Tag Archives: artificial intelligence

Virtually Perfect

Some might believe that the COVID ‘19 pandemic was the harbinger of a heightened digital health wave, while others might believe that the pandemic simply hastened the process of its evolution and adoption. I, for one, stand by the latter. The Digital Health market size was around US$ 195.1 billion in 2021, and is estimated to substantially grow to around US$ 780.05 billion by 2030¹. The spending on digital healthcare solutions is estimated to reach US$ 244 billion by 2025². Digital Health companies have been slowly simmering, brewing, adapting, and growing, and have seized the market when the time was ripe. 

When the pandemic necessitated the need for mitigation amidst disruption and chaos, Health Technology companies were ready to offer mature plug and play solutions that made adoption seamless and imperative. Furthermore, several countries quickly recognized the need to alter privacy policies and data protection regulations to enable remote consultations and virtual health interventions³. This was propelled by the paucity of physical resources, and coupled with an alarming need for accessible, quality healthcare. But more importantly, there was a stark realization and label for a new type of care delivery that need not be in-person- virtually, virtual.

Objectively, virtual care could be segmented into care that makes you get better, and care that makes you stay better…alternatively, curative and preventive. While the former milked patient care during the need of the hour, the latter emerged a new, unsung hero; An unexploited solution to a global, age-old opportunity. Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services’ (CMS) intent to incentivize increased and improved care management could/can take swift flight upon the wings of software platforms like that of HealthViewX. Solutions like Remote Physiological Monitoring (RPM), Transitional Care Management (TCM), Chronic Care Management (CCM), amongst others, help care teams monitor, manage, and engage patients right from their homes. This in turn has shown to reduce costs and readmissions, mitigate risk, improve outcomes and increase  reimbursements⁴. A win-win-win!?

But, hold up! While all this sounds rosy and convenient, I have wondered whether there has/had been resistance in adoption amongst clinicians and patients…the end-users, ultimately. I stumbled upon an enlightening adapted strategy matrix in an article by Ande De. In a matrix outlining the degree of change behavior needed from clinicians, versus the degree of patients’ resistance to adopting new technology, TeleHealth, RPM and COVID screening, response and monitoring, emerged the most victorious with the least resistance from both stakeholders⁴. While cloud based web portals and health applications that record patient data were met with some resistance, it was a pleasant surprise to note that there were no digital health ‘failures,’ that were met with high resistance⁴. The data also shows that Artificial Intelligence (AI), Prescriptive and Predictive Analytics are here for the ‘long haul,’ being met with high resistance amongst clinicians and low resistance amongst patients⁴…all predictable, yet surprising at the same time!

While there could be several intuitive, understandable reasons for resistance, I’m compelled to boil it down to,

  1. Change Management:

    Willingness to embrace change and make the time to familiarize with change. Technological evolution brings up several unknowns, largely in terms of whom to involve, when and how. While internally developed digital health infrastructure might make these unknowns less murky, it is unlikely that health systems have the time, resources and bandwidth to constantly troubleshoot and upgrade. While this drawback is moot with third party digital health vendors, there arises challenges with seamless interoperability, integration and complete customization to the needs of the organization.
    Encouragingly, a growing number of companies like HealthViewX are attempting to address these issues at the grassroot level. The platform entails seamless integration with a home grown interoperability engine, and the ability to completely customize the platform.

  2. Liability:

    Fear of and risks associated with the unknown. Several clinicians may not be sufficiently trained in using digital tools, alongside issues with seamless integrations… thereby resulting in potential medical malpractices and associated legal claims. There are several open-ended concerns- are these malpractice claims attributed to the clinician, to the technology, or to those responsible for training⁵? Is there a clear, established, legal norm/protocol for how care via digital tools needs to be rendered and documented⁵? Most importantly, is confidential patient data safe and secure?
    In a survey conducted amongst 242 clinicians in Pakistan, 69% ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ with the sentiment that there is a lack of regulation to avoid medical malpractice. Only 29% believed that their medical indemnity would cover telehealth consultations⁵. Another study discovered that clinicians were less confident about prescribing controlled medications via TeleHealth.
    On the other side of the coin, studies have shown that several malpractices, misdiagnosis or errors could have been avoided with the intervention of AI and digital health. This is with the help of real-time alerts, diagnostic decision support, tracking, reporting, etc. Increasingly, laws have been restructured to exonerate AI/digital health in the face of mishaps, under several circumstances.

  3. Proof:

    A natural barrier to adoption in general is a lack of evidence based outcomes. The advent of Digital Health solutions might not be mature enough to present a historic laundry list of troubleshooting and adaptability to the constantly evolving needs of users. However, the more external digital health solutions are adopted by health entities, the more their counterparts have a track record to witness and to pine for.
    A valuable metric rests in the achievement of the Quadruple Aim, i.e., focusing on Population Health, enhancing the experiences of end-users, and of care providers/clinical staff, and reducing the per-capita cost of health care⁶. There are several intangible outcomes such as, provider burnout, time saved, patient outcomes, and patient satisfaction⁶. Externally developed tools also often provide case studies or scientific evidence displaying their meaningful outcomes.

  4. Access:

    While digital health has redefined care with a click of a button, socio-demographic barriers to access could result in health disparities and a digital divide. This could be segregated into a technological barrier (such as, lack of smart devices and internet connection, the prevalence of digital health in their region/community) and, a digital literacy barrier involving the ease of use of technology depending on age, literacy, income and tech-savviness, etc.
    While the digital divide can be narrowed by subsidizing the inherent cost of access, and perhaps by installing public access kiosks, ultimately, the utopian vision should be to extend beyond digital literacy to digital mastery and autonomy⁷. 

My presumptuous, yet sagacious retort to these four points is, Time. 

Time to be moved. Time to take the plunge. Time to embrace. Time to get and assess outcomes. Time to advance. Time to revolutionize. 

Time to become Virtually perfect. 

References:

  1. “Digital Health Market Size Will Attain USD 780.05 Billion by 2030 Growing at 16.1% CAGR – Exclusive Report by Facts & Factors,” February 2023, Facts and Factors, https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2023/02/01/2599148/0/en/Digital-Health-Market-Size-Will-Attain-USD-780-05-Billion-by-2030-Growing-at-16-1-CAGR-Exclusive-Report-by-Facts-Factors.html
  2. “The Use of Digital Healthcare Platforms During the COVID-19 Pandemic: the Consumer Perspective,” Alharbi. F, March 2021, PMC, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8116074/
  3. “Digital health and care in pandemic times: impact of COVID-19,” Peek. N, Sujan. M, Scott. P, 2020, BMJ Journals, https://informatics.bmj.com/content/27/1/e100166
  4. Degree of adoption diagram, “Five ways Digital Health Innovation will grow + evolve post pandemic,” Ande De, April 2020, Alteryx, https://www.alteryx.com/input/blog/5-ways-digital-health-innovation-will-grow-evolve-post-pandemic
  5. “Digital health technology-specific risks for medical malpractice liability” S. Rowland, E. Fitzgerald, et al, October 2022, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-022-00698-3
  6. “Assessing the impact of digital transformation of health services,” EXPERT PANEL ON EFFECTIVE WAYS OF INVESTING IN HEALTH , Barros, P et al, November 2018, https://health.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2019-11/022_digitaltransformation_en_0.pdf
  7. “The Digital Determinants Of Health: How To Narrow The Gap,” K. VIgilante, Feb 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/02/02/the-digital-determinants-of-health-how-to-narrow-the-gap/?sh=384def8c59ba

Patient Centricity as the Future of Digital Health Management

Digital health is an all-encompassing term that refers to the care provided through eHealth and mHealth through advances in computing sciences.

Challenges or Gaps in Traditional Care

Major technological challenges faced by the healthcare industry have got to do with data processing, cybersecurity, and providing a user-friendly experience. However, advancements in each of these fields have proven to be gainful, and will continue to do so. Our focus here has more to do with the user experience aspect of digital health management.

There are quite a number of digital health care providers, rather, platforms that avail services outside the traditional settings. Consider a regular appointment with the doctor; the patient is examined, tests are probably taken, the prognosis is given, medicines are prescribed, and the doctor sends them on their way after scheduling their next visit. What happens from then to the time of the next visit? Do patients remember to follow their diet plans? Or do they just revert back to their unhealthy lifestyle? The motive behind having health care is to have a better quality of life, and this means strictly following doctors’ instructions!

Where US Healthcare is headed

The most common complaint from American patients is that they have scheduling difficulties. Being in the digital era, and not utilizing resources to make life easier can be frustrating. Say that an appointment is scheduled, but the patient ends up spending less time than they expected. Not only are they dissatisfied, but so are doctors for not getting adequate time with their patients. Then comes the hassle of insurance and billing. Enough said! And this is just the patients’ side of things, there’s still a host of things that need to be managed in the providers’ front.

This is the decade where digital and technological advancements will make providing healthcare efficient, and digital health management is what care organizations need to be looking into. Thankfully, there are now provisions that don’t require patients to walk into a clinic, as this sometimes ends up in no-shows. The reason could be a lack of resources, or an inconvenience to commute, or even that the patient just doesn’t feel like it. It’s no surprise that even a no-show rate of 20% can cause significant revenue loss for healthcare systems.

Need for a Smart Comprehensive Platform

Since the essence of the matter at hand is primarily on the patient experience, here’s what they want. A one stop shop where everything is kept track of – vitals are monitored, real time stats are provided, diet plans are charted out. 97% of American adults now have smartphones, maybe even the wearables that go along with it. Many companies provide such services, few excel at it.

To go the extra mile, a smart, comprehensive platform is exactly what they need. Excellent customer service comes from customization, and personalized should digital health management be!

What can be achieved with a Digital Integrated Platform

Let’s say these amazing, user friendly features are all assembled and ready to go. There needs to be an objective behind each of these features, because, let’s face it, it needs to truly give results to last longer in a challenging market. More than 60% of the patient population require personalized care plans, and a significant portion wants to be able to consult with their provider digitally before going in-person. Pain points such as this need to be addressed.

With a digital integrated platform, providers can now enable that and more. Patients wouldn’t have to worry about not being able to contact their doctor, because with such a platform, there would be more access for all. They wouldn’t have to deal with managing their bills, because the platform would store such information, and all they have to do is view them when required. This platform would also be a digital blessing to providers, for they can manage their organization too. There would be data readily available for patient history, they wouldn’t have to wait until the physical records are brought to them.

On the administrative front, there would be a reduction in the time spent scheduling patients, searching for availability, and even they would be able to take breaks in between. Nurses spend 70% of their time in direct patient care, and with 12-hour shifts, it could be hard.

By transitioning into the digital health space, care organizations can expect better outcomes, higher satisfaction, and find that care management goals can be better regulated. From a monetary perspective, better care equals better profitability. It’s as simple as that, a win-win situation for all parties involved.

HealthViewX Digital Health Management

All said and done, this is where HealthViewX DHM platform comes in. What makes us a candidate worth collaborating with is we’re constantly engaged in providing the best digital experience. Enhancing your practice is just the beginning, so get started and schedule a demo!

Improving Patient Care Through Technology Orchestration

As healthcare shifts towards a more patient-centric approach, health providers across the world are looking for innovative ways to enhance the patient care journey. The infusion of software solutions into the healthcare industry has helped providers improve the overall patient experience. One of these solutions is Care Orchestration, a method that uses Information Technology (IT) to improve the care journey. Care Orchestration can be defined as the coordination of many complex computer systems, servers, and applications in a way that enhances the care journey. In a clinical setting, Orchestration allows for a simplification of patient workflows and an overall improvement in efficiency. Care Orchestration helps healthcare providers streamline their existing care journey by identifying and addressing their current inefficiencies. 

Care Orchestration and Value-Based Care

Care Orchestration is an instrumental asset for health systems that seek to adopt a value-based outlook. This system is a polar opposite from the traditional fee-for-service view as value-based care rewards health systems that can improve patient experiences and outcomes. Orchestration allows clinics to achieve this by streamlining the entire patient workflow. Patients are not met with any unwanted obstacles at any point in their care journey. The data processing efficiency of orchestration tools increases the speed at which physicians can treat and diagnose patients. 

Benefits of Orchestration in healthcare 

How Artificial Intelligence works with Orchestration

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become increasingly popular as a reliable solution for modern health tech issues. AI is well known for its operational efficiency thanks to its command of complex human attributes such as comprehension, interpretation, and analysis. It becomes quite evident that AI and Orchestration are similar concepts by reviewing their capabilities. In fact, many health systems employ a software system that uses AI and Orchestration together. The difference between these concepts lies in the scale of their abilities. AI is generally used for replacing human services by introducing automation for individual tasks. This is in contrast with Orchestration which generally involves coordination of complex, multi-step procedures. Using AI and Orchestration together results in an automated workflow that requires little human input. This partnership is extremely efficient due to the ability of AI to process millions of data points in a matter of seconds. Orchestration is also quite productive as it allows AI to automate over a series of procedures rather than just one action.

Benefits of Orchestration

The introduction of Orchestration into a clinical setting has brought many positive results for both care providers and patients. Here are some of the primary benefits: 

  • Smoother Care Journey: Having a straightforward care journey greatly benefits patients as their once tiresome and time-consuming clinical visits are now simple and convenient. By displaying command of complex methods, Orchestration ensures that there are no gaps in the care journey. Patients are expedited through the care journey in an efficient manner, enhancing the patient outcomes and improving the overall experience.
  • Increased Operational Efficiency: Care Orchestration helps health systems simplify their workflow processes while maximizing the available resources. Effective orchestration performs tasks such as data organization in a fraction of the time that humans would take. This means Clinical staff can perform their duties more effectively while also gaining the ability to spend more time with patients. 
  • Increased Profits: Another operational benefit of Orchestration is its ability to positively impact a clinic’s bottom line. The aforementioned efficiency allows clinics to expand their capacity and serve more patients. This allows for an increase in revenue without compromising on quality of care. Clinics are simultaneously able to lower their costs as orchestration prevents expensive rifts in operation such as referral leakage. 

Care Orchestration is extremely powerful with the potential to transform health systems across the country. The extensive multi-faceted approach in improving the experience of both patients and care providers separates orchestration from other IT solutions.

Talk to us to understand more about the advancements in the healthcare industry and we will guide you to achieve our common goal “Quality Care for All” seamlessly.

The Evolution Of The Health Tech: Positive Change Through Interoperable Solutions

The American Healthcare Industry has experienced many large-scale changes in the past few decades. This timeframe has afforded us many drastic reforms in the industry such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or the widespread shift towards Value-Based Care. However, the most noteworthy and significant change is the gradual adoption of software solutions into the healthcare industry. The digitization of healthcare has brought numerous benefits to healthcare organizations that are able to streamline their day-to-day operations. More importantly, these solutions have made life easier for care providers and patients by simplifying the delivery of care. In order for these complex systems to operate, they need to display competency in Interoperability. 

How Interoperability Ties It All Together

Interoperability in the context of healthcare refers to the use of many complex systems and information technology (IT) to exchange and interpret health-based data. As many software systems were designed for specific tasks, the transfer of data between different systems emerged as a significant challenge. Interoperability allowed for different computer systems that operate on different platforms to interact with each other. This gave health organizations the ability to employ multiple systems for their varying needs. At the foundational level, interoperability is present in roughly 75% of health systems in the US. The incorporation of more advanced levels allows organizations to expand the scale of their services.

How Technology is Combatting COVID-19

The COVID-19 Pandemic has proved to be a challenging obstacle for the healthcare industry. While the pandemic continues to test the industry’s existing abilities, the prevalence of computer systems currently in use have helped in the fight to control COVID-19. The use of virtual health services has skyrocketed since the outbreak as clinics across the country shift their focus to COVID-19. Patients are able to access health services like routine check-ups from their tablet or computer. The significance of this service is that it ensures patients with chronic conditions can receive medical services without the risk of being infected with COVID-19. It also helps clinics establish stable cash flow and make up for revenue shortfall due to the pandemic. 

Examples of Interoperable Health Tech Solutions:

Telehealth

Interoperable Health Tech Solutions

Telehealth involves the transfer of healthcare services through a telecommunications platform. While the primary use of telehealth is for virtual conferencing between patients and physicians, it is also used for monitoring and educating patients. The most popular form of telehealth is video conferencing where patients and physicians can perform most tasks required in a typical check-up. According to the American Hospital Organization (AHA), 3 out of every 4 hospitals offer some form of telehealth service. Telehealth has proven to be a valuable tool in the fight against COVID-19, while also eliminating long wait times and nonessential clinical visits. Telehealth must be interoperable with other platforms in order to share Electronic Health Records (EMR). Reviewing these records is crucial for physicians who are deciding the next course of action for a patient. 

Remote Patient Monitoring

Remote Physiological Monitoring (RPM) uses real-time technology to collect vital parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, weight, or any other relevant health-based measure. These devices are worn by patients to track the parameters of their health while simultaneously sending the results to a qualified health professional. This professional can analyze the information and intervene if there is any abnormal data. These gadgets have been extremely helpful for chronic care patients who can avoid the hassle of regular clinical visits. Clinics who effectively use these devices can significantly reduce the number of readmissions, which costs the industry over $41 billion a year. Interoperability is crucial in the RPM care delivery as data must be transferred from the patient’s device to the health system without any errors. 

Workflow and Referral Management

Remote Patient Monitoring

The goal of Workflow Management is to streamline the patient workflow by eliminating inefficiencies in the process. Tech solutions such as Smart Rooming help nurses room the patient and transfer the responsibility of care in a time-efficient manner. Referral Management is also an extremely crucial part of clinical operations. Referral Leakage, which occurs when a patient’s Referral loop is not closed, costs the industry millions of dollars a year. Interoperable platforms would transfer information from the physician to the specialist in a timely manner and without any gaps. 

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Primary Benefits of healthcare technology

While still extremely developmental in nature Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) provide a glimpse into the future of healthcare. AI and ML both use machines to perform human activities such as comprehension, interpretation, and analysis. Despite a limited role, they are both currently used for routine activities like streamlining workflows, patient education, diagnosis, and predictive analysis. AI/ML can help health tech innovators attain interoperability by assisting computer systems in receiving and analyzing data. 

Primary Benefits

The influx of interoperable systems has revolutionized the healthcare industry. Listed below are the main benefits of these solutions. 

 

  • Improved Patient Experience: One of the main focuses of these innovative software solutions was to improve the overall experience of patients. The introduction of Telehealth and RPM increases access to healthcare for all patients. Tools such as AI and ML are life-saving as they quickly and accurately diagnose conditions. 
  • Simplifying the Care Journey: In the traditional Care Journey, patients may have to spend an entire day in a clinic while physicians shuttle back and forth to tend to them. Software Solutions have streamlined this process by assisting clinics with scheduling, rooming, and diagnosis. Nurses, Physicians, and Clinical staff can allocate their time more efficiently, resulting in a smoother Care Journey for patients. 
  • Optimal Operational Efficiency: Health Organizations are able to maximize the use of their resources thanks to health tech solutions. Using tools like Referral Management and Care Orchestration allows organizations to streamline patient workflows. This helps them serve more patients without having to expand or increase costs. 

 

Increased Profit: Perhaps the greatest benefit for organizations is the ability to increase clinical profits. Efficient software solutions help organizations identify and eliminate inefficient practices. At the same time, solutions like RPM provide additional revenue streams for clinics with little additional cost. While Interoperable solutions may incur an initial cost, effective development and use of the product will have a positive impact in the long run.

Talk to us to understand more about the advancements in the healthcare industry and we will guide you to achieve our common goal “Quality Care for All” seamlessly.

Could AI Transform the Way Healthcare Operates?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) involves the use of machines to perform human activities such as comprehension, interpretation, and analysis. AI has been an emerging force in all computerized fields and has gained significant attention amongst health tech innovators in the past few years. While AI remains heavily experimental, the results have been extremely promising with regard to the future potential of AI-based procedures. The prospects of AI-related technology have the opportunity to transform the future of healthcare delivery. 

Current Status of AI in Healthcare

AI is still in the early stages of development in the health tech industry and it has yet to fully penetrate the market. However, AI investment is projected to grow from $600 million to $6.6 billion between 2014 and 2021, indicative of the large and growing demand for such services. AI is already used by many health systems for everyday activities such as streamlining workflows, patient education, diagnosis, and predictive analysis. Including these practices has helped clinics save millions of dollars and serve patients more efficiently. Thanks to the rapid growth of AI, the healthcare industry will experience an influx of innovative techniques to help solve modern healthcare problems. 

Machine Learning in Healthcare

Machine Learning (ML) is a method within AI in which machines are given the opportunity to learn through experience rather than constant programming. In essence, this trains machines to think like humans and learn from practical examples. Areas of healthcare where ML is already prevalent include data collection, diagnosis, and clinical trials. This method is being experimented in the health industry due to the abundance of data needed to make informed decisions. ML can allow computers to process millions of data points in just seconds, resulting in a faster and more efficient result. In the future, effective use of ML could hold the key to vaccine development and cancer treatment. One hurdle ML faces is that it would need large-scale testing in order to become readily available for use in all areas of healthcare. This is due to ML being rooted in experience-based learning rather than rigid programming. 

Precision Medicine

Precision Medicine involves diagnosis and treatment plans that are specialized to the individual patient. This method greatly differs from traditional diagnosis and treatment as it analyzes millions of relevant variables to produce a patient-specific care plan. AI/ML-based machines can analyze more variables than humans could in a fraction of the time. One intriguing aspect of this technique is Whole-Genome Sequencing, which involves the analysis and discovery of an individual’s entire DNA sequence. AI/ML makes this technique possible by simplifying an extremely complex process. Ultimately, a streamlined version of Precision Medicine can shift healthcare away from standardization and towards personalized care. Like many AI techniques, Precision Medicine is highly developmental and will likely require large financial investments. Additionally, this method is quite controversial as it is still unproven and involves information about patients’ DNA. 

Robotics

Robots are a clear example of how AI could be put into practice in the near future. Many large or high-budget clinics already employ the use of robotic machines. These instruments can carry out different tasks depending on their design. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, robots are being used to direct patients within a health facility to eliminate the risk of patient to care provider transmission. They have proven to be very effective in guiding patients when a human is unavailable. In a non-Pandemic context, robots would be useful in rural or undermanned health clinics, where similar situations could arise. Robotic AI machines could also be used for long term care patients who need daily monitoring and reminders related to their treatment. One area where Robotic-based AI can drastically reduce discrepancies in rural health accessibility is through Remote Treatment. Robotic devices could allow doctors to operate on patients without being physically present. The incorporation of Virtual/Augmented Reality devices could help with both clinical training as well as virtual appointments. The main obstacle associated with robots is that providers must make a significant financial commitment. This will subsequently make healthcare costlier for all parties involved, including patients and the Federal Government. 

AI and robotics in healthcare

Artificial Intelligence is opening the door for more efficient and accessible health care. The astronomical increase in AI investment proves the effectiveness of new developmental methods. If the industry is able to address the remaining financial obstacles, we can experience AI leading the healthcare industry into the future. 

Talk to us to understand more about the advancements in the healthcare industry and we will guide you to achieve our common goal “Quality Care for All” seamlessly.

How COVID-19 is changing the Healthcare Industry

The COVID-19 Pandemic has greatly challenged the existing capabilities of the Healthcare Industry. The rapid spread of the virus has brought the world to a standstill and has health leaders scrambling to find new approaches to healthcare. Despite the obstacles that have been thrust upon the industry, the prospect of technological advancement gives the healthcare industry an opportunity for accelerated growth.

Short-Term Impact of COVID-19

short term goal of healthcare during covid-19 pandemic

One of the main consequences of the Pandemic has been undermanned or under-equipped health staff. The intensity of the virus has left many clinics with less than the required resources to help COVID patients. Another related issue faced mainly by urban health clinics is Hospital Overcrowding. Non-COVID related patients will also see delays in their care journeys. The healthcare industry must also prepare for the following long-term impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Increasing Role of Virtual Health services

advancements of virtual healthcare services

The pandemic has revealed the importance of virtual health care services such as Telehealth and Remote Physiological Monitoring (RPM). The contagious nature of COVID-19 has forced many clinics to close their doors to non-COVID patients. Without virtual care technology, many patients with chronic or other severe conditions would lose access to essential healthcare. In addition, clinics would be losing a significant portion of their revenue. However, providers who utilize a virtual telemedicine platform are still able to connect with their patients. As of 2017, some form of Telemedicine platform is employed by over three-quarters of hospitals in the US. The pandemic will cause that number to increase while encouraging existing users of telehealth to make their platforms more extensive. 

Eliminating the Traditional Care Journey

Eliminating the Traditional Care Journey

The emergence of telemedicine has allowed for the virtual exchange of high-quality health services. By using virtual technology, physicians are able to provide check-ups, patient education, and care plans. Patients can access these services from the comfort of their homes. This new development due to the pandemic has brought into question the future of traditional clinical visits. Hassle-free telemedicine solutions have exposed the inefficiencies of conventional care journeys. Previously, patients might waste an entire day for a simple check-up due to long wait times and large clinical facilities. In the end, they may not even receive conclusive treatment if they are referred to another practice. These inefficiencies contribute to a high patient no-show rate, which costs the American healthcare industry over $150 billion/year. Convenient telemedicine platforms remind patients ahead of their appointments and provide them with effective and timely care. 

Altering the future of Value-Based Care

future of Value-Based Health Care Services

While the “Value-Based Care” movement has been gaining momentum for a few decades, the COVID-19 pandemic might slow down the shift. The decrease in elective surgeries and non-COVID related care has been financially crippling for many practices. While RPM and Telehealth reimbursement codes cover for some of these losses, clinics are still seeing a decline in revenue due to the pandemic. The deal-breaker for most clinics involves the financial risk involved in a Value-Based model. Many Value-Based contracts involve a great deal of downside risk, or potential financial shortcomings due to missed targets. This financial risk may have over half of Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) consider abandoning this model. This may also encourage current fee-for-service providers to avoid adopting a Value-Based platform in the future. In order to mitigate a large-scale exodus from the Value-Based scheme, the CMS could subsidize providers by removing downside risk clauses for the near future.  

Accelerating the Adoption of Artificial Intelligence

Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a new solution for the current healthcare-related issues. AI involves the use of machines to perform human activities such as learning, interpreting, and analyzing. While AI in healthcare has not yet reached its full potential, investment in this field is expected to grow tenfold between 2014 and 2024. While AI systems are still in an early developmental stage, they are already used by many providers in areas such as diagnosis, patient education, and predictive analysis. 

Robotic machines are an example of how AI could be put into action in a healthcare setting in the near future. These systems could carry out tasks like patient engagement, or even remote surgery. When dealing with infectious diseases like COVID-19, AI based robots could eliminate unnecessary human interactions, thus decreasing the risk of transmission. When used for diagnosis and treatment, these machines are significantly more accurate than existing technology. In the long run, AI could lead the way for virtual/augmented reality to make its way into mainstream healthcare. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a watershed event in the history of medical care. While the industry continues to face immense challenges, greater opportunities for growth lay ahead.

Talk to us to understand how HealthViewX is transforming the Care Journey for both patients and providers!