively affect the whole process. The following steps are critical in your content strategy: • Defining your ideal buyer • Gathering insights about how they make decisions • Documenting how your content will address their needs Lately, health tech companies are facing too much competition. Thus it would be wise to equip yourself with a good marketing strategy, including a clear content marketing plan. This blog focuses on making your health content marketing more effective, overcoming challenges, and eliminating the chances of failure. Content Marketing challenges for Health Tech Marketers Heath tech brands face multiple obstacles with health tech content marketing. They must deal with many challenges such as content proliferation, uncoordinated and inconsistent content creation, and difficulty in reaching out to customers and prospects with relevant and timely content. A lot of hard work and time is required to create great content. Let us have a closer look at the challenges faced by health tech marketers related to content marketing. Determining Content Marketing ROI Many of the health tech content marketers are struggling to show ROI from their content marketing efforts. They cannot claim a specific conversions rate from a channel or a piece of content. Often digital conversion paths of the health tech industry cannot be analyzed or tacked. Some other biggest challenges of health tech content marketing are tying content to conversions, defining appropriate and relevant metrics for measuring and evaluating the impact of the content marketing efforts on its bottom line. Figuring Out How to Feed the Content Beast Including health tech brands, many brands spend too much time thinking and worrying about creating compelling content. Or they worry about making content thattheir boss, salespeople, or other stakeholders need. The goal should be creating content consistently that is necessary for the client's journey. Your health tech content marketing should focus on your target audience searching online for your product and business. Proving Credibility and Authority Many health tech marketers struggle with defining a credible and authoritative voice for their brands. They fail in the process of cutting through the noise and grabbing the attention of their target audience for this very reason. A health tech content marketing strategy should maintain the brand’s identity, improve its authority, and boost ROI. Here, thought leadership has a role to play. Use your people, their expertise, and their passion effectively to share what they know about your product with your target audience. Trust and credibility will follow. Maintaining Volume, Quality, Speed Another significant challenge of health tech content marketing is developing compelling, engaging content fast without compromising on volume and quantity. For many marketers, a big pain point is trying to stay agile and nimble within a large corporate structure. Continuous Learning The marketing landscape is ever-changing. It means health tech marketers have to dedicate themselves to learning throughout their life.. They also have to reinvent through innovation to avoid extinction. Primarily, health tech content marketing needs constant innovation and learning. Everyone is trying to navigate the learning curve. It is very challenging for marketers to train teams and update them with the latest marketing practices. Influencer Marketing Another challenge faced by most marketers in their health tech content marketing efforts is identifying influencers to amplify content. Creating great content is just the first step. Having an effective promotion strategy to reach your prospects with your content helps. Reasons for Health Tech Content Marketing Failure A study by Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) on health tech content marketing shows a vast gap between results and goals. Is there discontent in health tech content marketing? Eighty-five percent of the survey participants said they have a content marketing strategy, but only 4 percent only said their content marketing strategy was effective. So, it's clear that something was not working for them. Here are some of the key reasons: The Absence of a Content Strategy Except for some large tech companies, such as IBM, Microsoft, and Salesforce, most vendors do not have a content marketing strategy. For many tech companies, content marketing is part of their overall business strategy. So consider building a health tech content marketing strategy to have a leg up on your competitors. Lack of Sponsorship Creating compelling content is a low-priority task for most B2B tech companies. A small marketing team usually takes care of health tech content marketing with limited resources and budget. It results in content that does not align with your market positioning and business strategy. Content-Creation Bottlenecks Content marketers need quality content for marketng. For this, subject matter experts (SME) should be involved in the process of content creation. SMEs, most often, are too busy to participate in the process. As a result, the content may turn out low in quality and might not be consistent Lack of a Content Distribution Strategy Unless you promote high value content on all the digital and social media channels, no one will hear about your health tech brand. Most B2B health tech companies fail to promote themselves through effective health tech content marketing on multiple digital and social media channels. No Patience B2B health tech companies want instant results. The survey by in 2020 HIMSS points out the minimum time needed to fetch results from content marketing programs. A health tech content marketing program launched in this quarter will not bring you any developments in the same quarter. Effective Content Marketing Plan for Health Tech Marketers The global pandemic has accelerated the shift towards digital marketing. Many healthcare technology marketers focus on pure sales collateral and product-centric content instead of thought leadership and human-centric content. Here are five areas that deserve more attention in your health tech content marketing plan. These should be top priorities in your content plan. Planning the Process and Setting Reasonable Goals & Objectives Data shows that most healthcare technology companies do not have an effective health tech content marketing plan. It is not surprising that these companies, accelerating ahead everyday, do not have the time to plan or enough resources to execute it. There are three reasons behind it: • They never made planning a proper priority. • They realize they don’t have the time. • The team doesn’t know where to start. Good planning with realistic goals and expectations solves this issue. Quality content marketing is a long-term investment, not a short-term performance vehicle. Benchmark the Market & Your Competition Investigating your competition may get you down. Analyzing every aspect of your competitors’ content, including approach and strategy, will help you learn many essentials things. You will get ideas to improve your health tech content marketing from your competitor analysis. Do not get confused between your sales competitors and content competitors. Your sales competitor is the one who sells your exact product or service. Your content competitors are companies ranking on search engines for the same content that you want to ranked for on search engine result pages. In addition to pure sales competitors, these content competitors can include major publishers such as trade associations and newspapers. Fine-Tune Your Messages, Themes & Topics It is effortless to come up with a long list of content ideas. It is vital to understand the themes and topics, which will work better for your business goals. The topics should be worth the time and effort you put in. Your themes, topics, and other content ideas in your health tech content marketing plan should support your core health tech messaging. People usually tend to create content randomly and wonder why their content marketing does not work in the end. Fine-tuning your themes, messages, and topics and making sure they are all unified in the process is a big part of ensuring your content succeeds in the end. Address All Four Content Distribution Channels Creating great content is just a first step to your health tech content marketing. You may have to think of the content distribution channels: owned media, internal channels, earned media, and paid media. All of these channels have multiple options for content distribution. Depending on your company’s business goals and particular situations, you can choose the best-suited application from these channels. Get the Most Out of Your Content Marketing Efforts Maximize your health tech content marketing investment with the three Rs: refresh, repurpose, and repromote. Refreshing means updating old content that performed well in the past. It may include changing the published date and updating the internal links to timely and more current information. Repurposing means changing the format. You can make a blog post out of a webinar or create an infographic out of a case study. Promoting and redistributing older content that performed well in the past is repromoting. With content marketing, it is tough to have long-term success without a documented strategy and commitment. With a detailed process, you will have clarity about your goals and the tactics you will use to achieve them. If you do not have this practice, it's better to develop your strategy and write it down to improve your health tech content marketing's better effectiveness. Content marketing is a proven way to connect with the tech industry audience, especially in health tech. Creating great content about your business, which the audience finds reliable and helpful, will make your company reliable and a trusted source to solve problems. Doing it alone may be a tiresome job. We, at Media 7, provide all the assistance in marketing technology products online. We have the right solution for all your demand generation, lead generation, sales, and marketing problems. Media 7 converts leads and turns them into your happy customers forever. To know more about Media 7, visit: https://media7.com Frequently Asked Questions Why is content marketing important in health tech? Content marketing is crucial in health tech as unique content makes your target audience trust your brand and consider it a trustworthy source for solving their issues. Moreover, to build your brand, content marketing is a vital component. How do you create a successful health tech content strategy? When you create a successful health tech content strategy, an ideal buyer profile, buyer persona, customer journey, etc., should be considered. Along with that, you should have clear objectives and goals when you make a content strategy. What is the essential step in creating a health tech content marketing plan? The essential step in creating your health tech content marketing plan is defining your targeted audience and understanding the buyer persona. It will help you create relevant and audience-focused content.

Health Technology, Digital Healthcare

Article | July 14, 2023

With data security becoming a pressing issue in the healthcare industry, having a robust security operations center is the cybersecurity solution. Over the past few years, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) data breaches have been at an all-time high. Moreover, in the United States alone, cyber-attacks on the healthcare systems result in a loss of US$6.2 billion every year. Thus, making the use of SOC in healthcare very crucial.

Article | December 9, 2020

The pandemic-fueled technology adoption has enabled the healthcare industry to address the challenges, including cybersecurity, telehealth, invoicing and payment processing, patient experience, effective payment model, and big data. The responses to the unusual COVID-19 pandemic has sped up the adoption of new digital technologies in the industry. It has also fueled advancements in health technology. From the start of 2020, these advancements transformed the healthcare industry into a next-gen one by accelerating digitization of their internal and external operations by two to three years. This surprising impact of technology in the healthcare industry has brought out unexpected competition between the key players in the B2B healthcare market. Whatever the field, adapting yourself to modern changes is the best strategy to thrive. Get yourself updated according to the changes or get yourself outdated is the new norm in the healthcare industry. The following trends and advancements in technology in the healthcare industry due to the pandemic in 2020 show that healthcare providers are always searching for new ways to improve their productivity, performance, and efficiency. These were the need of the hour during the pandemic, for them to surge ahead of their competitors. • Telemedicine • Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare • The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) • Supply chain management technology • Privacy issues • AR/VR/MR in Healthcare • Blockchain • Digital marketing trends in healthcare This article looks into the major innovations, advancements, and trends brought out by the global pandemic in 2020 in the healthcare industry. Pandemic-fueled Advancements One of the biggest challenges faced by the healthcare industry in the US today is its digital capacity to effectively engage consumers and make them stay healthy. This can include helping people to prevent getting infected by various diseases such as COVID-19 and effectively managing various other chronic conditions. This is where technology in the healthcare industry has a major role to play. Due to the latest advancements in technology, the healthcare industry was already evolving but the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this transformation dramatically. McKinsey reports that US$250 billion was spent on technology in the US healthcare industry to shift the industry into a virtual care model in the wake of the pandemic. Also, a study by FAIR Health, a non-profit group, says the increase in telehealth claims in the US is 4,000% in 2020. Here’s a detailed look into the above-mentioned advancements, innovations or trends brought out by the pandemic in the industry. Telemedicine Had the world ever thought that it would be possible one day for doctors to remotely examine the health of patients via a smartphone or a computer? Telemedicine, a new trend in technology in the healthcare industry, addresses many challenges in the industry. Improved technology in the industry has made telemedicine easier, even for people, who are not computer savvy. Telehealth services are now provided through different telemedicine apps. In the light of the pandemic, rather than in-person visits, 43.5% of primary medical visits were done using telehealth methods in April 2020 in the US. The major benefit of telemedicine is that it reduces contact between healthcare workers, patients, and other patients. This reduces the chances of the spread of infectious diseases. Reports say that 71% of Americans considered telemedicine useful at the beginning of the pandemic. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years too. With the pandemic, telemedicine saw an immediate boom compared to previous years. This boom in telehealth is projected to break US$185.6 billion by 2026. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare Artificial intelligence, a new trend and advancement in technology in the healthcare industry, had a critical role in fighting the pandemic. AI played a major role in areas such as pandemic detection, vaccine development, facial recognition with masks, thermal screening, and analyzing CT scans. AI is becoming the new operating technology in the healthcare industry. Major AI healthcare applications Healthcare providers will benefit a lot from AI-driven tools as AI technology in the healthcare industry has become a transformational force. Machine learning algorithms and software in AI will revolutionize the use of technology in the healthcare industry and the science of healthcare in the coming years too. AI will unify machines and humans through the brain. Some of the AI technologies in the healthcare industry, which are very relevant, are machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), rule-based expert systems, physical robots, diagnostic and treatment, patient engagement and adherence, and administrative applications. Benefits of AI in healthcare and statistics AI addresses many challenges that present technology in the healthcare industry cannot tackle. Better data-driven decisions, increased disease diagnosis efficiency, reduced treatment time, easy integration of information, reduced costs, increased patient satisfaction, fewer errors, and easier payment options are some of the benefits AI-assisted technology in the healthcare industry can provide. According to an analysis by Accenture, by 2026, clinical AI health applications are expected to create approximately US$150 billion for the US healthcare economy as annual savings. Also, the US AI health market is expected to reach around US$6.6 billion by 2021. The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) Nowadays, medical interactions involve some sort of equipment or device; it can be a glucose monitor, blood pressure monitor, or even an MRI scanner. It may not be a surprise now that, according to a 2020 Deloitte report, the available number of medical technologies are around 50,000. The internet-connected devices, which are known as IoMT tools, are transforming the healthcare and technology in the healthcare industry. What Is IoMT? The connected infrastructure of software applications, medical devices, and health systems and services are the IoMT. This has emerged by combining IoT development with telehealth technologies and telemedicine. Potential of IoMT in healthcare and statistics Lower costs for care, fewer mistakes, and more accurate diagnosis are the potential capabilities of IoMT. IoMT paired with various smartphone applications allows patients to send information regarding their health to doctors and get treated for diseases. This type of technology-driven healthcare not only improves patient experiences but also reduces the cost. IoMT, the new trend in technology in the healthcare industry, also has a positive effect on drug management. According to Goldman Sachs, IoMT will save US$300 billion annually in the healthcare industry. AllTheResearch expects that the global IoMT market value will reach US$254.2 billion from US$44.5 billion in 2018. Supply chain management technology in the healthcare industry Utilizing advanced supply chain management technology in the healthcare industry enables healthcare providers to reach the right patients with the right product at the right time. Digitalized supply chain management also makes healthcare organizations improve provider-patient connectedness, data flow and analytics, regulatory compliance, and asset tracking. A range of challenges faced by healthcare providers prompts you to digitalize supply chain networks, using the latest technologies in the healthcare industry. Advanced supply chain management technology will help you optimize costs, reduce unnecessary variation due to error and variability, enhance patient care, engagement, and delivery, and address new value-creation priorities. According to reports from market researchers, global healthcare supply chain management technology is expected to reach US$3.3 billion in 2025 from US$2.2 billion in 2020. Privacy issues Privacy is a serious concern in technology in the healthcare industry, especially because of HIPAA compliance in 2020. Although data and information of patients can be efficiently stored and retrieved through cloud computing, complying with the strict electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) is difficult. While electronic health records and sensor networks, and advancements in other technologies in the healthcare industry will surely improve the quality of healthcare by reducing medical errors and costs, associated security and privacy are challenges to be addressed. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association estimated that stolen or lost PHI may cost the US healthcare industry approximately US$7 billion annually. To solve these issues, hospitals, and other healthcare providers have to stop using outdated technology and adopt state-of-the-art technologies without violating HIPAA. Encryption technology in the healthcare industry is the best option and healthcare providers should start using it to ensure the privacy of patients. AR, VR, and MR in Healthcare Virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are important technologies in the healthcare industry to enhance and ensure the quality of telemedicine, especially during the period of the pandemic. The pandemic has made these technologies more popular and the trend is expected to continue in the future too. Both of these technologies in the healthcare industry are used to enhance patient and provider visits and even to educate medical students. AR and VR also have the potential to help stroke victims overcome deficiencies, assist in robotic surgeries, educate patients before surgeries, facilitate easy surgical planning, help patients with PTSD, and reduce anxiety in children during a painful procedure or blood tests. Mixed reality (MR) is the mixed use of both VR and MR in a patient’s healthcare process and is also gaining popularity. Blockchain Blockchain is a trend which is expected to revolutionize technology in the healthcare industry. Using blockchain or digital ledgers will enable you to securely distribute transaction records to patients with improved data security. Along with other trends such as cloud computing and IoMT, blockchain also offers portability, accessibility, and high security. One of the greatest benefits of blockchain technology in the healthcare industry is interoperability. As blockchain provides full visibility through a digital ledger, it improves integrity and transparency. Blockchain technology in the healthcare industry is beneficial to handle clinical study information, patient wearable data, and patient records. Scope of blockchain technology in the healthcare industry Various statistics on blockchain technology in the healthcare industry expect a wide scope for this technology. The global blockchain technology market in the healthcare industry is projected to cross US500 million by 2022. Digital marketing trends in healthcare Digital marketing technology in the healthcare industry has been revolutionized as new trends were set by the pandemic in 2020. As the world shrunk to online mode during the pandemic period, the following healthcare digital marketing trends emerged. Content marketing The smartest way to attract new patients to your service is content marketing and educational content. 2020 is the time where the content truly emerged as king. Educational content is vital in the healthcare space because everyone always tries to learn new things. It can be a trick or tips about the latest technological advancements, general industry news, or new diagnostic options. Mobile responsive websites Another important digital marketing technology in the healthcare industry is making an attractive website, which also must be mobile responsive. In this modern world of technology, everyone wants to access every facility at their fingertips. So, if your website is not mobile responsive, you won’t get traffic to your website easily. Along with these two trending digital marketing technologies in the healthcare industry, some of the other trends are: • Video marketing • Multichannel initiatives and customer touchpoints • Online reputation • Powerful presence on social media channels • Location-based SEO The essential trends and advancements in technology in the healthcare industry depicting the future of healthcare are machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data science along with a focus on effective healthcare digital marketing technology and strategy. The pandemic fueled B2B healthcare technology will make the industry evolve every year and go on resolving new challenges that arise. Frequently Asked Questions Why is technology important to the healthcare industry? Integrating technology with healthcare industry will improve quality of life. Also, the use of digital technology in the healthcare industry will increase efficiency, quality, and patient experience. What is new technology in healthcare? Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many trending technologies are used in healthcare. The new technologies in the healthcare industries are AI, blockchain, chatbots, voice search, and virtual reality. What are the negative impacts of medical technology? Medical technology can have some negative impacts on patients such as impersonal or minimized care, negative health effects, increased patient costs, inappropriate use, and invasion of privacy.