Medical coding is a critical piece of the healthcare puzzle, bridging the gap between the services provided by healthcare professionals to the financial systems that keep the industry running. It plays a significant role in the revenue cycle and serves other essential purposes. Doctors and healthcare providers use codes to document diagnoses, medical services, and equipment, which not only aids in treatment but also ensures accurate medical billing and secures funding for specific health services.

The U.S. medical coding market was valued at USD 18.2 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a 9.85% annual rate until 2030. 

These statistics highlight the importance of accurate and efficient coding in the evolving healthcare landscape. 

In this article, we’ll explore the latest advancements in medical coding — specifically AI — and how it can benefit healthcare professionals. We’ll also review practical use cases to help you consider AI for your business.

What is medical coding, and why is it important?

Medical coding is the process of turning healthcare diagnoses, procedures, services, and equipment into standardized alphanumeric codes. This system helps ensure that what happens in the exam room is accurately reflected in the billing process, reducing errors, preventing fraud, and saving money.

In short, medical coding is essential for simplifying workflows, as it’s more efficient to use a code instead of a written narrative. It also helps in extracting statistics to improve patient care, predicting future healthcare costs, and securing funding.

Challenges in Traditional Medical Coding

While medical coding is a cornerstone of the healthcare industry, traditional methods are plagued with challenges that can compromise both accuracy and efficiency. 

Healthcare providers manage vast amounts of data throughout the revenue cycle. Navigating the intricate maze of medical codes and clinical documentation can be pretty much daunting. This human factor often leads to errors, impacting the financial side of medical practices and the quality of patient care.

Here are multiple challenges traditional coding faces:

• Errors in Billing and Insurance Fraud

One of the most pressing challenges in traditional medical coding is the potential for billing errors. Inaccurate coding can lead to incorrect claims, resulting in financial losses due to rejected or denied submissions. Moreover, improper coding opens the door to insurance fraud, where funds from federal and insurance programs are misused.

• Misinterpretations of Medical Documents

Medical coders face the constant challenge of interpreting complex medical documents. This task is made even more difficult when the documentation provided by doctors is unclear or incomplete.

• Stigma-Related Coding Issues

There’s another unique challenge that arises: some doctors hesitate to assign codes for conditions like obesity, fearing the stigma attached to these diagnoses. This reluctance can lead to incomplete or inaccurate coding, which not only skews patient records but also slows down or even restricts the tracking of important public health trends.

• Outdated Manual Processes

A significant portion of medical coding still relies on outdated manual processes, leading to inefficiencies and errors.

There are other issues that lead to large financial losses and severely affect patient care. 

As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, embracing new technologies like AI will be key to overcoming these challenges and ensuring that medical coding remains a reliable force in the healthcare system.

The Role of AI in Transforming Medical Coding

Autonomous Coding
One of AI’s standout abilities is generating codes on its own. This means AI can quickly process reports and directly integrate them into billing software, creating accurate codes in just seconds. This capability is greatly valuable in AI in medical billing, where accurate coding is the cornerstone for proper reimbursements and financial management. With the help of machine learning (ML) and deep learning, these AI systems keep getting better over time, recognizing patterns and improving their accuracy.

Working Together with Medical Coders
When people ask if AI will replace professionals, many experts point out that AI is here to support, not replace, their work. Humans play a key role in teaching AI systems to deliver accurate results, and this is especially true in medical coding.

The success of AI in medical coding depends on a strong partnership between technology providers and healthcare professionals. Standardized data is the backbone of effective autonomous coding systems. While AI can handle large amounts of data, spot patterns, and deliver precise outcomes, it’s the coders and experts who provide the clean, accurate data that AI needs to do its best work.

Benefits of AI in Medical Coding

AI is revolutionizing the healthcare industry, and its impact on medical coding is undeniable. Experts from the AAPC, the largest organization for healthcare coding and billing in the U.S., are already seeing the positive changes AI brings to the revenue cycle.

Rather than replacing the valuable work of professionals, many healthcare experts and coders view AI as a powerful ally. It frees them to focus on more complex tasks that machines simply can’t handle, making their work more impactful.

While healthcare has traditionally been slow to adopt new technology, we can already see that AI is breaking that trend. Its integration into coding and billing is delivering a range of benefits:

Enhanced Accuracy and Reduced Errors
Accurate coding not only makes life easier for patients but also helps healthcare providers keep track of important data. Codes help monitor disease spread, treatment effectiveness, and public health trends.

Significant Time Savings for Healthcare Professionals
AI in medical coding takes care of routine tasks, freeing up healthcare professionals to focus on more complex issues that require their expertise. By minimizing the administrative burden on physicians, AI allows them to focus more on patient care and helps prevent burnout among both doctors and coders.

Cost Reduction for Healthcare Facilities

By tracking crucial data, healthcare providers can better manage budgets, predict future needs, and allocate resources more effectively. This eventually leads to better patient outcomes and more efficient use of funds.

Improved Compliance with Coding Standards and Regulations
Proper coding helps prevent fraud and misuse of funds, leading to more efficient resource allocation. This not only benefits healthcare providers but also reduces overall costs for patients.

Positive Impact on Patient Care

Accurate and compliant coding is also essential for processing insurance claims correctly, which leads to higher patient satisfaction. Properly submitted claims mean fewer billing errors and disputes, making the process smoother for patients, especially those with chronic diseases or frequent healthcare needs.

AI for medical coding is something that completely changes the industry and how the processes operate. By enhancing accuracy, saving time, reducing costs, and improving patient care, AI is helping healthcare professionals and facilities operate more smoothly and effectively than ever before.

Future Trends in AI and Medical Coding

As AI continues to evolve, it’s clear that this technology will lead the way in healthcare and medical coding. 

Implementing AI will likely create new roles for experts, particularly in training and optimizing AI systems. Government funding and resources will play an important role, helping healthcare facilities adopt this technology faster and bringing AI to a level where healthcare professionals can confidently rely on it.

Following everything we mentioned earlier, we can foresee a few key trends in AI and medical coding:

1. Increased Automation with AI: AI will increasingly automate day-to-day and repetitive coding tasks. This will allow coders and healthcare experts to focus on more complex cases that require human judgment.
2. Enhanced Accuracy and Predictive Analytics: AI-powered tools will be used for predictive analytics, foreseeing potential errors or issues in the coding process and improving overall accuracy.
3. Integration with Electronic Health Records (EHRs): AI will be more deeply integrated with EHR systems, enabling real-time coding suggestions and corrections as healthcare providers document patient visits.
4. Natural Language Processing (NLP): As NLP technology improves, AI will become better at understanding and interpreting complicated medical narratives, making it easier to convert text documentation into standardized codes.
5. AI-Driven Auditing and Compliance: AI will play a big role in auditing medical coding practices, ensuring they follow changing rules and helping to find areas that need improvement to avoid penalties.
6. AI Tools for Coders: AI tools will become more personalized, adapting to the specific needs and preferences of individual coders, making their work more efficient.
7. Interoperability and Data Sharing: Future AI tools will focus on improving interconnectivity between different healthcare systems, making it easier to share coding data across platforms and institutions. This will help with better data prediction and coordination of patient care.

Real-World Examples

El Paso Children’s Hospital

El Paso Children’s Hospital, based in Texas, faced challenges with its documentation process, which needed to be faster and relied too much on manual work. To solve this, they introduced an AI-driven Clinical Documentation Integrity (CDI) platform. The impact was impressive: they saw a 5% improvement in their case mix index (CMI), a 50% increase in productivity, and a 95% reduction in the time needed to manage daily tasks. The AI tools made their documentation more accurate, improved response rates from doctors, and led to better financial results.

Geisinger

Geisinger, a leading American healthcare provider serving up to 3 million patients across 45 counties, is using AI to improve patient care and lighten the paperwork load for physicians. Since 2019, AI-powered automation has saved Geisinger nearly 500,000 hours, allowing doctors and care teams to spend more time with their patients. 

Conclusion

The healthcare landscape is changing fast, thanks to AI and automation making patient care more accessible, personalized, and efficient than ever. As we look ahead, it’s clear that well-crafted healthcare solutions are on the rise, set to redefine how health services are delivered and experienced.

If you’re ready to turn your idea into a reality, partnering with a healthcare software development company is essential. That’s where Intellectsoft comes in. We combine industry experience with advanced technology expertise, including AI. With the right tools in place, you can simplify operations, make smarter decisions, and drive growth.

Starting this journey toward an AI-driven, patient-focused model could be your next big step in healthcare innovation. Discover what partnering with Intellectsoft’s Healthcare Development Solutions can do for you today.

The post AI in Medical Coding: Trends and Technologies in 2024 appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

While general “wellness management” apps have been popular for quite some time, we’re now seeing a trend towards mHealth development for disease and treatment management. Currently, these apps represent 27% of the healthcare app sector. Their growing popularity means these apps are now reshaping our relationship with medical care.

In 2024, 40% of American adults now use smartphones to interact with healthcare services, and 35% are sporting wearables providing real-time data on aspects of health from exercise stats to heart rate.

Healthcare and mHealth require a lot of adherence to laws and compliance with privacy standards, so what is the best way to develop one?

In this guide, we’re taking you through the process of healthcare app development done right.

Types of Most Popular Healthcare Apps

From managing your fitness goals to monitoring blood glucose levels, healthcare apps are bringing some burdensome health-related tasks into the home, promising more convenience and breaking down barriers.

Healthcare is a diverse sector and the apps that cater to it are typically broken down into two types:

1. Professional Healthcare Apps
2. Medical Apps for Patients

While there is some overlap between the two, a few significant differences are outlined below.

Professional Healthcare Apps

Healthcare apps for professionals are used primarily by healthcare providers themselves. These apps and software offer important features for the continuation and operation of medical services, including hospitals, doctors’ clinics, and integrated medicine.

Typically, these apps include tools such as electronic health records (EHRs), telemedicine platforms, and clinical reference portals. 

By 2027, it’s predicted that the majority of the market sector share will be occupied by professional healthcare apps that service booking, online consultations, patient portals, and online/dark pharmacies.

Healthcare apps for professionals improve the experience of both the patient and healthcare providers by automating and digitizing the aspects of medical care that up until now have meant that such an important sector has suffered from efficiency and management issues.

A specialized health mobile app development company plays a crucial role in the creation of these sophisticated and complex tools. They ensure that the software meets the high standards and compliance required for the medical field.

Medical Apps for Patients

For patients and health-conscious people, healthcare apps provide empowerment and convenience. These apps typically include symptom checkers, appointment schedulers, fitness trackers, and nutrition guides. 

Fitness products and training apps continue to dominate usage. Still, as healthcare providers continue to embrace these technologies, it’s expected that more critical services such as cardiac monitoring, diabetes management, and mental healthcare applications will soon reduce the necessity for in-clinic visits. 

As the popularity of patient-centric medical apps begins to gain more traction, health and fitness mobile app development will soon be integrated with these more critical and life-saving functionalities. 

These mHealth apps are making healthcare more accessible, especially for remote users, and are helping patients make informed decisions about their health and well-being.

Ideas for Healthcare Apps

Digital healthcare is a truly diverse sector and there’s no shortage of both needs from patients and opportunities to address some of the gaps in healthcare left behind by traditional systems.

From managing chronic disease to providing mental health support, healthcare apps have moved from a niche and novel idea to something as essential in everyday life as your online banking or ride-share applications.

Here we’ll take a look at seven app ideas that push the boundaries of what’s possible in mobile health app development. 

1. Chronic Disease Management Apps

Chronic disease affects over 129 million people in the United States alone, and living with a chronic illness often means juggling numerous doctor’s appointments, medications, and daily health monitoring – tasks that can quickly become daunting. 

This is where chronic disease management apps offer a helping hand. They are designed to make life easier for those dealing with conditions like diabetes, asthma, or heart issues.

These digital companions serve as personalized healthcare assistants right in your pocket. They remind you when it’s time to take medicine, allow you to keep track of symptoms and even enable a direct line of communication with your medical team. 

By doing so, these apps play an instrumental role in placing the reins of health back into patients’ hands – potentially minimizing trips to the hospital and enhancing overall well-being.

2. Mental Health Apps

The spotlight on mental health is shining brighter than ever before. As a society, we’ve all become far more aware of the importance of our emotional health. We now see a natural gravitation towards mHealth tools that can help us deal with challenges like anxiety, depression, and stress.

A mental health app typically includes features like mood tracking, journaling, and meditation guides that help users monitor their emotional state.

When help is needed, patients can use the app to connect with licensed therapists without having to leave the comfort of their homes. It’s an absolutely vital service for those who require immediate care.

There’s tangible excitement around these resources, and data indicates a substantial future rise in demand. By collaborating with a specialized mental health mobile app development agency that honors the delicate nature of mental wellness, you can respect user confidentiality and deliver rich functionality. 

3. Telemedicine Apps

For those who live in under-serviced areas such as remote and rural locations, telehealth allows patients to consult with a doctor through a video call and receive medical documents.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, 43% of doctors consulted with over half of their patients via telemedicine, and research has shown that this trend is likely to continue even post-pandemic.

With more and more under-serviced users getting access to better quality internet through innovative technology such as Starlink, these apps will play an increasingly vital role in providing healthcare to remote areas.

A health mobile app development team can integrate secure video conferencing, EHR systems, and other essential features to create high-quality telemedicine experiences.

4. Medication Management Apps

Managing prescriptions can be quite a task for patients who have to handle medications daily. Medication management apps are like assistants tailored to help you keep track of your medication schedule. 

These apps send reminders to ensure you don’t miss a dose and also watch out for any interactions between drugs that could harm your health, which is critical when managing multiple medications. 

Additionally, they simplify the process of getting prescription refills, saving you trips to the doctor or pharmacy. By embracing technology with these apps we can effectively and safely support individuals of all ages in maintaining their health.

5. Fitness and Activity Tracking Apps

Fitness apps that tie in with wearables such as pedometers and smart watches are among the most downloaded in the healthcare industry, indicating proven success with the ability to innovate more.

These apps are typically integrated with wearable tech to provide real-time data on variables such as steps, heart rate, and blood oxygen saturation. They can even alert users about cardiac events.

Society is becoming more health-conscious and the demand for these types of applications is only going to grow. A health and fitness mobile app development company can develop apps that not only utilize this data, but provide motivation, challenges, personalized coaching, and social features.

6. Allergen Alert and Ingredient Scanner App

Food allergies can range from annoying discomfort to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. In the U.S. alone, there has been a 377% increase in diagnoses of severe food allergies. Anyone with a food allergy knows that sometimes ingredients can be vague, or easily missed when selecting food products from the supermarket.

An app connected to a food ingredient database with the ability to scan barcodes using a smartphone camera to immediately alert the allergy sufferer to ingredients such as seafood, peanuts, dairy, and gluten is not only convenient but can save lives.

The app could also offer alternatives to products that are known to be safe to allow users to make smarter choices when it comes to food shopping.

Using a health and fitness mobile app development agency that has experience with nutritional and dietary software would ensure that the app has access to reliable databases and scanning technology.

7. Enterprise Hospital and Clinic Management Apps

Clinical management software is a booming industry with a predicted CAGR of 9.73% forecasted for 2024-2030. These apps are designed to streamline the operations of medium to large healthcare facilities and are integral for the integration of administrative and clinical functions into a single platform.

The possibilities to create unique and innovative healthcare app solutions in the clinical space are enormous. These apps can include features like patient scheduling, EHR management, billing and invoicing, inventory management, and staff coordination.

When these responsibilities are consolidated the clinic’s effectiveness improves and operations run smoothly. Most significantly, patient results are enhanced. 

Furthermore, developed medical software offers analytics and reporting tools that empower administrators to make data-driven decisions to optimize the medical facilities’ performance.

Partnering with an experienced healthcare software development company is crucial for developing an app that is compliant, scalable, and secure.

Benefits of Custom Healthcare Apps for Doctors and Patients

Custom healthcare apps have certainly carved out a significant role in medicine. They provide personalized approaches that are fine-tuned for the unique requirements of doctors and their patients. 

By focusing on what individuals actually need, these apps promote better patient care, simplify routine processes, and contribute to improved health results – all fundamental components in today’s medical practice.

Enhanced Patient Engagement

Custom healthcare apps have been proven to ramp up patient engagement. They provide tailored health tips, send timely reminders, and pave the way for effortless communication with healthcare providers. 

This personal touch helps patients feel more in command of their wellbeing and back every step of the way—encouraging them to stick closer to their treatment paths and fostering an uplifting experience all around. 

Done skillfully, health mobile app development turns these apps into vital cogs that bond patients tighter with their medical teams.

Streamlined Workflow for Healthcare Providers

Doctors often find themselves swamped with administrative work which can eat into the time they would prefer to spend with patients. 

Custom apps can automate mundane tasks such as appointment scheduling, billing, and record management. A health mobile app development company focuses on crafting these solutions to be user-friendly while adhering strictly to healthcare compliance and security standards. 

The outcome is a practice that operates seamlessly, allowing doctors to dedicate more energy toward patient care.

Improved Patient Outcomes

Custom healthcare apps significantly enhance patient outcomes. They provide tools such as real-time health monitoring and tailored treatment strategies, enabling more proactive, informed decisions about healthcare. 

This often results in the early recognition of health concerns, improved control over chronic conditions, and generally healthier patients. When created by an experienced health mobile app development agency, these applications are designed to positively influence patients’ lives by supporting their journey toward improved health and well-being.

Trends in Healthcare App Development

Healthcare technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and staying abreast of these changes is going to become a top priority for any developer in the mHealth app space.

As technologies develop and grow, they are bringing with them the potential to revolutionize our approach to patient care, making it more efficient, more personalized, and increasing accessibility.

Let’s take a look at the three main trends in healthcare app development today.

AI and Machine Learning

There aren’t many industries that haven’t been revolutionized by the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Healthcare, with all its dependence on the ‘human touch’ is no exception.

One of the most significant trends in healthcare app development is the integration of man and machine (AI). These technologies are being employed to power predictive analysis, review and streamline diagnostics, and even provide personalized treatment recommendations. 

In 2023, we saw a real Turing test moment when researchers from California San Diego, Bryn Mawr College, and Johns Hopkins University developed a chatbot that actually outperformed a human doctor when subjected to 195 randomly generated patient questions. 

The market growth for AI and ML in healthcare is predicted to boom to over $600 billion in 2034, indicating that the human touch in healthcare will be working side-by-side with artificial intelligence in the near future. 

Wearable Technology Integration

In the world of healthcare apps, one can’t overlook how wearable devices are making their mark. Picture a wristband that not only counts your steps but also keeps an eye on your heart’s rhythm. These gadgets aren’t just in demand, they’re soaring toward a market value predicted to hit over $3.7 billion by 2025.

What does this mean for health-conscious individuals? It means instant access to vital health metrics, tailored fitness tracking, and more – all from the convenience of a device wrapped around your wrist. 

Behind these advancements is the expertise of mobile app development agencies specializing in health and fitness. Their role is to develop applications that don’t merely collect data but translate it into actionable insights – helping you take charge of your wellness journey every step of the way.

Telehealth Expansion

Telehealth’s growth is a noteworthy trend, especially in recent times. These services are reshaping accessibility to healthcare with telehealth applications that enable patients to have medical consultations from afar—something that 74% of millennials favor over standard face-to-face visits.

This change is in lockstep with the huge cultural changes that began with the Covid-19 pandemic such as working from home and has become popular with patients who live far from medical facilities or in communities where healthcare is sparse. 

Collaborating with agencies specializing in health mobile app development ensures these platforms are solid, secure, and intuitive, aligning with the increased need for remote healthcare solutions.

Best Practices for Healthcare Mobile Application Development

Developing a successful healthcare app requires more than just innovation. You must also be committed to the industry’s best standards that ensure the app is not only functional but secure, compliant, and based on a sustainable concept.

Here are the most important best practices when it comes to developing applications used in healthcare.

User Experience Focus

When developing a healthcare app, the user experience (UX) sits right at the heart of its success. It’s all about creating something that feels natural and easy to use for patients and healthcare professionals alike. 

Whether it’s scheduling an appointment with just a few taps or quickly checking health stats on the go, every interaction should be smooth sailing. 

Ensure Data Security and Compliance

Navigating the complex world of healthcare data demands a strong focus on security and compliance. 

For mobile health apps, abiding by rules such as HIPAA in the U.S. is not just mandatory, it’s absolutely central to protecting patient privacy and maintaining trust. 

Security breaches can have serious consequences, both financially and for your reputation. Working with a mobile app development company versed in these regulations is crucial.

Regular Updates and Maintenance

Regular security and vendor software updates are vital for any industry, but in healthcare, they are non-negotiable.

Updates should also include software changes to comply with the latest medical guidelines, advancements in technology, and security and privacy protocols. 

Continuous support ensures that your app remains functional, secure, and safe. Using a dedicated health mobile app development company means you won’t be going it alone, they’ll provide ongoing updates, address application bugs, and add new features that enhance the experience over time.

The Healthcare App Development Process

Getting healthcare app development right means adhering to a well-structured process that ensures that your app meets the needs of both patients and healthcare professionals.

Here’s an outline of the key steps involved in taking your healthcare app from concept to production:

Step 1 – Discovery and Requirement Analysis:

The initial phase in creating a healthcare application is to get to know the specific needs of doctors and patients. 

It’s important to dig deep into what they require, pinpoint their challenges, and figure out what they hope to achieve with this app. 

Typically, companies specializing in health mobile app development take charge here. They do their homework so the features of the app meet both the users’ wishes and the healthcare provider’s objectives effectively.

Step 2 – Design and Prototyping:

With a solid understanding of the requirements, you move to sketch out wireframes and build prototypes that bring the app’s functions to life. 

This phase is key in charting the path users will take through the app, with an eye on making everything feel instinctive and smooth. 

When you’ve got a health and fitness mobile app development agency on board, they apply their specialized skills to craft designs that look great while performing effortlessly. Here, you will be laying down those crucial first bricks for an engaging user experience.

Step 3 – Development and Testing:

Now that you have laid out the design, you move on to developing the app itself. This is where developers roll up their sleeves and bring the design to life through coding and incorporating key components like secure data storage, real-time monitoring, and ensuring users are who they say they are— we call it user authentication.

But creating an app isn’t just about putting together lines of code. You will be putting it through its paces with thorough QA testing. 

This step is to make sure everything runs smoothly when you use the app, no matter what device your users are on. 

Step 4 – Deployment and Post-launch Support:

Once the development phase is wrapped up and testing confirms the app’s performance, it’s time for launch. 

The app makes its grand entrance on platforms such as the App Store or Google Play. But your journey doesn’t stop at takeoff. To keep the app in prime condition, it requires regular updates along with continuous support to iron out any kinks, enhance features, and secure its place in a competitive market. 

A dedicated health mobile app development team stands by post-launch to ensure seamless operation and ongoing application refinement.

Final words

The landscape of healthcare is undergoing a transformative shift, thanks to the advent of app development that’s tailoring patient care into something more accessible, personalized, and streamlined than ever before. 

As we look ahead, it’s clear that the trajectory for well-crafted healthcare apps is set on an upward climb, destined to redefine how health services are delivered and experienced.

For those ready to take their concept from idea to impact, teaming up with a specialized health mobile app development company becomes pivotal. That’s where Intellectsoft steps in. We champion the fusion of high-quality care with cutting-edge technology. 

Our IT and development solutions in healthcare don’t just simplify operations, they empower informed decision-making and pave new paths for forward-thinking growth.

Embarking on this journey toward an insight-rich, patient-focused model could be your next milestone in healthcare innovation. Discover what partnering with Intellectsoft’s Healthcare Development Solutions can unlock for you today.

The post The Ultimate Healthcare App Development Guide: Transforming Patient Care appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

Healthcare customer relationship management (CRM) solutions allow medical organizations to improve their overall performance. They do this by creating quantifiable relationships between providers, patients, team members, and client referrals. This translates into healthcare businesses enjoying reduced costs, an improved client experience, as well as optimized medical services.

In this blog, we will delve into the basics of healthcare CRM development, including its features and key benefits. We’ll also take a closer look at the healthcare CRM development process at large.

Healthcare CRM Market Overview

The rising demand for structured data and automation in healthcare is expected to continue fueling market growth. It is currently slated at a compound annual growth rate  (CAGR) of 7.7%. You can see the effects of this in the increase in technological advancements in the sector. Features like AI integration in CRM solutions continue to be introduced in an effort to further improve software effectiveness and drive much wider adoption and digitalization. Another factor to take into account is the increasing awareness of the need to improve customer experience across all industries, including healthcare — further fueling the adoption of CRM in healthcare.

Overall, the CRM market continues to see increased growth and innovation. Some notable milestones include Salesforce’s introduction of next-generation Einstein AI that incorporates conversational AI into CRM and customer experience.

Current CRM market growth is also fueled by merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, although only at a moderate level. Overall, the healthcare industry has also seen a significant increase in region-specific regulatory activities like the General Data Protection and Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and HIPAA Rule in the United States. These regulations impose strict data storage, collection, and distribution policies, which all CRM solution providers need to comply with.

What is a CRM in Healthcare?

Healthcare CRM systems are designed to help you automate tedious and repetitive administrative tasks such as appointment scheduling and check-up reminders, giving your healthcare facility staff more time to focus on patient care and business-critical activities. CRM software is also instrumental in bettering coordination among healthcare teams and allowing for better collaboration and information sharing. This, in turn, leads to better outcomes and higher levels of patient satisfaction.

When it comes to development, designing healthcare CRM systems involves implementing software solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of certain medical institutions. This involves creating software that can track medical histories, manage appointments, streamline patient interactions, and enhance overall patient satisfaction, among others. If you are a medical service provider, CRM systems also offer a centralized platform to efficiently handle patient data, appointments, and communications.

Healthcare CRM software seeks to improve your patients’ experiences through a variety of features such as appointment push notifications, recording conversations, or even determining patients’ preferred locations and appointment times. CRMs can also automate and personalize ad campaigns to reach your patients and clients with personalized communications. These can be anything from birthday cards to customized emails about follow-up checkups or medication reminders. The software can also manage referrals. It does this by storing information about specialists, facilities, and the like — enabling easy patient referrals to the appropriate people.

Common Types of Healthcare CRM

There are several types of healthcare CRM software that play a crucial role in enhancing patient care, streamlining administrative processes, and improving overall healthcare management.

Patient Relationship Management CRM

This type of CRM solution is designed to improve interactions between healthcare providers and patients. It helps teams manage patient appointments, deliver prompt communications, and strengthen engagement in collaboration with physicians.

Analytics Healthcare CRM

These CRM solutions use patient data to enhance your decision-making and improve healthcare outcomes. By using information from multiple sources, like electronic health records (EHRs), analytical CRM systems enable you to gain valuable insights into patient populations, treatment effectiveness, and resource utilization.

Referral Management Type CRM

Referral Management CRM solutions are crafted to streamline the referral process within healthcare networks. These systems help you successfully manage operations, efficiently track and handle patient referrals, and ensure seamless communication between referring and receiving physicians.

Clinical Custom Healthcare CRM

Clinical healthcare CRM solutions are designed to help healthcare professionals in managing and organizing clinical workflows. These are often integrated with EHRs during healthcare CRM development and assist with tasks such as documentation, care coordination, and treatment planning.

Steps to Build a Successful Healthcare CRM Software

While every healthcare CRM development team’s process will vary, these are the general steps you can follow when building healthcare CRM software:

Hiring a Technical Partner

Before starting the development of healthcare CRM software, the first step is to partner with a reliable software development company. In order to find the right custom healthcare CRM development partner, you need to consider the potential provider’s expertise in the healthcare field. Ensure you review the potential technical provider’s portfolio. Look into past medical projects and the technology stacks they used, as well as read client feedback about them on professional platforms.

Project Requirements Analysis

During this phase, business analysts will examine your product concept, business objectives, target audience, as well as your intended market. They will then create a detailed project specification plan encompassing all the aspects of healthcare CRM development, including features, security requirements, third-party services, and the technological stack.

UI/UX Design and Prototyping

During this stage, the design team defines key user scenarios, such as patient segmentation and reporting, to visualize core functionalities. Since the focus is enhancing the user journey within the CRM system, it is always helpful to adhere to specific principles, such as visualizing the user journey from the end user’s perspective and assessing user preferences to create intuitive interfaces. It is also helpful to group related functions to enable single-click access in order to eliminate redundant elements and enhance interactions between the CRM and the user.

Development, Integrations, and Testing

This stage is where software engineers build the backend and front end of a CRM platform and integrate APIs in order to facilitate data sharing with third-party apps. Once the healthcare CRM software development process is complete, it should be seamlessly integrated with other business solutions to streamline operations and enhance profitability.

Next, the testing experts will conduct a series of manual and automated tests to ensure that the CRM meets functional requirements. This is also where any operational flaws are resolved before going live. Another crucial role of this stage is to assess the system’s readiness for deployment, as well as its compliance with key security and regulatory standards.

Testing is very important to ensure that there are no flaws in the system and that everything is debugged before release.

Before the final client review, the team will also thoroughly verify all functionalities—including integrations, usability, and security—to ensure that the healthcare CRM software performs as intended and meets your project’s specifications.

Launch and Maintenance

After completing all previous stages of healthcare CRM development, the CRM solution can now be delivered to you for testing and feedback. Based on the results of the testing and all the information collected, necessary modifications can then be made.

Given the complexity of CRM in the healthcare industry, multi-tier support is often required. This means you should continue to collaborate with a dedicated healthcare CRM development team for long-term value creation. Regular verification of system security and standards compliance is also an essential requirement.

Key Features of Healthcare CRM Systems

Some of the core features of healthcare CRM systems that you should integrate into healthcare CRM development are as follows:

Patient Management

This functionality includes healthcare CRM features that organize and store patient demographics, medical histories, and contact information in one centralized database. This functionality also streamlines administrative tasks such as patient registration and record retrieval, ensuring that you have seamless access to essential patient data during appointments and consultations.

Task Management

The task management feature helps your healthcare team by assigning, prioritizing, and tracking tasks related to patient care, administrative duties, and follow-up activities. With features like deadline reminders, task delegation, and progress tracking, critical tasks are never overlooked by your team— ensuring that patient care in your medical facility consistently remains the top priority.

Appointment Scheduling

Effective appointment scheduling capabilities allow you to efficiently manage patient appointments, allocate resources, and minimize scheduling conflicts. Advanced features could include automated appointment reminders, waitlist management, and synchronization with provider calendars.

Communication Tools

Healthcare CRM systems also offer functionalities that ensure secure and efficient communication among patients, healthcare providers, and staff. Think of secure messaging platforms, telehealth/telemedicine capabilities, and patient portals.

Such portals enable patients to access medical records and appointment requests and allows them to directly communicate with healthcare teams. By enabling such seamless interactions, you can enhance your patients’ engagement, improve care coordination, and strengthen patient-provider relationships.

Analytics and Reporting Tools

Analytical tools empower your healthcare organization to harness data insights for strategic decision-making, performance monitoring, and quality improvement initiatives. You can also create customizable reports, analyze key performance indicators (KPIs), and identify trends in patient outcomes, resource utilization, and operational efficiency.

These functionalities provide you with actionable insights and enable you to pinpoint areas for improvement, optimize workflows, and elevate the overall quality of care your facility provides.

Seamless Integration Capabilities

Seamless integration is incredibly crucial when connecting healthcare CRM systems with other software applications. We’re talking about vital tasks such as healthcare EMR integration, billing systems, and the incorporation of third-party tools. Such robust integration capabilities are crucial in ensuring interoperability, efficient data exchange, and consistency across diverse platforms. Seamless integration also fosters a unified healthcare management ecosystem.

Benefits of CRM in Healthcare Industry

As a healthcare organization, you can use CRM systems to better understand your clients and streamline daily operations. Here are some benefits of CRM software for healthcare industry:

Enhancing Patient Experience with CRM Software in Healthcare

CRM software development in the healthcare sector vastly improves patient experience by enabling personalized interactions, efficient communication, and seamless care delivery. With tools like patient portals, appointment scheduling systems, and secure messaging platforms — CRM empowers your patients to engage more actively in their healthcare journey, resulting in their higher satisfaction and better adherence to treatment plans.

Healthcare CRM tools will also help you facilitate proactive patient outreach, including appointment reminders and follow-up communications. This, in turn, makes your patients feel valued and supported throughout their healthcare interactions. This comprehensive approach ultimately boosts overall patient satisfaction and loyalty to your medical facility.

Reducing Medical Errors

Healthcare CRM systems play a vital role in reducing medical errors by granting healthcare providers access to accurate, up-to-date patient information. With centralized patient records and automated processes for documentation and medication management, these systems help you minimize errors resulting from illegible handwriting, miscommunication, or incomplete medical histories. It also speeds up the process of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment, as your doctors and staff no longer need to deal with physical records when reviewing patient information.

By enabling comprehensive patient assessments and treatment plans, hospital CRMs contribute to improved clinical decision-making and patient safety, ultimately reducing the incidence of adverse events and medical errors within your medical facility.

Securing Sensitive Data

Another key benefit of CRM systems for the healthcare sector is their ability to reliably secure sensitive patient data. These systems implement robust security measures, including encryption, access controls, and audit trails, to safeguard your patient’s information from unauthorized access, breaches, or cyberattacks.

By adhering to strict compliance standards, such as HIPAA regulations, healthcare CRM software ensures that your patient data remains confidential and protected, thereby instilling trust and confidence in both patients and healthcare providers.

Managing Patient Data Efficiently

Medical CRM systems enhance patient data management by organizing information from diverse sources—such as electronic health records (EHRs), diagnostic tests, and treatment plans—into a centralized platform. This integration allows you to swiftly access comprehensive patient profiles, facilitating informed decision-making and improved care coordination. By eliminating data silos and redundancies, CRM software also boosts the efficiency, accuracy, and accessibility of patient information, ultimately elevating the quality and continuity of care within your medical facility.

Optimizing Internal Hospital Tasks

Healthcare CRM software enhances internal hospital operations by automating administrative tasks, streamlining workflows, and optimizing resource allocation. By automating routine tasks and standardizing processes, CRM software allows your staff to devote more time to patient care, thereby improving overall workflow management and operational efficiency within your facility.

Enhancing Medical Service Feedback

Healthcare CRM systems facilitate the collection and analysis of medical service feedback from patients, enabling continuous monitoring and improvement of care quality. Through patient satisfaction surveys, feedback forms, and sentiment analysis tools, CRM software gathers valuable insights into patient experiences and areas for improvement.

This feedback loop empowers you to identify trends, address concerns, and implement strategic initiatives to enhance patient satisfaction, loyalty, and retention, ultimately driving continuous improvement and excellence in your healthcare delivery.

Why Do You Need CRM for Healthcare Projects?

Many of the functions of healthcare CRM systems can help administrators and physicians better understand their patients and enhance the effectiveness of the medical services they offer.

Better Understanding of Customers’ Needs

First, healthcare CRM software empowers your health organization to gain valuable insights into your customers. These tools analyze data to identify patterns related to patients, including:

• Behavior trends
• Appointment regularity
• No-show rates
• Physician referrals
• Effectiveness of outreach channels

This information is instrumental for doctors to improve patient interactions and provide better care. Also, in the case of high-risk patients, timely scans or blood tests can significantly affect their health. To prevent such delays, you can implement healthcare CRM systems to schedule automatic reminders for appointments.

These reminders are sent via emails, phone calls, and text messages and help to ensure your patients receive the necessary care on time. Once patient details are entered by your hospital staff, the CRM software manages them efficiently.

Gathering Patient Feedback

A healthcare CRM platform also helps you gather patient feedback and understand their experiences. This feedback is important to help you further enhance patient services and improve the overall patient experience for both doctors and administrators. The healthcare CRM automates the process of sending and collecting feedback, streamlining the entire operation.

Help With Marketing Campaigns

From a marketing standpoint, healthcare CRM systems also help you acquire new patients by providing data for the creation of targeted marketing campaigns. This allows you to reach your ideal patients based on demographics and health requirements. Additionally, streamlined referral management can also help you convert leads into loyal patients, while an improved online presence can enhance patient outreach through CRM analytics.

Building Patient Loyalty

Healthcare CRM systems can also help build patient loyalty by providing personalized communication and engagement materials so that you can create and nurture strong relationships. CRMs in healthcare also help create a more proactive system for follow-ups when it comes to appointment reminders. Overall, CRMs help you to enhance the coordination of patient care and increase responsiveness to patients’ needs.

Enhanced Billing Process

Another key benefit is an enhanced billing process, especially with integrated billing systems that can make for faster and more accurate processing of claims. This creates an automatic reduction of administrative tasks and paperwork through automation. Additionally, a smoother billing process also paves the way for you to improve your facility’s revenue collection and financial management.

Better Resource Allocation

Resource allocation is another key area of benefit in healthcare CRMs, as data-driven insights help you to identify areas for improvement and improve resource allocation. Data science is becoming increasingly important and in demand in the healthcare industry, especially as more decision-makers learn the value it offers to medical service providers.

Healthcare CRM Development Partner: How to Choose?

When selecting a healthcare CRM development partner, there are several factors you need to consider in order to ensure successful software implementation and utilization.

Industry Experience and Expertise

First, the provider’s expertise in the healthcare industry is critical. They should have extensive experience in healthcare CRM development, must possess a deep understanding of healthcare workflows and regulations, and must understand the specific needs unique to medical environments. This knowledge ensures that the CRM system aligns seamlessly with existing operational processes and complies with GDPR, HIPAA, and other relevant regulations.

Technology Stack

Additionally, it is important to evaluate the technology stack used by the development partner. The technologies they plan to employ must be modern, scalable, and secure. Ensuring this is vital in order to be able to handle the sensitive nature of healthcare data and to accommodate future growth. The software development provider should also offer customizable solutions to tailor the CRM system to the unique requirements of your healthcare facility.

Track Record and Client Feedback

Another important consideration is the provider’s track record and client testimonials. Reviewing case studies, looking at tech blogs and reviews, or speaking to past clients can provide insights into their capability and reliability. A provider known for excellent post-implementation support and training can greatly enhance the adoption and effective use of the CRM system by your healthcare staff.

Integration Capabilities

Finally, you should consider the integration capabilities of the CRM software with your other existing healthcare systems, such as EHRs, billing systems, and appointment scheduling tools. Seamless integration ensures that patient data is unified, resulting in a comprehensive view of patient information and streamlined operations. By carefully assessing these factors, you can select a dependable development partner that will deliver a robust and efficient CRM solution.

Pioneering Healthcare IT Solutions by Intellectsoft

At Intellectsoft, we believe that technology can elevate the quality of care you deliver. Our healthcare IT solutions empower you to:

• automate operations
• streamline decision-making
• foster innovation

As a seasoned healthcare IT provider, Intellectsoft is a pioneering force in technological advancements in the healthcare sector.

Our solutions are backed by years of experience, in-depth technical expertise, and are designed to offer comprehensive tools for your healthcare business. Our software development solutions are specifically crafted to streamline your operations while giving you a unified view of your target audience. Whether you need help with hospital information systems or patient care solutions, we are committed to helping you create a custom solution that fits your needs.

If you’re thinking of creating a healthcare CRM, partner with us to leverage cutting-edge technology and a patient-centric approach. Our domain specialists will be happy to provide you with a comprehensive consultation on creating a healthcare CRM solution that streamlines your patient management tasks.

Final Thoughts

Healthcare CRM systems help ensure that you provide high-quality and timely patient care. It does this by automating appointment reminders and managing patient details efficiently. The systems also send notifications through emails, phone calls, and text messages, which helps avoid delays in prescribed medical scans and tests.

Healthcare CRM platforms also streamline the collection and analysis of patient feedback and aid you in enhancing service quality and patient experiences. Intellectsoft offers robust healthcare IT solutions that are designed to help you automate operations, boost decision-making, and drive innovation.

If you’re considering developing a healthcare CRM, Intellectsoft provides comprehensive consultation services that can help you create a patient-centric management solution.

The post Guide to Healthcare CRM Development in 2024 appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

The Dawn of Healthcare’s Digital Transformation

The healthcare sector was once the sole domain of highly qualified experts. Advances in technology have enabled a digital transformation in healthcare, as professionals and patients alike enjoy better results with the use of digital healthcare solutions. These solutions are on track to improve the patient experience, as 88% of healthcare technology experts and leaders surveyed by Deloitte reported that it is the main focus of their investments.

Also, the research by Deloitte demonstrated that around 92% of healthcare units expect to achieve better performance from the patient-centric business development model.

By 2025, the world’s digital healthcare market is expected to be worth $504.4 billion, according to a research report by Global Market Insights, Inc. It’s a clear sign that the healthcare industry is recognizing the revolutionary potential of digital transformation solutions for healthcare. It is also a sign that the industry is seeking technological solutions that can help drive digital transformation in the healthcare industry.

For every healthcare professional, whether a doctor, nurse, hospital administration staff, or any other caregiver, it’s vital to keep up with the ongoing digital transformation. This article examines the importance of digital transformation, its benefits for all stakeholders, and the future technologies and trends that are leading digital transformation in healthcare.

What is Digital Transformation in the Healthcare Industry?

Before we begin to understand the scope and potential of digital transformation in improving healthcare services, we need to define it first. Put simply, digital transformation in healthcare is the practice of using technology to actively add value to patients and healthcare organizations in a way that maximizes benefits for both.

The key point to note is that digital healthcare is meant to maximize benefits. It is a thoughtful, structured application of technology to healthcare problems. For example, Googling your symptoms to misdiagnose yourself before a doctor’s visit doesn’t count as a digital healthcare transformation!

Solutions like WebMD turning people into unqualified doctors are a prime example of technology working at odds with the directives of digital healthcare. It just makes the treatment process more inefficient. Instead, better examples of digital transformation in healthcare would be health wearables and patient portals that provide useful information for both the patient and the doctor.

Like every other sector, healthcare can benefit greatly from a digital transformation. The recent COVID-19 pandemic showed the urgent need to develop infrastructure to support telehealth and other remote, virtual healthcare solutions. Also, as the internet and electronics become a more significant part of everyday life across the world, digital healthcare solutions can now be delivered to more people than ever before.

The examples given above, of patient portals, health wearables, and telehealth services, are just some of the ways that digital transformation is going to change the healthcare industry for the better. An increase in automation, on-demand medical services, and advanced disease history analysis can also be expected as new technology continues to influence the healthcare industry.

Key Drivers of Digital Transformation in Healthcare

Change never takes place in a vacuum, and a range of factors has also influenced healthcare’s digital transformation. To learn why there is this industry-wide shift toward digital healthcare solutions, we must examine the causes of its rising popularity. These are the key drivers of digital transformation in healthcare:

New and Emerging Technology

The last year has been an exciting one for technological breakthroughs. A world seamlessly interconnected over the internet has never seemed more within reach. Healthcare digital transformation services like artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data hold great promise to bring positive change. Here are just a few examples of the ways technology is going to accelerate digital transformation in healthcare in the near future:

AI

The most obvious use of AI in digital healthcare services is for automating record-keeping tasks while eliminating human error. But AI can also be used in predictive diagnostics and creating personalized patient treatment plans. Another way AI will transform digital healthcare is through the widespread use of AI healthcare chatbots.

IoT

The use of IoT devices has many possible applications in the medical context. Firstly, health wearables that collect important biometric data will provide the basis for real-time, accurate patient profiles in the future. Also, hospital environments will soon be filled with IoT-connected devices, making operations much more efficient with a steady stream of real-time data and insights.

Robotics

The development of medical robots that can perform complex yet precise actions will revolutionize surgery. Surgeons will be able to perform advanced procedures, even remotely, by using specialized robots.

3D Printing

3D printing has made the possibilities for creating prosthetics and custom implants almost limitless. It’s an exciting design technology that has found a fresh purpose in digital healthcare transformation.

The technologies listed above are only a few examples. Others include big data (helps in creating patient profiles and providing treatment options), cloud computing (remote healthcare services), and blockchain (verified electronic health records). As innovation continues, new and exciting possibilities for digital healthcare transformation continue to emerge. 

Evolving Patient Expectations and Demographics

The point of healthcare is to deliver medical services to patients at their location. And since most patients are also online, it’s time for healthcare to go digital. There are over 5.3 billion internet users worldwide, and it’s safe to bet that they will all need to access medical services at some point. 

Many healthcare consumers already use the internet to research medical facilities and doctors or book medical appointments. The demand for telehealth services began to spike during the pandemic but has continued to rise steadily even after it abated. 

According to data from Insider Intelligence, 21 million U.S. adults used telehealth services in 2019, before the pandemic. In 2023, the number of U.S. adults using telehealth services had climbed to 64 million! When you consider the total number of internet users in the U.S. (318 million), that’s almost one in every five people who used telehealth in 2023. 

Younger demographics like Millennials and Gen-Z are more likely to adopt digital healthcare solutions, and as these groups continue to age, the demand for digital transformation in the healthcare industry will continue to rise.  

Updated Regulations and Incentives

As more patients turn to digital healthcare and more providers offer digital healthcare solutions, it is becoming more standard for authorities to regulate its adoption. Many governments worldwide, from the U.S. to Europe and Asia, are offering incentives to their healthcare providers to accelerate the digital healthcare transformation.

Benefits of Digital Transformation in Healthcare

Government grants and other incentives are not the only reasons why embracing digital healthcare transformation is a good idea. Using digital healthcare services is a win-win situation for patients and providers alike.

Digital healthcare solutions benefit doctors, hospitals, medical institutions, and every other type of healthcare provider in the following ways:

• It optimizes workflows by eliminating paperwork, making data more accessible, and reducing the time needed for patient examination
• It allows for more effective remote communication between doctors and patients
• It enables efficient communication and data exchange between medical staff
• It creates a secure database for electronic medical records

Patients benefit from digital healthcare for the following reasons:

• They can gain access to personalized healthcare services
• They can track important health metrics in real-time
• They get easier access to their personal health records
• Digital healthcare solutions make scheduling appointments convenient

Healthcare Digital Transformation: Challenges and Barriers

Despite the clear benefits of digital transformation, the healthcare industry still lags behind many others when it comes to adopting digital technologies and services. 

Let’s examine the most prominent hurdles to digital transformation in healthcare.

1. Data Privacy and Security Concerns

Patient healthcare data is one of the most sensitive forms of data available. Therefore, concerns about data privacy and cybersecurity regarding digital healthcare are expected. 

While many of the administrative enterprise resource planning (ERP) software available in the market today can be applied to healthcare scenarios, most fail to meet the strict security requirements. Choosing the right digital healthcare solutions that comply with regulations and protect patient data is a critical decision.

2. Healthcare Organizations’ Resistance to Change

Doctors work in one of the oldest professions in human history, and many healthcare organizations have a legacy that spans decades, if not longer. Such institutions are naturally resistant to change, especially the kind of transformative, organizational change that digital transformation in healthcare promises to bring about.

3. Interoperability Issues

As a byproduct of healthcare organizations’ resistance to change, digital healthcare solutions also face the challenge of interoperability issues. Legacy systems and newer digital applications are not always compatible. 

Also, the current landscape of digital healthcare is full of many different platforms, and exchanging information is not always a streamlined process.

4. Staff Shortages

Traditionally, IT and healthcare were two different areas of specialization with minimal overlap. Digital healthcare transformation has completely changed that paradigm. Doctors and other healthcare providers need to update their skills to include proficiency with digital healthcare solutions, and barring a few outliers, that change is only taking place gradually.

How to Overcome Challenges to Digital Healthcare Transformation?

The challenges mentioned above are not the only barriers to accelerating digital healthcare transformation. Other challenges include data silos within platforms, outdated payer models, and difficulties in coordinating a distributed workforce. Overcoming these challenges requires commitment and effort.

One of the most effective ways to ensure digital transformation takes root in a healthcare organization is to appoint a chief technology officer. This individual can champion the adoption of new technologies while also working to find digital healthcare solutions that align with the organization’s vision and mission. 

Giving staff the required training, creating infrastructure for patients to use digital healthcare solutions, and tracking new advancements in health tech are also essential to promote digital transformation in the healthcare industry.

Key Technologies in Healthcare Digital Transformation

The healthcare industry needs to take advantage of innovative technological advancements in order to evolve. As mentioned earlier, emerging technologies like robotics and 3D printing promise new methods of delivering traditional healthcare services. 

But along with changing the way things used to be done, digital healthcare solutions also offer entirely new approaches to healthcare that traditional methods lack. Let’s take a look at the most important ones.

Telehealth and Telemedicine Solutions

The scope of telehealth and telemedicine is vast and has a broad range of applications. Most excitingly, it is on course to completely reshape doctor-patient interactions in the future. It also will allow patients in remote areas virtual access to services they may not have been able to reach otherwise.

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and Health Information Exchange (HIE)

Patient information is crucial for diagnosing and treating illnesses. Digital record-keeping platforms like EHRs and HIEs have made it easier for healthcare providers to find the data they need to devise efficient and optimal treatments. Patients can also look up relevant information whenever needed, thanks to this development.

AI and Machine Learning (ML) Applications

Non-human healthcare providers may not be far off in the future! The power of AI and ML technologies has made predictive medicine, diagnostics, and even surgery much more convenient. From helping doctors with AI-assisted treatment plans to providing patients with information via chatbots and patient portals, AI and ML technology has added a new dimension to healthcare data.

Healthcare IoT

Using machines to provide healthcare services is not new, but devices capable of internet connectivity have entirely changed the game. Doctors now have access to an unprecedented amount of granular data thanks to specialized healthcare wearables and medical devices with digital twins that help optimize hospital operations.

Future Trends in Digital Healthcare Transformation

The shift toward digital healthcare solutions will continue in the coming years. The benefits and increased efficiency they provide are simply too obvious to ignore. As the healthcare sector becomes more accepting of digital solutions and services, the following trends are sure to gather momentum.

Continued Growth of Telehealth

The shift toward digital transformation in healthcare will continue in the coming years. Many more patients will start using telehealth solutions as more healthcare organizations set up the appropriate infrastructure. Investing in telehealth is a good way to bring any healthcare organization into the future. 

Personalized Medicine and Genomics

Automatic, AI-enhanced analytics and detailed EHRs will play a significant role in devising patient treatments in the future. AI is also powering breakthroughs in gene sequencing, which can be used to recommend personalized medicine to patients based on their genetic profile.

Blockchain in Healthcare

While most often thought of in relation to cryptocurrency, private blockchains can actually serve an important purpose in digital healthcare. The viability of blockchain technology as a way to safely store encrypted data on a private network makes it a perfect fit for the healthcare sector’s need for secure digital archives.

Patient-centric Care Models

Digital healthcare democratizes access to medical services. As digital transformation in healthcare continues to change the industry, more patients than ever before will benefit from a range of services that were earlier out of their reach. Smart patient portals will also let patients access their records and information more easily, giving them a sense of control over their own treatment.

As new trends in digital healthcare continue to emerge, the industry must be ready to respond. The ability to adapt to changes and adopt emerging technology will become one of the hallmarks of successful digital healthcare providers in the coming years.

Steps to Implement Digital Transformation

Any healthcare organization considering a digital transformation should not attempt to do so without a clear strategy. Digital healthcare solutions can drive major changes, but only when paired with an effective plan. 

If you are considering embracing digital healthcare transformation, use a step-by-step approach as outlined below.

1. Assess Current Systems and Needs

Before adopting any new healthcare technology, reviewing your organization’s existing tech stack is essential. Ask yourself and other stakeholders questions about how they use the current solutions and applications, why they use them, and which areas the solutions are failing.

2. Develop a Digital Strategy and Roadmap

Once you have an idea of your current situation, it’s time to plot your next steps. Your digital strategy and roadmap should have an overarching vision, as well as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can be tracked using easily available metrics. By breaking up your healthcare digital transformation into stages, you can gradually bring about large-scale change in your organization.

3. Select the Right Technology Partners and Solutions

Most healthcare organizations might not have an experienced IT officer to help formulate a digital transformation strategy. It is imperative to find the right transformation partner who can help curate a selection of digital healthcare solutions that maximize benefits for your organization and its patients.

4. Pilot and Implement Digital Initiatives

Test out any digital solutions in pilot programs before implementing them widely. Identify the correct use cases and experiment with different solutions and platforms before making a final decision.

5. Monitor and Evaluate Progress

Digital healthcare transformation is an ongoing process. The best way to ensure results is to closely monitor new digital healthcare applications in action and periodically evaluate their effectiveness in achieving the desired results. 

Every transformation strategy should remain agile and be able to pivot to new solutions if earlier ones fail.

Summing Up

To successfully become a digital healthcare provider, most organizations will need a guide. The digital transformation consultancy Intellectsoft has the experience to help medical providers accelerate the adoption of digital healthcare services and technologies. With extensive experience in the healthcare industry, including designing medical data systems, hospital task and management systems, and dental clinic software, Intellectsoft seeks to reimagine how providers and patients approach healthcare.

The post Guide to Digital Transformation in Healthcare appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

Increased awareness and regular health screenings are the staples of a prevention strategy, but their possibilities have quite defined limits. Beyond those limits, it all boils down to extensive data and our ability to maximize its practical use. As modern medicine advances, our prevention potential has become larger than ever. Advances in research and technology keep providing us with cutting-edge tools for the early detection of diseases, from personal cases to pandemic outbreaks.

This shift toward data-driven prevention is changing the way healthcare works. It’s based on predictive models programmed to collect and analyze provided information and use it to calculate potential outcomes. That way, it helps both patients and healthcare workers, paving the road toward a more resilient society. 

What is Predictive Analytics in Healthcare?

Predictive analytics uses technology to improve individual and overall community health and establish more efficient, cost-effective healthcare systems. The method takes full advantage of advanced data analysis techniques, using deep learning, machine learning, big data, and AI to interpret even the most complex datasets.

While still considered a very innovative approach, this in-depth assessment model is quickly becoming a cornerstone of contemporary healthcare. It offers transformative capabilities to all facets of the industry, from patient care to hospital management to global health maps. In other words, it marks a transition from a reactive, treatment-based approach toward a more preventive one.

What does that mean? In the healthcare sector, prevention and timely interventions can pull the line between life and death. Using information collected from a variety of sources, the analytics models push that line further away. Those sources include EHRs (electronic health records), wearable health devices, family history, and genetics. On a broader scale, the models also involve ethnic predispositions and socio-economic data. Put together, they generate a network of indicative cross-points ready for further interpretations.

It is now clear that predictive analytics requires vast amounts of data. It relies on statistical algorithms, machine learning, and data mining to process and decipher all types of relevant facts. Personal medical histories and current conditions play a key role in individual cases, but other factors, such as global health trends, also contribute to the results.

As noted before, this kind of analysis has a much broader application. Beyond individual medical care, it plays a crucial role in public health management, where global population health data aids in preventing or handling massive outbreaks. Correctly identified health trends within communities directly promote efficient public health interventions.  

How to Use Predictive Analytics in Healthcare

We can separate healthcare predictive analytics into three main categories:

1. Prevention & early diagnostics 
2. Impact on personalized treatment plans
3. Hospital resource optimization

Prevention & Early Diagnostics

Diagnostics is the area where the predictive models make a significant difference. Data-driven methods are taking diagnostics a few steps beyond the conventional approach, lifting the focus from traditional, limited, test-based analytics to put it in a broader perspective.

In the simplest words, such models allow doctors to identify the patient’s “bad potentials”— all those things that could induce severe health problems in the future — and react early enough to stop the possibilities before they become a reality and develop into serious illnesses.

Take widespread chronic diseases as an example. Let’s say, diabetes or heart conditions. An analytics model would access your medical history, habits, and lifestyle, as well as genetic information for hereditary factors. Based on collected and researched information, it accurately computes your prospects of developing (or avoiding) such disorders. In return, the doctors can recommend suitable preventive measures, from lifestyle changes to specific treatments. 

Impact on Personalized Treatment Plans

Following the diagnostics, the predictive models make it possible to tailor a custom treatment plan for each patient, maximizing its effects. Personalized treatment strategies are particularly effective in fighting cancer and chronic conditions where “one size fits all” doesn’t always yield the best results.

A good example here would be the impact predictive analysis can make on treating patients with cancer. Based on the patient’s history and genetic map, the oncologist gets a clearer picture of the treatments with the highest healing potential. Along with the increased chances of success, the method also minimizes the risk of unwanted side effects.

Or, imagine a scenario where the model analyses a group of patients with a high risk of Type 2 diabetes. In addition to common data, it will take into account specific indicators typical for that condition, such as subtle changes in blood sugar levels that might not be alarming at first. The next step would be developing personalized prevention plans to prevent the development or progression of full-blown diabetes, reducing also other possible consequences like kidney failure or vision problems. 

Hospital Resource Optimization

Efficient management is one of the columns of a successful healthcare business. Predictive analytics has an important application in this field, aiding in patient inflow forecasting and tactical resource allocation. 

For instance: By basing predictions on data, you can navigate the effective response to seasonal flu outbreaks. This includes staff shifts, number of beds, equipment, and medication inventories. Optimizing resources leads to better patient care and reduced waiting times, bringing a myriad of additional benefits. 

Examples of Predictive Analytics in Healthcare

A group of scientists from Johnson & Johnson and Stanford University conducted a study to examine the effects of machine learning combined with real-world healthcare data. They applied a predictive analytics model to bariatric surgery.

Their study focuses on using laparoscopic metabolic surgery (MxS) for treating Type 2 diabetes (T2D). While this surgery can often lead to diabetes remission, patients have shown different responses to the treatment. To address this, researchers developed an open-source predictive analytics platform. The intention was to predict which patients are most likely to stop needing diabetes medication after MxS — a sign of improved diabetes control.

In their methods, the researchers selected patients from two large U.S. healthcare databases who met specific criteria. All subjects underwent MxS between 2007 and 2013, were over 18 years old, and had a diagnosis and treatment history of T2D. The main outcome they looked at was whether these patients could stop taking diabetes medication between one and two years after surgery. To predict this, they used a logistic regression model, taking into account factors like demographics, medical conditions, and treatments.

The results showed that out of 13,050 patients in one database and 3,477 in another, a large percentage (about 71-73%) stopped needing diabetes medication after surgery. The predictive model was accurate in both databases.

Aligning with many similar healthcare predictive analytics use cases, these findings demonstrate how implementing such models helps providers make better decisions about patient treatment.

Pros and Cons of Predictive Analytics in Healthcare

In terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness, predictive analytics helps healthcare systems reduce unnecessary treatments and hospitalizations. Focusing on prevention and early intervention can lower healthcare costs for providers and patients alike.

The Pros

From the patient’s perspective, the benefits of predictive analytics in healthcare are vast:

• Tailored treatments and care plans based on individual health data, leading to better outcomes and patient satisfaction.
• Identifying potential health issues early allows for timely and often less invasive treatments.
• By providing insights into health risks and treatment effectiveness, the doctors encourage patients to actively participate in their healthcare decisions.
• Fewer hospital visits, lower treatment costs, and reduced physical and emotional stress for patients.

Adding to the benefits for patients, predictive analytics also offers significant advantages for healthcare providers:

• Optimizing hospital resources, such as staff scheduling, bed allocation, and medical supplies, ensures everything is available when most needed.
• Predictive analytics help avoid excessive procedures and tests.
• Making more informed decisions leads to better patient management and treatment strategies.
• Predictive models can identify potential complications or readmissions, allowing healthcare providers to mitigate risks.
• The overall efficiency of healthcare operations enhances workflow and reduces administrative burdens.

The Cons

Without a doubt, predictive analytics in healthcare offers numerous benefits, but there are also several challenges and drawbacks to consider:

• Predictive analytics in healthcare requires access to large amounts of personal health data. This raises concerns about patient privacy and the security of sensitive information.  
• The effectiveness of predictive analytics heavily depends on the quality and accuracy of the data used. Incomplete, inaccurate, or biased data can lead to incorrect predictions, potentially impairing medical advice or decisions.
• Some concern that predictive analytics might perpetuate existing biases or inequalities in healthcare. 
• Healthcare providers may become overly reliant on predictive analytics, potentially overlooking the importance of clinical judgment and patient-specific factors.
• Predictive models can be complex, and their results might be difficult for both patients and some healthcare providers to interpret. 
• Developing, implementing, and maintaining predictive analytics systems can be expensive and resource-intensive.  
• Predictive analytics in healthcare must navigate various legal and regulatory frameworks, which can be complex and vary across regions.

Predictive Modeling in Healthcare

Healthcare predictive analytics software uses statistical techniques and algorithms to dissect historical and current data. Patient medical histories, various records, and demographic information help identify patterns and correlations that might otherwise pass below the radar. 

Apart from anticipating individual patient outcomes, they can also forecast broader health trends, like the possible outbreak of infectious diseases or the future demand for specific healthcare services.

Incorporating the global perspective, predictive analytics in healthcare extends its benefits beyond individual healthcare to influence large-scale health trends and global health management.

• Predictive analytics in healthcare projects enables health organizations to monitor and predict disease trends on a global scale. This is crucial for anticipating and managing outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as flu epidemics or pandemics like COVID-19.
• By analyzing health trends and patterns, predictive analytics can inform public health policies and planning. Governments and international health organizations can use this data to allocate resources, plan vaccination drives, and implement preventive health measures.
• Predictive analytics in healthcare projects fosters international collaboration in healthcare. That leads to coordinated global responses to health crises, benefiting healthcare systems worldwide.
• Predictive analytics can help identify regions or populations with inadequate healthcare access.
• Insights from predictive analytics can navigate the focus of medical research and development efforts toward conditions that pose the greatest global health risks.
• Prepared for emergencies, health organizations and governments can efficiently organize and respond.

The Future of Predictive Analytics in Healthcare

The future of predictive modeling in healthcare is bright. New trends and technologies emerge daily, and that includes ever-evolving game-changers such as AI and machine learning. 

Look at them like your exclusive, genius assistants who can save copious amounts of time sifting through the data sheets. As they get even smarter, they can spot health patterns and predict issues more accurately, which improves the overall patient experience and boosts the clinic’s reputation in return. 

Moreover, the popularity of self-monitoring gadgets is on a constant rise. Wearable smart devices and health trackers are, more or less, a common thing nowadays, collecting and providing a lot of information in real time. It all becomes a part of big data to fine-tune the general predictions.

Another thing to look forward to is the impact of predictive analytics on precision medicine. The personalized approach puts aside the “cookie cutter” solutions, relying on data to pinpoint the best treatment solution for each person. 

There is also an ethical dimension. Excellent healthcare is not accessible to everyone. Predictive analytics can minimize the need for costly medical treatments in the person’s future, thus helping build a healthier, more responsible society. Subsequently, such an approach also takes away a part of the burden from the social security system, allowing for better budget optimization in return.

In short, the future of healthcare looks like it’s going to be a lot more personalized, predictive, and smart. After all, it’s all about getting the right treatment to the right person at the right time.

Best Practices for Healthcare Organizations

If you plan on venturing into predictive analytics in healthcare, here are key best practices to consider:

1. Prioritize data quality: High-quality, accurate, and consistent data is paramount. Regularly check and clean your data to maintain its integrity.
2. Organize extensive staff training: Ensure your healthcare staff are trained in using predictive analytics tools and understanding the insights they provide. Keep training up-to-date with new developments.
3. Collaborate across departments: IT and healthcare professionals should work closely together. This ensures technical solutions meet clinical needs and vice versa.
4. Adhere to privacy regulations: Always comply with legal standards like HIPAA and implement robust security measures to protect patient data.
5. Set clear goals: Start with specific objectives, like improving patient outcomes or optimizing resource use. This helps in focusing your predictive analytics efforts.
6. Regularly review and adjust: Continuously evaluate how well the analytics meet your goals and be ready to adapt your approach as needed.

Wrapping Up

Predictive analytics mark a significant stride toward advanced patient care and operational efficiency. As the technology continues to evolve, its potential to transform healthcare as we know it remains vast and deeply promising.

Expert companies such as Intellectsoft stand out in delivering healthcare IT infrastructure tailored to your needs, leveraging their extensive experience and global expertise.  As a committed IT solutions provider, Intellectsoft ensures thorough assistance at each stage. From initial discovery workshops to ongoing support, we honor our clients with well-rounded service and continuous guidance.

The post Predictive Analytics in Healthcare Industry appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

The need to create digital medical databases first came to light during the early 1990s. Medical workers recognized its capacity as a valuable resource for management and clinical research. However, due to privacy and other concerns, the innovation was adopted by many other industries before finding its way to healthcare.

So, What Is Data Warehousing in Healthcare?

Briefly put, data warehousing in healthcare is the most efficient file management system there is. It allows for storing, organizing, and handling vast amounts of information, from patients’ clinical histories and lab tests to insurance records and financial reports. It also minimizes the risk of human error and keeps the files secure.

If you are new to the world of digital data management, just imagine a giant, fully automated library that operates at light speed. Both comprise endless rows and columns of neatly stacked folders, color-coded and marked by letters, numbers, and signs.

The main difference between a perfectly organized physical library and a digital warehouse is functionality. The latter is capable of searching and integrating data from various sources all at once. Simultaneously, it performs complex analytics, supports administration, and helps identify weak links and areas with potential for improvement. 

Properly designed medical data software can compute and solve tasks within seconds, saving plenty of time you can invest in maintaining and improving the quality of service.

Good to know: Although they might sound synonymous at a glance, a clinical repository and a healthcare data warehouse are not the same thing. The clinical repository holds only clinical data, like patient records. Conversely, the data warehouse is a central repository that keeps, more or less, all kinds of files involved with the clinic’s operation.

Let’s now dive deeper into details and explore the benefits, features, and cost considerations of healthcare data warehouses.

Benefits of Data Warehousing in Healthcare

A healthcare data warehouse can be your most helpful tool for improving your medical business, making the best use of all information available. Centralized files and automated processing allow you to gain quick, sharp insights, optimize resources, and make well-informed decisions. 

Here is an overview of the most important advantages.

Improved Data Accessibility

We have already mentioned that a healthcare data warehouse resembles a giant library, which means all information resides in one place. Thanks to advanced organizing systems, it’s easy to find and use. A patient’s medical history, treatment records, and diagnostic processes, as well as administrative files—you can obtain anything within seconds. Such a rounded, encyclopedic picture allows you and your medical staff to provide the highest level of service in return.

In other words, by analyzing all available data, you can improve the accuracy of diagnosis and chances of therapy success. The ease of access also helps medical researchers to identify trends and develop new treatments.

Enhanced Data Analytics

The fans of Doctor House will remember how much diagnostics sometimes resembles detective work. A healthcare data warehouse is like a box of clues that pave the road to finding a reason why a patient is sick. The database contains details about the patient’s lifestyle, family history, habits and weaknesses, food and exercise info, allergies, and more. What’s best, it’s already completely set, systematized, and ready to use.

Through data analytics, you can track the clues and identify patterns that lead to the correct conclusions about patients’ conditions. 

Scalability and Flexibility

Many clinics and medical businesses start small but grow fast. When the patients become regulars, their files grow with every visit, and so does the clinic’s administration. Healthcare data warehouses can grow (or shrink, if necessary) to follow the development. Many tools can be added or omitted according to the ongoing needs.

The possibility of scaling the digital database means you can always have the product optimized to provide maximum convenience.

Data Security and Privacy

The patient’s privacy is holy to ethical practice. With that in mind, healthcare data warehouses are programmed to provide exceptional levels of data security. It involves applying high levels of protection against system breakdowns as well as hacker attacks.

Data warehousing in healthcare involves advanced and up-to-date security measures that keep all information safe from unauthorized access.

Streamlined Operations

The bigger the clinic gets, the more diverse services it provides, and your need for efficient data administration rises exponentially. A database warehouse in healthcare helps you optimize appointment scheduling, which will reduce waiting times and improve the patients’ experience in return. Moreover, it takes over the hassle of inventory management. Usage tracking makes it possible to alert the staff before a supply runs out and prevent shortages. And in terms of financial planning, the system can analyze the processes and patterns to identify the room for improvement. 

Due to its solution-oriented analytic capabilities, data warehousing pinpoints and optimizes every aspect of medical business. 

Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning

A giant, systematized database assists doctors in tracking down the underlying threats to the patient’s health. It recognizes potentially problematic habits, patterns, and genetic predispositions that might trigger a disease in the future. Knowing the risks helps you advise and take steps to prevent it from happening. On a larger scale, predictive analytics can also anticipate massively contagious outbreaks, such as seasonal flu, and prepare for it in advance. 

By collecting, organizing, and analyzing copious amounts of information, a warehouse database helps you prepare and react before the events occur.

Key Features of Healthcare Data Warehouse

Data Integration

Accumulating and integrating many kinds of data from diverse sources is fundamental for healthcare data warehousing processes. That includes:

• Electronic Medical Records (EMR)
• Electronic Health Records (EHR)
• Enterprise resource planning systems (ERP)
• Lab databases
• Public health databases
• …and much more.

Data integration enables keeping all valuable information in one place, which in return helps with overviews and predictive analytics.

Data Cleansing and Transformation

Just like any large, ongoing database, a healthcare data warehouse also needs occasional cleaning and decluttering in order to remain up to date. This is very important for several reasons, starting from removing duplicates, errors, and inconsistencies in available material that could affect predictions or test results. Moreover, the process identifies information holes and marks them for filling up. 

After cleaning, the data can be augmented, reorganized into a more optimized form, indexed, and sorted. 

Data Governance and Compliance

Data governance is the supervising element of a data warehouse in healthcare, a set of rules determining how to handle the content. It covers the whole information cycle, from creation to the moment it’s archived or destroyed. Moreover, as healthcare heavily relies on accurate, reliable information, data government also implements processes that will keep things relevant and establish through access control.

Data Security and Encryption

Apart from access control, extensive security measures involve:

• Encryption
• Firewalls
• Intrusion detection systems
• Regular security audits
• Staff training
• Regulation compliance
• Physical security 

A combination of advanced technology, robust backup and recovery plans, education, and physical server security creates an all-rounder network with high-security coverage. 

Data Querying and Reporting

Healthcare data warehouse models employ specific tools for querying and presenting information accurately. 

• SQL & Query Builders retrieve data necessary for a specific research
• Business Intelligence tools (BI) assist in visualizing maps of complex data
• Data mining tools are used for discovering patterns and relations in large data sets
• OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) supports data interaction for better analyses 
• Decision support tools integrate with warehouses to provide specific recommendations 
• Reporting software for creating formal tickets on patient’s care
• Self-serving analytics that aid non-technical users
• APIs & Integration tools responsible for real-time data processing and repotting 

These tools make it possible to efficiently retrieve, analyze, and report healthcare data, promoting informed decision-making and effective healthcare management.

Costs of Implementing Healthcare Data Warehouse

A range of small and substantial costs are involved between the initial setup and ongoing maintenance of a fully active healthcare data warehouse system. The final sum depends on many factors, starting from the size of the warehouse and its assets.

Costs of Initial Setup

• Hardware and infrastructure include the cost of physical servers and storage systems (this can be the most significant expense)
• Software licensing is the price you pay for healthcare data warehouse solutions, as they are
• Data integration covers the cost of integrating data from various sources
• Training & development is the price of educating and training your staff to use the new system properly 
• Consulting & expertise mark the cost of hiring external experts for planning and implementing the healthcare data warehouse.

Ongoing Maintenance Costs

Software updates and licensing are continual costs you will pay to your healthcare data warehouse vendors. Then, there is regular maintenance to ensure optimal performance and costs associated with managing, caring for, and updating the data.

Expect also ongoing expenses for data security, including regular audits and subscriptions. And finally, there is always staff training that will ensure the optimal use of all resources.

Return on Investment (ROI)

This is the sweeter art of the cake, which depends on several factors.

• Cost savings: Operational cost reductions
• Improved patient outcome: Adequate healthcare delivery often results in improved patient health, which can enhance the image and reputation of the health provider
• Efficiency gains: Time and resources saved by improved decision-making and streamlined administrative processes
• Revenue operations: New ROI opportunities generated through effective treatments and research opportunities

If you need a more precise estimation, you can compare the benefits to the total costs of installing and maintaining the data warehouse.

Healthcare Data Warehouse Case Studies

Mayo Clinics

Most renowned healthcare institutions worldwide use some kind of healthcare data warehouse model. Take, for example, the Mayo Clinic, which witnessed significant improvement in patient care efficiency, as well as in research capacities. Integrated records and research data streamline all processes, helping them deliver better experiences while boosting research capacities at the same time. 

After a while, the clinic reported notable improvements in treatment outcomes and patient health in general. Over time, thanks to data cleansing and predictive analytics, they also registered cost savings.

Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KSPC)

KSPC is one of the largest healthcare providers in the USA. They developed and maintained a medical research data warehouse for over a quarter of the century, extending it largely in 2006. Data integration greatly enhanced their preventive care measures, improved vaccine strategy, and helped them manage chronic diseases effectively. 

The application of a digital warehouse at KSPC made different study approaches possible by supplying specific data-based material. One such study explores the volume, patient characteristics, and age-adjusted prevalence of selected medical conditions.

The results showed patterns and age-related prevalence in obesity, asthma, atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesteremia, and hypertension, also noting the period when they escalated above the average. More detailed results of the study you can find here.  

Best Practices for Implementing Healthcare Data Warehouses

1. Begin with clearly understanding your goals and reasons for installing a data warehouse. 
2. Set the targets in most fields, from improving patient care to streamlining operations. 
3. Ensure data quality—it’s a healthy basis for all functions.
4. Establish strict protocols for data cleansing and validation. 
5. Choose a scalable system suited to your present needs and flexible enough to grow smoothly.
6. Maintain a strong focus on data safety and implement robust security measures.
7. Ensure compliance with healthcare regulations.
8. Involve end users in the process and collect feedback to make the end product more user-friendly.
9. Don’t skimp on training that will help your staff make the most of the software possibilities.
10. Set aside resources and make plans for ongoing maintenance that will keep the system at its best.

Wrapping Up

Implementing a data warehouse helps you centralize and streamline the management of all business and medical data necessary for successfully operating your clinic. Moreover, the long-term cost saving, multi-level efficiency, and broad potential for advanced research make them an invaluable asset for any healthcare organization.

Established companies like Intellectsoft take pride in providing healthcare IT infrastructure based on extensive experience and worldwide expertise. Their approach goes beyond bare software development to strengthen the core of your healthcare services. As a dedicated healthcare IT solutions provider, they offer comprehensive guidance at every step, from discovery workshops to continuous support.

The post Healthcare Data Warehouse: Benefits, Features and Cost appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

Source: Electronic Health Records Market Analysis Report 2023-2027

The leaps in technology in artificial intelligence (AI) and the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) — allowing seamless sharing of data and processes between platforms —  have forced medical companies to reinvent the wheel for the better by looking for new and innovative solutions in their healthcare platforms.

Consider telemedicine, which has experienced a massive surge in popularity over the past few years. With improved accessibility and ease of use, the technology is expected to generate $240 billion in profit by 2032.

In this article, we’ll examine the landscape of software development in healthcare by defining it, breaking down its complexities and inner workings, and making predictions for the future. 

By the time you’re finished reading, you’ll appreciate what these platforms have to offer and clearly understand how to maximize them to make your healthcare organization more efficient in the future.

What is Healthcare Software Development?

In simplest terms, healthcare software helps organize and perform the countless interactions and administrative tasks that take place daily between patients, medical professionals, and health administrators. 

These platforms specialize in streamlining interactions, improving the quality of care, and ensuring privacy and accuracy of record-keeping in hospitals, clinics, research labs, financial service offices, and medical equipment providers.

Software development for healthcare systems establishes an ecosystem where healthcare services gain higher quality and accuracy.

Machine learning has accelerated the development of software for healthcare, with some of its many benefits, including making it easier to digitize patient records and diagnose illnesses. Of course, Big Data and e-health have also played a part in revolutionizing software development for healthcare.

Main Types of Healthcare Software Development

This technology is requested for maintaining clinical workflow and optimizing everyday operations. It assists in keeping medical records, setting appointments, managing finances, and accounting activities.

Electronic Health Record Software

The design allows the maintenance and management of patient data in electronic records. The reports stored include information about allergies, laboratory conclusions, the medical history of a patient, and demographic statistics. It’s worth noting that EHR can be integrated into an ERP system for healthcare, which will grant even wider functionality for any healthcare institution. 

E-Prescribing Software

The technology allows sending medical prescriptions directly to drug stores and pharmacies. It strengthens the connections within the healthcare industry and serves the patient’s comfort.

Urgent Care

This healthcare software category unites numerous apps that help patients get emergency aid without attending the doctor’s office.

Hospital Management Software

This set of technologies optimizes hospital management. These solutions assist in billing, assigning insurance, managing patient information, and administrative work.

Healthcare CRM

This software type works with customer management. The main task is maintaining better client relations —  meaning better care quality, contact management, and accurate performance reports.

Telemedicine Software

Medical professionals like doctors, therapists, or psychiatrists can examine and diagnose patients remotely using video conferencing and file-sharing tools with this type of software.

Laboratory Information Management Systems

A LIMS provides more accurate results in laboratory settings by managing samples, collecting data from those samples, automating workflows, and integrating instruments into the environment.

Radiology Information Systems

This medical imaging software is great for tracking patients and their images, scheduling appointments, reporting results, and invoicing. A RIS system improves the quality and speed of patient care and diagnosis in radiology departments.

Pharmacy Management Systems

A pharmacy management system will ensure a safe and well-run pharmacy by managing expired drugs, re-ordering stock, sending SMS reminders to patients, storing and backing up data on all customers, and many other beneficial processes.

Health Information Exchange Software

This software, also known as HIE, allows all medical personnel to safely and quickly share patients’ private health information with other organizations, resulting in faster, more efficient, and ultimately more reliable care.

Billing and Revenue Cycle Management Software

This software is designed specifically to track the billing and revenue across a patient’s life cycle, painting a complete picture of the cost of treatment for each customer.

What Do Healthcare Software Development Companies Do?

The greater demand for technological solutions in the medical sphere caused the appearance of narrow-specialized healthcare software development companies.

They assist non-governmental organizations, hospitals, and medical schools through various optimization services. At the same time, the requested enhancement range calls for finding a truly reliable software development partner.

From the standpoint of medical institutions, the reason to introduce IT solutions is mostly cost-oriented. Among all, a hired software development company should solve the task of greater financial efficiency through cost optimization.

Here, the technologies can provide data to control financial KPIs, emergency analytics, and client behavior. With these parameters, the spending on a healthcare software development company becomes justified.

Below are 3 types of services that healthcare software development companies offer.

Healthcare Software

All the technologies to assist data management and improve care quality, such as:

• Enhancing diagnostics.
• Intelligent imaging and radiology.
• Healthcare operations and resource management.
• Security and compliance.

Healthcare Apps

Using your mobile device to track your health can include:

• Telehealth and remote monitoring.
• Virtual assistants and chatbots.
• Personalized treatment through AI.
• Patient engagement.

Custom Solutions

Task-oriented software or a mobile solution designed specifically on the customer’s request addressing issues like:

• Digital transformations.
• Patient-centric approaches.
• AI and machine learning applications.
• Data exchanges.

Healthcare software development companies mainly focus on task-oriented solutions to provide the most accurate result and ensure client satisfaction. Nevertheless, the highest aim of any technological introduction is to establish an all-in-one healthcare ecosystem. And so, a high-end software development company always offers a comprehensive set of services for healthcare organizations — involving IT consulting, mobile/web development, cloud technologies, and IT outsourcing.

While there is still a lot of uncertainty and challenges around the digital transformation in the Healthcare Industry, our expertise allows us to consider a variety of technologies, use cases, and solutions for a software consultancy.

Intellectsoft has strong domain expertise for advising the right solutions to solve particular business challenges and avoid pitfalls while delivering and deploying them. Find these and other answers to your questions by getting in touch with our healthcare experts.

Cost of Software Development in the Healthcare Industry

If you’re in the market for healthcare software development, you can expect to pay in the ballpark of $200,000 for outsourcing to $388,000 or higher if you want all the work done in-house. Of course, these costs will differ based on your budget, timeline, and specific needs, which we’ll break down further: 

1. Type of Collaboration

Your first priority is to decide what type of team you want to work with. If you have enough resources, hiring an in-house team that will work by your side is an attractive possibility. 

The solution with the fewest headaches is to select an outsourcing team of software engineers who deliver software of the same quality as an in-house team but at significantly lower prices.

2. Team Composition

Another factor that shapes the development cost is team size and expertise. Consider that all the details, such as the number of employees, their experience and skills, and the technological stack of software developers involved in the project, might also affect the final price.

3. Project Complexity

The cost of your project will be defined by the type of software or medical website you want to develop. Such details as design complexity as well as the number of features that you want to include will play a crucial role in the final budget.

4. Development Timeline

This component is directly connected to the software development complexity. The more complex your software is, the more time-consuming and, respectively, costly your healthcare development project will turn out to be.

5. Team Location

If you opt for an outsourcing team of software engineers, the price will also vary depending on the region. If you want to get the best quality-price balance, it’s recommended to consider American destinations.

What is Custom Healthcare Software Development?

No two healthcare institutions are alike. That’s why custom healthcare software development services are necessary to hone in on clients’ specific needs. Among various advantages, it can help medical entities establish a secure and unified platform for storing medical information. As a result, each applicant can get results of higher inclusiveness, performance, and scalability.

In general, clients request custom healthcare software development when they need a specific solution to one of these problems:

• Optimizing the work with patient records.
• Facilitating communication between caregivers and patients.
• Encouraging collaboration between healthcare professionals.
• Integrating seamlessly with existing systems.
• Compliance with regulatory standards like HIPAA.
• Ensuring the smooth formation and interchange of individual health plans and strategies.
• Facilitating telemedicine and remote care.
• Providing a better accuracy of diagnoses.
• Cutting extra expenses.
• Incorporating new technologies like chatbots, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR).

You can request a custom solution if you have any of these requests.

SDLC in Healthcare

Here are the typical steps for leading the medical software development process (or software development life cycle):

• Requirements setting. Determining the organization’s needs and collecting the appropriate information.
• Prototype development. Conducting assessments and gathering details to propose a raw solution.
• Get feedback. Stakeholder involvement in the proposed solution is critical before moving forward.
• Design and programming. Establishing a technological solution.
• Software testing. Verifying the absence of errors, bugs, and other problems.
• Final adjustments. Validating the software solution and ensuring regulatory compliance before delivering it to a healthcare institution.

For custom software solutions, there is a slight change in the process:

• Select the target audience. Identify the tastes, preferences, and typical behavior of clients.
• Sketch the software architecture. Establish a detailed idea of healthcare IT solutions that meets the needs and demands of your target audience.
• Incorporate feedback. Make sure the solution fits the client’s problem before continuing.
• Elaborate UI/UX design. A customized solution requires closer attention to the usability and intuitiveness of an app.
• Protect the technology. Involve encryption for data protection.
• Ensure compatibility. Ensure the software can easily be incorporated into the IT infrastructure of an institution.

What’s the Future of Development in Healthcare?

Deloitte says the software development healthcare industry is on the verge of significant disruption. The focus will almost solely be open yet secure platforms, customer-driven care, and easy data exchange.

This direction especially strengthens the human-centered approach in healthcare, linking numerous solutions in the area, including optimization of treatment plans, easy tracking of health progress, and availability of online professional consultations.

From the business standpoint, this approach results in greater brand management, reputation increase, and better service delivery.

The key trends of software development in medical fields are:

• Focus on self-care and online communication (via a patient portal, especially). The focus should be accessibility and user-friendliness. The needs of specific demographics, such as the neurodivergent community, should be addressed.
• Involvement of blockchain innovation. This technology significantly contributes to sector democratization. Specifically, blockchain safely discloses internal operations, making the exchange more transparent, trustworthy, and collaborative.
• Expanded EMR software. In the new reality, each medical record will become digital and link all the specialties separated currently. 
• Telemedicine. This innovation creates close remote connections between physicians and patients, eliminating all the traditional barriers between them.
• AI. Diagnoses become more accurate, and you gain the ability to individualize treatment plans.
• VR/AR. Uses for this technology are endless, including training for medical professionals and patient education.
• Chronic disease management tools. Mobile apps or wearable devices to help our aging population could be a game-changer.

Even though the prospects of healthcare IT solutions seem bright, we still have a way to go. Any new software should vigorously address safety concerns since this is one of the most common hurdles for contemporary digital solutions. Also, the management of Big Data should be a priority.

Summing It Up

Intellectsoft offers high-quality assistance in designing and developing various kinds of healthcare software. By consulting with us, you can be sure the solution provided will serve you long, integrate into your digital ecosystem successfully, and manage the data accurately.

At Intellectsoft, we empower companies and their workforce with cutting-edge transformative solutions and data-driven insights. We’ve provided advanced digital solutions for various healthcare organizations, including the dental industry, where our software increased revenue and attracted new patients.

Are you and your organization ready to shift your mindsets and get the most out of our innovative IT solutions? Talk to our experts and learn more about the latest healthcare software technologies and how your business or project can benefit from them today!

The post Healthcare Software Development: A Complete Guide for 2024 appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

Hackers target confidential data because they profit from selling it. In 2022, the FBI registered a daunting amount of losses caused to US citizens and businesses by cybercrime activities: $10.3 billion. To put this in perspective, this sum was about 3.5 times lower in 2018 – $2.7 billion. Even more, in 2021, the losses were $6.8 billion, meaning they have grown by one-third over a year.

Source: The IC3 report 2022

According to the same report, the healthcare industry is the most common victim of cyber attacks. This industry has the perfect combination of valuable data and glaring security issues making it a gold mine for hackers. So why do healthcare institutions lose data (and money), despite strict security regulations, HIPAA guidelines, and other government-enforced measures? Let’s find out.

Why is Cybersecurity Important in Healthcare?

There are several reasons why there are so many cybersecurity threats in healthcare. Any confidential data can be used as leverage or for many criminal purposes, like extortion, identity theft, fraud, and much more. That is why such information is highly lucrative and draws a lot of hackers’ attention.

The healthcare industry deals with an enormous amount of private data on a daily basis. Digital technologies brought many benefits to the workflow in hospitals, most notably reducing the paperwork and organizing health records. Unfortunately, the same technologies created a lot of cybersecurity issues in healthcare. They allow criminals to steal and tamper with health-related data while keeping a low profile in a remote location, possibly from the other side of the world.

So, the healthcare industry had to acknowledge the vital role of cybersecurity and implement numerous measures to predict and fend off attacks. The government introduces and enforces many security regulations and standards that are mandatory. On their part, healthcare service providers usually implement additional security measures to further protect their businesses, clients, and related data.

Every data leak that occurs in a medical institution is a potential collective lawsuit from hundreds or thousands of patients. Such a lawsuit may ruin the reputation of the healthcare service provider and can easily destroy its future as a business enterprise. It also involves a huge fine which can be the final blow to the healthcare organization since many clinics and hospitals are already poorly funded. 

So, healthcare cybersecurity threats target persons and businesses, bringing potential reputational and financial damage. On a larger scale, they can also disrupt the workflows in one of the most vital systems of a state: the public health system. From this perspective, considering the utmost importance of the problem, developing effective solutions to healthcare cybersecurity challenges is a matter of national security. 

Top 3 Cybersecurity Issues in Healthcare Industry

There are dozens of security threat types. However, there are three main reasons why cyber attacks are successful.

1. Outdated Computer Systems

Though some people prefer the term “legacy systems,” they are just sugarcoating the problem. Due to budget cuts, some hospitals have to use decade-old computer equipment and software. 

First, it’s ineffective in terms of performance and power efficiency. More importantly, its creators abandon old software after it reaches the “lifetime” threshold. For instance, about 15% of computers worldwide used Windows 7 and 8 during 2022, which has recently dropped to about 4%. This is despite those systems having had no security updates since January 2020 (or January 2023, in the case of the Extended Security Updates program). 

The “it’s old, but it works” attitude is a massive threat to cybersecurity, especially in healthcare. Eventually, you have to part with some money for upgrades and new computers. Recycle old junk.

2. Phishing Attacks Are Getting More Sophisticated

The worst part is that attacks are getting smarter, but people remain the same. One of the main threats to healthcare cybersecurity is the human factor. 

Even after graduation, doctors must continue learning about new threats, cures, and practices. Sadly, the same approach is not as common in cybersecurity in healthcare. Every healthcare worker who has access to patients’ confidential information can become a potential intermediary for a data breach. Lack of security awareness, understaffing, and budget cuts are the weak points that ensure the success of hacker attacks.

Hackers constantly improve their methods and use new technologies. One of the most recent examples is using artificial intelligence to enhance their tools. For example, it can easily create compelling texts for phishing and other scams. Modern AI chatbots lack many basic security kill switches. The lack of control over AI and its potential use to assist criminal activities has raised much concern. It was expressed in the recent open letter signed by prominent digital technology scientists and entrepreneurs. 

3. The Growing Scale of Botnets and Ransomware

Modern botnets amass enough technical capabilities to execute DDoS attacks. Besides, botnets distribute malware that leads to data breaches and further expands them. 

During the COVID pandemic, massive hacker attacks targeted research facilities, vaccine manufacturers, hospitals, and even the World Health Organization and the HHS. Some of those attacks were successful and led to drastic results. Data was stolen or lost, surgeries were postponed, hospital operations were compromised, and many lives were endangered. 

According to the IC3 report, in 2022, Healthcare and Public Health infrastructure was the primary victim of ransomware. Another FBI report highlights massive attacks on healthcare payment processors in the same year. There is enough evidence to believe that the situation will remain grim with a slim chance of improvement.

How to Overcome the Main Challenges in Healthcare Cybersecurity?

Is there anything we can do about healthcare cybersecurity challenges? Yes, but the necessary measures require a lot of money and effort. 

Upgrade Equipment

Even if your old computers and servers are still in operating state, it does not mean they remain effective. At some point, equipment is no longer able to meet the growing requirements of security software. Get hardware that supports modern security protocols, encryption methods, etc. Not only will you reach a higher level of security, but also you will get a much more energy-effective infrastructure. This way, a higher performance-per-Watt ratio of modern equipment will save you money, so you will be able to improve your business, including its security, even further. 

Update Software

The same principle applies to software products implemented in healthcare computer systems. Old versions of anti-viruses, firewalls, antimalware, and other security solutions are usually discontinued and no longer updated by their creators. In fact, this leads to one of the most common and dangerous cybersecurity threats in healthcare. You have the illusion of being protected, but your systems have no real protection because old security software cannot deal with modern types of attacks. Buy new licenses and enforce automatic updates. No product is perfect, so let developers patch their software.

Train Staff

Employees have to learn how to handle new hardware and software. But they must also learn how to detect and ward off potential threats. Minimizing the impact of a human factor is essential for fighting cybercrime. These days, learning “digital hygiene” is as essential as learning basic health and safety rules. Trained personnel who know how to avoid and respond to most common computer-related threats, such as unsafe passwords or phishing emails, are vital not only to healthcare cybersecurity but to all industries that have integrated digital technologies into their workflows. 

Implement Constant Security Monitoring and Regular Checkups

Usually, modern healthcare institutions have a complex computer infrastructure with dozens of workstations and at least one server located on-site or in the cloud. These numbers may vary for small clinics or large hospitals, but the essence remains the same: a computer system with all its components requires a lot of setup and maintenance to remain fully functional and secure. Depending on the scale, you will need one or a few system administrators and digital security specialists to monitor and protect your computer network. They should also select the best-fit antivirus, data backup, and system monitor software for your business based on your system specifications and other key factors.

Enforce Multi-Factor Authentication

Various levels of access, permission rules, and authentication are the staples of digital safety, including healthcare cybersecurity. They are crucial for remote operations but are also essential for on-site work. Multi-factor authentication is a relatively simple but effective defense mechanism. Do not neglect it. Restricting access to your computer network from outside is another commonly used method of securing data. Also, assigning different access levels to workers depending on their positions and duties in a company is an excellent measure that has proven its effectiveness in preventing data loss and other security threats.

Enable Encryption of Confidential Data

Patients’ files and login credentials are often kept in plain text form. Avoid it. You should implement encryption protocols to secure data during storage and communication. This way, even if hackers manage to steal information, it will be nearly impossible to decrypt it in the foreseeable future, even with state-of-the-art tools. Even if hackers have the determination and resources to crack properly protected information, it will likely become outdated and worthless by that time.

Adjust Network Infrastructure

Adopt the modular structure to minimize the losses. When one compartment is compromised in a submarine, it is shut off, but the boat remains operational. The same principle may be adjusted to a computer network in a healthcare institution. If one module or segment fails, the rest must keep working. This approach ensures the uninterrupted operation of computer systems in emergency situations, which is vital for healthcare cybersecurity.

Hire Professionals

This is the crucial step that ensures the effectiveness of all the aforementioned steps. You need the experience and skills of professionals to deal with the current and future healthcare cybersecurity challenges. That’s why you should hire a team of experts who will consult you, analyze your needs, develop an efficient healthcare cybersecurity solution, and integrate it seamlessly into your business infrastructure. 

For example, Intellectsoft has a team of skilled specialists experienced in creating and implementing advanced healthcare IT solutions. We can provide you with a full range of consulting and software development services to protect your business against cybersecurity threats in healthcare. 

The list can go on and on. Those steps are just the basics. Cybercriminals are raking in billions of dollars every year, so they will not give up any time soon. It’s up to us to protect our private information and defend critical infrastructure. And since most attacks are focused on the healthcare sector, it needs extra defensive measures and fast. 

Conclusion

Only three healthcare cybersecurity challenges in 2023 may seem like not much, but any of them can cause irreversible damage to medical institutions, their medical staff, and, most important – patients. The growing scale of ransomware and botnets, together with AI-empowered and more sophisticated phishing schemes, require extra effort and quality from your entire digital infrastructure. Outdated legacy systems are more fragile compared to modern ones with blockchain-driven and microservice-based architecture. This is why your upgraded equipment should go hand-in-hand with updated healthcare software.

To make sure these cybersecurity challenges won’t interfere with your business and your patients, you need to make sure that all specialists creating or upgrading your software are reliable professionals.

Being a software development provider since 2007, we have built from scratch and upgraded dozens of healthcare systems and ecosystems of different types and complexity – MVP, ERP, CRM, patient portals, and many others. As a company with 15+ years of solid experience in the field of providing digital solutions for businesses, from startups to enterprises, we understand the importance of solid healthcare cybersecurity and the intensity of the consequences a minor data breach may cause to the client’s reputation. 

We guarantee the highest quality of every finished project, and the fact that we have many recurring clients supports this statement. So, if you’re looking for a reliable team of professionals who will help you eliminate or overcome healthcare cybersecurity challenges, you’ve found it. Just get in touch with us and tell us what your business needs so that we can offer you the most effective and secure solution.

FAQ

I own a small clinic. Why should I spend my budget on cybersecurity?

If you want to avoid data leaks and subsequent lawsuits and fines, we recommend implementing at least a set of basic healthcare cybersecurity measures. Some hackers prefer attacking small companies because they are much easier targets than huge enterprises. And don’t forget that even the smallest healthcare business should follow the legal regulations regarding personal data. In other words, to run a business in the healthcare industry, it must be HIPAA-compliant in the USA, GDPR-compliant in the EU, PIPEDA-compliant in Canada, and so on. 

How to improve cybersecurity in healthcare in a cost-efficient manner?

It depends on the size of your business and how lucrative your data may be for hackers. If you are a small healthcare service provider, start with a basic set of measures to fend off the most common types of attacks. Then build up your security as your profits grow, and you have more budget to spend. This approach will allow you to create an all-around defense and then enhance it by implementing more advanced solutions.

There are too many steps to overcome security challenges. Which one is the most effective?

All of them are effective in combination. If you implement a single step from the list, it won’t be enough. The key to effective healthcare cybersecurity is to integrate all those steps in your business and make them work in unison. For this, you will need a team to analyze your business, design and build a software solution, implement it, and, optionally, perform post-release maintenance and staff training.

OK, I want to implement a healthcare cybersecurity solution in my healthcare business. How do I start?

You should start by contacting our managers. Here, at Intellectsoft, our experienced specialists will consult you, analyze your business, and suggest a custom software solution. When you discuss and finalize all the details, our development team will design, build, test, and deliver the final product with comprehensive documentation.

The post Cybersecurity Challenges in Healthcare Industry appeared first on Intellectsoft Blog.

Healthcare is one of the oldest and most influential industries in the history of mankind. Due to its importance, many technological advances have been designed or adapted for this field. New technologies in software development are no exception. Here are a few popular types of medical software.  

Electronic Health Records (EHR)

EHR is currently the most widespread type of software used in hospitals around the world. It is an efficient modern alternative to hand-written charts that allows hospitals to store information in a more organized and secure way. Digital records can be shared across several healthcare providers, which is extremely convenient. 

The main advantage of digital health records is the reduced paperwork and easy transfer of data across different medical institutions. Patients do not have to fill in the same information in a paper form whenever they come to a new clinic that belongs to the same healthcare provider network. Electronic health records are also potentially more secure in terms of protecting confidential data, especially in comparison with hand-written paper charts. This is ensured by government-enforced regulations, such as HIPAA compliance, as well as advanced digital security technologies.  

EHR is helpful in the case of an emergency when a patient is unresponsive and doctors cannot obtain information directly from them. In such situations, medical staff can use accessible information on a patient’s ID to try and retrieve their health records, including medical history, known allergies, and so on. 

Electronic Health Records, especially when they are implemented with the help of blockchain technologies, greatly improve the safety and security of patients’ data. This type of medical software prevents data tampering and allows using encryption and backup means for additional protection of confidential information. 

Another important benefit of EHR is that they allow further processing of digital information, for example, for scientific research or statistics purposes. This process takes place with patients’ consent, and data is depersonalized and analyzed in bulk.

Telemedicine Software

Telemedicine uses computer networks to arrange communication between patients and doctors. Traditionally, it was implemented in the form of email communication and phone calls. These days, thanks to digital technologies, patients and doctors use web or mobile apps to have online consultations as text, audio, or video chats. The communication is usually encrypted to maintain confidentiality.

The increasing demand, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, spurred a great growth of web and mobile applications for telemedicine. There are many situations where patients cannot visit doctors and vice versa. Video conferences held with the help of appropriate software proved to be an effective solution to this problem.

Doctor appointment scheduling software is often considered a part of telemedicine. It may be a separate app or a module integrated into a complex management system. In any form, it allows users to choose a doctor and schedule an appointment without visiting a clinic. More often, such applications also have additional functionality, such as billing and video conferencing. Telemedicine applications also allow patients to attach their test results or other relevant files to their chats with doctors. 

Some telemedicine apps combine features of social networks and marketplaces. For example, they may contain doctors’ biographies, their specializations, awards, descriptions of expertise, and other career highlights. Such showcases allow patients to make a better-informed decision on choosing a particular medical specialist. 

As a rule, a telemedicine software product comprises at least two apps – for doctors and clinics, and for patients. These apps have different functionalities and access permissions but are connected to a common data platform. This way, doctors have a clear view of their schedules, and hospital management staff observe the workload of every individual doctor and department. In their turn, hospital clients are allowed to see only free spots and the part of the schedule related to them. Patients and doctors receive notifications to remind them of planned appointments or any other relevant information.

E-prescriptions Software

Electronic prescriptions are another attempt to reduce paperwork and introduce the benefits of digital documentation, similar to electronic health records. This type of software allows improved control over the process of prescribing and obtaining medicine, making it much more difficult to forge receipts. 

In some cases, e-prescription software allows patients to order the required medicine online. It improves convenience for people with low mobility and other conditions that make it difficult for them to go to a pharmacy.

Hospital Management Systems (HMS)

Hospital management systems are large software suites that usually comprise several modules with different features and levels of access. Often, they are used as core frameworks that integrate various types of software mentioned in this article into one infrastructure. In such cases, an HMS may contain: 

• EHR database;
• Appointment scheduling module;
• E-prescriptions;
• Integrated CRM system.

In some implementations, a hospital management system offers essential functions for hospital administration. These functions are usually aimed at automating routine processes, such as patient room management, inventory tracking, billing and accounting, operating room scheduling, and many others.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software for Medical Institutions

CRM software is often used in clinics to optimize their communication with patients. This way, clinics may gather, store, and analyze information about their clients in an effective automated way. As a result, patients get personalized services and a better customer experience.

Usually, CRM systems interact with electronic health records since they both deal with the same information. Using this data, CRM software can provide automatic notifications to clients using their email addresses or phone numbers. Overall, the purpose of CRM is to improve customer satisfaction and streamline mundane processes. 

Health Tracking Software

This type of software gained popularity thanks to the various types of smart devices. Health tracking involves measuring vitals or other health-related characteristics of a person using a range of electronic devices. They include various wearables, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches. 

Health tracking software is commonly used for monitoring blood pressure, oxygen saturation, heart rate, glucose level, and other health indicators. Such applications are usually installed on smartphones or tablets and provide convenient notifications whenever the user’s attention is required. Overall, they offer quality-of-life improvements for people with such conditions as diabetes or asthma, as well as post-op patients and elderly people.

Keeping track of glucose and calorie consumption is essential for many patients who must keep a strict diet. A combination of custom software and IoT technologies is very convenient for this purpose.

Medical Imaging Software

Medical imaging software takes signals from an MRI or CAT machine and converts them into a visual representation. Modern versions of such software implement AI and machine learning technologies for automatic analysis. Additionally, new imaging technologies create high-resolution images and 3D models that can be closely inspected by specialists. 

For example, this can reduce the chance of misdiagnosing and improve the accuracy and speed of diagnostics. The combination of medical imaging software and electronic health records allows doctors to visually track the progress of a disease by comparing several images taken at different stages of treatment. 

Additionally, imaging technologies can have other purposes in healthcare. For example, models created by medical imaging software may be converted into educational materials and used in medical training software. These models also help to improve tissue printing technologies, which are believed to be the nearest future of medicine.

Medical Research and Analytics Software

Large amounts of information regarding medical cases can be processed into a valuable source of scientific data. To do so, patient’s data is depersonalized and subjected to several stages of analysis and classification. After that, the obtained structured data is integrated into relevant databases. 

Such scientific databases also require specific management software to keep them organized and accessible for research. Database management software should perform duplicate removal, regular updating, and other maintenance procedures.

Medical Training Software

The newest digital technologies offer incredible opportunities for medical training. The use of virtual reality and augmented reality has revolutionized the approaches to education. Specialized software allows medical students to study highly detailed 3D models of organs and systems of a human body in a healthy state or afflicted with various diseases.

Virtual reality has found an impressive application in surgery training. Today, thanks to VR/AR equipment and software, medical students can practice their surgery skills in a simulated environment. 

Exercising and Rehabilitation Assistants

This type of software is especially useful in combination with health tracking and telemedicine applications. Many patients need guidance and motivation to exercise at home, for example, if they cannot go to rehabilitation centers for every session. This is the case for postoperative patients or people with different disorders that lead to obesity. 

Rehabilitation assistant software can contain different exercise programs developed by doctors for various health conditions. Additionally, such assistant apps may be adjusted for every patient individually by their consultant physician. The integration with smart devices allows patients and their doctors to track their progress and vitals during exercising. 

The psychological aspect of such apps is also highly important. Some people are shy by nature and dislike gyms or socializing in general. Others may feel uncomfortable in public because of their appearance, for instance, if they have scars or extra weight. Rehabilitation assistant software may become a life-changer for them, preventing patients from giving up and encouraging them to exercise. 

The Importance of Medical Software

There are many other types of healthcare software that did not make the list, such as robotic surgery software, medical billing software, and so on. The industry of healthcare has many challenges, and software developers are doing their best to provide effective solutions. Here are a few examples of how specialized software benefits doctors, patients, and healthcare institutions:

• Optimized hospital management processes
• Better customer experience for patients
• More secure handling of confidential information
• Convenient appointment scheduling
• Ability to consult with doctors using video calls
• More accurate diagnosing and reduced chance of human errors
• A whole new level of interactive medical training
• Quality-of-life improvements for patients with low mobility and other conditions

The advances in medicine and software development will definitely lead to new types of healthcare software. The existing types and applications will also improve to offer even more advantages and adapt to the changes in respective fields.

Conclusion

Due to the constantly rising demand, developers keep creating and improving various types of healthcare software. Their advantages are highly appreciated by hospital management, medical staff, and patients. 

At some point, every provider of medical services needs one or several customized applications to optimize and promote their business. These days, even small clinics require at least a CRM system and EHR software to offer a competitive level of service.

Intellectsoft specializes in providing customized IT solutions for healthcare. Our specialists have built significant expertise in this field and take a personalized approach to every case. Contact us and tell what medical software solution you want to create.

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