Health Technology, Digital Healthcare
Article | August 16, 2023
Stay at the forefront of the digital healthcare revolution by mastering EHR analytics. Discover the top EHR certifications that provide comprehensive training and industry-recognized credentials.
As healthcare organizations increasingly embrace digital solutions, the demand for skilled professionals well-versed in EHR analytics continues to soar. Numerous certifications and courses have emerged to meet this demand, offering comprehensive training and industry-recognized credentials.
This article delves into the top EHR certifications and courses, exploring their unique features, advantages, and opportunities for professional growth and advancement.
1. Certified Electronic Health Records Specialist
By pursuing this course, participants will gain knowledge and practical skills in EHR, medical billing & coding, anatomy & physiology, medical terminology, medical law and ethics, and health insurance in the United States. This electronic health record specialist certification includes hands-on exercises using specialized software to create patient records, generate lab reports, and take notes & codes. Furthermore, it emphasizes the legal aspects of patient confidentiality and the responsible disclosure of medical records, ensuring a solid understanding of privacy regulations and ethical obligations within the healthcare industry.
2. Deep learning in Electronic Health Records - CDSS 2
The course provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamental principles of electronic health records (EHR) while also addressing the challenges of applying time-series classification methods to EHR data, such as missing values and variable heterogeneity. Professionals will learn various imputation techniques and encoding strategies to handle these challenges effectively. Upon completion of the course, University of Glasgow awards a certificate. Additionally, this electronic health records certification explores the role of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) in analyzing data to aid healthcare providers in making informed decisions and improving patient care.
3. Introduction to Electronic Health Records
The course aims to provide an introduction to the field of digital health, covering essential concepts and definitions in this emerging area. It encompasses various vital topics, including Learning Health Systems, EHR, and a wide range of digital health technologies such as mobile applications, wearable devices, health information systems, telehealth, telemedicine, ML, AI, and big data. The EHR analytics course evaluates these technologies by examining the opportunities and challenges they present and the evidence of their effectiveness in the context of digital health, both globally and within public health and healthcare domains. This electronic health record certification includes a case study on using digital health technologies to address various aspects of the global response to COVID-19.
4. Interprofessional Healthcare Informatics
This course is offered jointly by the University of Minnesota and its National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education. It provides a hands-on and interactive exploration of fundamental informatics tools and techniques, incorporating technology-enabled educational innovations to enhance the learning experience. The ten modules in the course will help participants create an online learning community and a functioning healthcare informatics network. The EHR analytics course covers multiple topics, such as emerging technologies, telehealth, gaming, simulations, and eScience. It aims to collectively imagine and shape the future of healthcare informatics within the rapidly evolving landscape. The course welcomes healthcare professionals and IT enthusiasts, encouraging a diverse and interdisciplinary approach to learning.
5. Certified Electronic Health Records Specialist
The Certified Electronic Health Records Specialist (CEHRS) course is a fully-online program designed to train individuals to become certified specialists in electronic health records. It equips participants with the necessary skills to navigate EHR systems and pass the CEHR certification exam. In this EHR certification program, professionals will learn essential tasks such as auditing patient records for compliance, extracting clinical information, coding for reimbursement claims, processing medical record requests, reviewing documents for accuracy, collecting patient data, and facilitating communication with healthcare professionals and insurance providers. The course focuses on hands-on experience with actual EHR software, provides an overview of EHR systems, emphasizes compliance with HIPAA regulations, explores various medical record components, and trains students to track vital patient information and report public health data effectively.
6. Electronic Healthcare Records Basics, Plain & Simple
This EHR analytics course emphasizes the critical role EHRs play in improving healthcare services. The course holds immense importance as it delves into topics such as the comparison between digital and paper patient records, definitions of EMR, EHR, and PHR, the necessity for a unified view of records, the critical components of EHR systems, perspectives from both patients and clinicians, technology-related challenges, the concept of meaningful use, and the impact of the 21st Century Cures Act in facilitating advancements in healthcare. By undertaking this course, participants will acquire comprehensive knowledge as well as an understanding of EHR systems and their potential for revolutionizing healthcare delivery.
7. Records and Health Information Management
This comprehensive EHR training certification program has been designed for professionals looking to advance their careers or seeking to stay up-to-date in the medical field and prepare for industry-standard certification exams. The course covers essential skills such as processing patient admission and discharge documents, accurately recording and maintaining information in the electronic medical record (EMR), understanding third-party reimbursement terminology and concepts, and utilizing computer hardware as well as software to enter and process data using medical record software. Learners can get an excellent opportunity to gain comprehensive insights into electronic health records and enhance career prospects in the healthcare industry.
Closing Lines
The EHR analytics certifications discussed in this article offer healthcare professionals invaluable opportunities for long-term success and growth in the evolving realm of healthcare informatics. By acquiring the necessary skills and knowledge through these programs, professionals can enhance their proficiency in managing and utilizing EHR systems, positioning themselves as highly sought-after assets within the healthcare industry.
The comprehensive EHR certification training provided by these certifications and courses not only equips individuals with the technical know-how but also grants them industry-recognized credentials that validate their expertise. This recognition opens doors to diverse career pathways, including positions in healthcare organizations, consulting firms, research institutions, and governmental agencies. Moreover, staying abreast of the latest developments in EHR systems through continuous education ensures professionals remain at the forefront of technological advancements, enabling them to adapt and thrive in a fast-paced digital healthcare landscape.
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Digital Healthcare
Article | November 29, 2023
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.
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Healthtech Security
Article | November 29, 2023
Tempted to throw in the towel on your New Year’s resolutions? It’s a natural reaction during this unprecedented year. I’m here to tell you it’s okay—and you probably don’t need them anyway.
You’re in good company if you’ve given up on the big shifts. According to widely-cited research study, only 19% of people keep their New Year’s resolutions. In addition, this may not have been the best time to make changes, given all that’s going on with the pandemic.
Also, worthwhile to consider the following insights on the unease with making big changes these days. According to research published in Molecular Psychiatry, when you go through prolonged challenging times (and the pandemic certainly qualifies), chronic stress can change the architecture of your brain and make you feel worn out, anxious, fearful, or depressed. These aren’t the best conditions for making major changes.
You may also face “change saturation,” or in other words, you’ve had to make so many transitions, you just can’t make any more. To prevent yourself from becoming overwhelmed, focus on attainable aspirations. Here are a few recommendations.
DREAM ON A SMALLER SCALE
Success for the next 12 months may be closely tied to a less-is-more approach. Instead of seeking a whole new career, maybe you can set your sights on getting assigned to a new project at your current company. In other words, consider how you can tweak your behaviors rather than overhauling them.
Cultivate gratitude. Appreciate the little things. When you’re more tuned into what you have, you’re less focused on what you still want. This “enough mentality” can be helpful to your mental health. You don’t have to make big changes to achieve satisfaction or happiness. Contentment starts with gratitude.
Avoid perfectionism. Often, the fuel for big changes is a feeling you or your situation are not perfect. Remind yourself that perfection is a myth and focus on what’s working. This will help you find fulfillment with your present reality (even if it’s not all you aspire to).
Make a list, then edit down. Another great way to keep your ambitions reasonable is to make a list of all you want to accomplish and then eliminate everything but the top three items. A surefire route to frustration is to expect too much and put unrealistic pressures on yourself. Instead, focus on just a few vital things you want to accomplish, rather than a long list that does not empower you. After you’ve accomplished the first three goals on your list, you can always come back to the others, but give yourself a fighting chance to achieve the most integral top three, first.
MONITOR YOURSELF
Keep yourself accountable through specific techniques—and pay attention to events that may cause you to slide backwards. Research in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin explains that 40% of your behaviors occur in similar situations, which is to say familiar circumstances encourage the repetition of choices. Therefore, if you’re able to adjust one potentially repeated behavior, it can make a difference.
Create routines and conveniences. When you want to nurture a behavior, make it a default so you’re not thinking consciously about it. Research published in the European Journal of Social Psychology found when you repeat behaviors in a consistent context, it helps with habit formation and these take hold much more effectively. You can use this to your advantage. Instead of making a conscious choice each morning whether you want the donut or the smoothie, have the sliced fruit ready to go and the blender on the counter so when you arrive bleary-eyed to the kitchen in the morning, you’re just doing what’s already laid out. Start each day with the routine of responding to quick-hit emails. Rather than deciding what to work on first, just create a routine where you’re repeating behavior that works without as much conscious thought.
Plan ahead. When you can plan for things, you can usually control them more effectively. If you’re going to be in a situation that might create challenges for your new behaviors, make a plan. Perhaps you’re going to the grocery store and you can make a plan to avoid the cookie aisle. Or if you’re back in the office, avoid the calorie-tempting socially distanced happy hour with colleagues by leaving right on time and get a head start on the big project you’re working on. Anticipating what might present challenges will help you overcome them.
FIND SUPPORT
Support can be the difference between making small changes and not succeeding at all. Find a source that works for you.
Find friends. Create a virtual group of people also trying to make changes. Perhaps there’s an online group where you can exchange healthy recipes or provide mutual encouragement for regular trips to the gym. Also tap into your existing network and ask your friend to check in with you to see if you’ve had your workout for the day. Seek out colleagues who can nurture the writing skills you want to develop. Find people who encourage you, provide feedback, and remind you about your ability to succeed.
Use technology thoughtfully. There are a wide variety of virtual solutions to help you shift your behavior. Download the app that allows you to track your water intake or the app that will send you notifications if you haven’t moved enough in the last hour. Look for apps that can help you learn the new language you’ve been wanting to add to your skill set or that can connect you with colleagues who have like-minded ambitions. Behavior shifts are most likely to occur with planning, reminders, and feedback. So, find apps that provide these three kinds of support.
Give yourself permission to do less for now and know you can always do more later. In the meantime, stay strong and be satisfied with a little progress for now.
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Health Technology
Article | March 15, 2021
The world is moving towards digitalization in every domain. And now COVID-19 has imposed a need for remote work and communication environments. In that case, healthcare organizations have started utilizing medical software with cutting-edge technologies that could offer mobile health solutions. And they could cater to such needs through a healthcare software development company.
Therefore, the medical institutions must opt for the right healthcare software vendor that is familiar with the new trends in the healthcare sector. Such companies can help optimize digital patient care through health care application development.
Importance of healthcare software development company Or why you need one?
Healthcare software development companies process applications to store, retrieve, and share user data. They are connected globally through cloud services. Partnering with a healthcare software company can avail you of many benefits like:
Better Patient Experience
A professional healthcare software developer can manage your medical software very smoothly and effectively. This could help in delivering better patient experiences. It also enables you to get access to the patient’s information before the appointment.
A dedicated healthcare development company will ensure to deliver faster patient checks with lesser paperwork. The information is filed electronically and considers order prescriptions smoothly.
Easy Scheduling and Maintenance
Healthcare software development services offer a strong scheduling system. It helps in finding out the convenient date and time for the patient’s appointment at their comfort. The medical software is flexible to perform such tasks smoothly. It also solves the issues of overbooking through proper scheduling.
Easy Billing and EHR
Billing is an intimidating task in the healthcare industry. A good healthcare software offers easy billing and EHR facilities. It also helps you automate the processes involved in the EHR model.
Healthcare software development services: Important factors to consider
Focus on usability and ease of use
Healthcare employees have a busy job. So, they prefer a user-friendly and easy-to-navigate interface. Only such an interface could ensure a high user adoption rate.
Additionally, healthcare institutions need to prepare their employees for any changes in their working process that the new software solutions might bring. For that, they need to provide adequate training and support, so that when the time comes, they can derive the maximum advantages out of the software solutions according to Vishal Shah from TatvaSoft.com
Integration with various applications
Various system integration requirements are used to make sure the new solutions work properly with other systems. You should also look further for whether current legacy systems need any upgrades to integrate them with the new solutions.
A professional administration
Access to the data by specialist doctors to update the data is necessary. However, access to the data should be strictly restricted with proper arrangements.
Information security
Medical care organizations need proper security measures with laws on data, protection, and other security principles. A leak of patient information is a critical issue that may cause weighty business misfortune. Only the approved staff with rights to oversee the admittance to information and patient records can approach the necessary data.
Development costs
Development costs depend on the size and complexity of the software or applications which is directly connected to the specific business needs of the healthcare organizations. First, an organization needs to identify key problems that require software solutions.
Also, consider the future IT needs of healthcare institutions such as potential business expansion and its scalability and integration requirements. A mobile workforce can help your organization attain more efficient workflow and enhanced productivity.
Healthcare IT infrastructure
IT infrastructure includes hardware, devices, internet connection speed, and/or mobile 4G connection, and many more. Healthcare agencies need to consider whether such infrastructure will be offered by the development company or if the organization has to use its resources.
While using employees’ resources may compromise security, it is suggested that employees must be given the devices and technologies by the companies. The devices and technology need to be updated on the regular basis.
Questions to Ask Healthcare Software Development Company
We have compiled a list of some questions that could help you get the best and most suitable medical IOS and Android app development partner.
Do you know/understand how HIPAA privacy protection rules might apply to healthcare software products?
HIPAA can be subtle and complicated. Federal and state laws have included HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules for the privacy and security protections for hospitals and medical institutions.
There will be many healthcare software developers who won’t be familiar with HIPAA and how it is applied to the products. You must check that out.
Can we sign an NDA?
If your business idea is precious from the IP (Intellectual Properties) perspective then you must ask the app development company to sign the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) before you discuss any details of the project. It is also signed to protect sensitive business details from any third party.
Can I have the contact information of your former clients?
It is vital to have a look at the mobile application development agency before you consider them to hire. However, you won’t get the entire picture and other details but to get that you can ask the company for the contact information of some of their former clients.
Get in touch with their former clients, ask them about their experience working with the agency. The goal is to not only have a great app at the end but also go through an app development process that is stress-free, easy, and enjoyable.
Checking for reviews and references is the key when it comes to hiring mobile application developers.
What is your Software development methodology?
Latest best practices like scrum and agile development are far more reliable compared to conventional methods. Software development companies nowadays practice them to be more efficient and productive. They understand that the market changes quickly and to cope up with it, they need to be capable of adapting to the changes quickly.
How experienced are your healthcare software developers?
Check for the experience of the developers employed by your medical software development partner. They need to be qualified to build medical solutions and deliver them within a predetermined budget and timeline.
How to choose?
Even if you have decided to work with a healthcare software development company, there are hundreds of companies out there, and all claim to be the best in the field. How would you choose the one that can help you achieve your goals?
Analyze their Area of Expertise and their Experience as a Healthcare Software Developer
Quality is the one thing that should be never compromised no matter how complex your demands are. In the software development healthcare industry there are many standards and compliance requirements like HIS and HIPAA that need to be catered to.
Therefore, you need to analyze their area of expertise and their experiences. Only experienced healthcare software vendors can understand and fulfill the critical needs of customers.
However, expertise isn't enough. You also need to look at the certifications to gain deeper knowledge about the healthcare solution developers’ level of professionalism.
Go Through Their Healthcare Software Development Portfolio to Get a Better Idea of Projects and Quality
Go through the portfolio of the potential healthcare software development partner. Look at their past projects in the healthcare domain and check if it matches your requirements. Research about their market reputation and reach as well as find out whether they serve the organizations in your niche.
The key factors to look for in the portfolio:
Types of healthcare software they have delivered in the past
Clients they have served- names, strength, and value
The complexity of projects they’ve handled
The kind of experience they provide to the users
Technologies they excel in
Reviews and Ratings Could Be Helpful
Find out what the customers are talking about this company. Analyze their reviews and ratings. Understand how a particular healthcare software development company deals with their clients and cater to their services.
Carefully Understand their Process
Almost every company has a unique process to provide their healthcare software development services. But all processes generally consists of the following:
1. Requirement analysis
2. Scope freezing
3. Product prototyping
4. Product development
5. QA and testing
6. Deployment
7. Post-launch support
These software development processes could follow any approach from waterfall to agile methodology. Know the details of the process from your healthcare software development partner and understand how it aligns with your goals. And never hesitate to clear your doubts.
Know the Cost to Develop a Healthcare Software
Everyone has a budget and make sure you have communicated well about your software development budget with your potential healthcare technology partner. Ask them about the cost to build the software and look for the cost to quality ratio. After gathering all the necessary details, make an informed decision.
Understand the Engagement Models to Choose the Best
Engagement models are the ways of collaboration for the business relationship. You can choose from the following:
A. Turnkey Engagement Model
It is also known as the fixed price model. When you share your demands, you get a fixed quote for the work. This is an ideal model for:
Short-term projects
Projects with a well-defined scope
For assigning test tasks to the developers
B. Time and Material Basis Model
In this model, hiring is done based on time and material. A client agrees to pay a hired software development company based on the time the developers spend after developing their products and other relevant tasks. The payments are done according to the mutually agreed hourly rate. The model is suitable when:
Unclear requirements or specifications,
A long-term project with dynamic pricing
The client needs more flexibility
C. Dedicated Hiring Model
As the name suggests, it enables you to hire dedicated resources from the web development company. One can hire a web development company for your project, depending on the number of hours spent by the developers on your project. This model is best suited for:
Clients who are looking for an extension to their in-house team
Those who have unclear project requirements
The hirer is looking for more flexibility
Find out What Does the Healthcare Software Development Company has to Offer Post-launch
You are mistaken if you believe that the healthcare software development cycle ends with the launch of the product. There are chances of hitting obstacles any time and do not forget that the market keeps changing in terms of technology and user demands. This means you might need to upgrade your software or need to add some features to it.
For all such requirements, the healthcare software development agency offers support and maintenance services for a limited time post-launch. There could be specific terms and conditions for it too.
So, before you hire any agency, do not forget to inquire about the support and maintenance services offered by them and its price.
What is the Team Structure that They Would Provide You?
Ask about the team structure offered by the company for your software development project. You can interview a potential team of software developers if you want to. You should do it to assess the capacity of the team. In general, a software development team consists of:
1. Requirement analyst
2. Project manager
3. UI/UX designer
4. Software developer
5. QA tester and engineer
Also, you need to convey your requirements clearly to the software development agency so that they can do justice to your project.
Ability of a Healthcare Software Development Company to Assist You For Expanding Your Software’s Features
The main goal of developing medical software is to increase the efficiency of your operations, automate them, enhance them, and last but not least: offer a better patient experience. Therefore, above all other things, you must check out the ability of the custom healthcare software development company to expand or scale-up the product as per your needs.
Areas of Use
Custom healthcare development is used in the following areas:
Telemedicine
Telemedicine is a flourishing branch for custom software development companies in the healthcare business. App development is crucial for telemedicine and healthcare providers because it facilitates teleconsultation and healthcare information. Mobile applications play a key role in sharing medical services and information among patients.
Healthcare portals and patient databases
There is a wide scope for a healthcare app or a patient portal that could compile and store the data categorically over long periods.
This type of storage of health data can be accessible by the doctors in the form of medical records when they are seeing the patient, even if it is the first time. One can pull the data off the EMR and EHR which maintains such a set of data records. To ensure the protection of the data, personal information is kept confidential and only between the patient and doctor, on the portals.
E-consultations and e-prescription
E-consultation is one of the latest practices in digital healthcare services. Mobile apps are developed that are compatible with both iOS as well as Android and are user-friendly.
Such applications enable patients to consult with the doctors remotely based on their healthcare needs and get e-prescriptions as well. They can also get online treatment plans for certain diagnoses through this. The healthcare software developers have similar solutions for virtual billing software and e-pharmacy management.
VR and AR healthcare software development
Since their initial release, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality have been very helpful in medical care especially in the COVID-19 remote healthcare scene. Ran through a powerful technology stack, AR-VR enables the patient to feel and see how a treatment or a medical device works.
Big Data and AI solutions for healthcare
Healthcare is one of the Big Data industries. It manages the flow of large volumes of medical data daily. To ensure that the collected data is used well, healthcare services are now powered by AI.
Health tracking and fitness apps
Wearable technology is gaining immense popularity these days. The products include smartwatches and bands that could track heart rate, sleep cycles, number of steps walked, and many more. These kinds of applications built by expert healthcare developers are among the most downloaded on the internet.
Conclusion
Custom healthcare software is important for healthcare organizations to make their process easier as possible. The COVID-19 pandemic is further popularizing telemedicine, e-consultation, AI solutions, fitness, and other health applications.
I know choosing a suitable healthcare software development company is not easy, but if you follow the process mentioned in this article, you can get the best and top-rated software developers who create apps for the medical and health care industries.
I hope this article has guided you well to understand better about healthcare software development companies. However, if you have any queries or suggestions, please connect with us in the comments section below.
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