This Year in Healthcare IT
Professionals in the healthcare industry sometimes have a hard time adopting technology that makes their lives easier. However, with all of the advances in healthcare technology, it’s more important than ever that medical professionals learn both the skills of their trade and the ability to manage healthcare IT that makes their jobs easier and more accurate.
There are so many opportunities for healthcare and technology to overlap that it’s hard to anticipate what will happen in the coming year. How will advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) influence treatment like surgeries and diagnosis? Will large scale facilities rollout cloud adoption? What will happen to data security and management?
This article will survey the outlook for healthcare information technology as we move further into 2019 and how it will impact the value-based care you as a medical professional strive to offer.
Hospital executives are convinced that AI in healthcare will help them improve their bottom line. In fact, 75% of healthcare organizations are planning to adopt an AI strategy this year. Forbes expects healthcare AI to surpass $1.7 billion and lead to a 10-15% increase in productivity.
Healthcare based AI is dedicated to improving existing processes, combating medical waste, preventing fraud and abuse, and maximizing the impact of wearable devices and how IoT influences medical care. Survey respondents are also hoping that AI will improve their diagnostic capabilities as well as increase overall workflow efficiency.
One successful application of AI in healthcare is the Google Brain learning to detect diabetic eye disease. Through a rigorous learning process, the algorithm was able to predict this disease simply by looking at photographs of eyes.
Cybersecurity is the biggest concern for healthcare executives this year. Any potential HIPAA violation could result in an expensive lawsuit, so it makes sense that healthcare executives would want to make cybersecurity their top priority.
Data security and protecting healthcare information is vital to help clinics keep HIPAA regulations and continue providing stellar care for their patients. Unprotected IoT devices connect to larger IT networks, which is where the expected 300,000 cyberattacks in 2019 are most likely to occur.
Hospitals have used Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology for decades to help improve worker productivity and increase the number of patients they can treat on a regular basis. This year, healthcare IT will continue putting EHR in the cloud and utilize SaaS mobile apps to do so.
HIPAA compliance has been one of the most difficult obstacles to implementing a cloud-based EHR. Improved cybersecurity measures are making it easier than eeverto maintain HIPAA compliance while allowing for more regular doctor and patient communication.
Cloud based EHRs also make medical asset tracking easier to implement and maintain. Healthcare enterprises will increasingly turn to cloud-based software to track medical inventory and solve other logistical issues. These issues include managing staff schedules and room for patient treatment.
Originally created for Bitcoin, blockchain is a new way to manage data and transactions. Blockchain is a shared and constantly re-evaluated database that everyone on the network can access. Hospitals and clinics need a reliable way to track patient care data, and blockchain might be the answer.
Applied in the healthcare industry, blockchain can help healthcare providers manage patient data, track assets through a supply chain structure, and utilize the efforts of everyone working at the facility. Forbes expects that 5-10% of healthcare enterprise focused blockchain applications will be available this year.
Right now, much of the healthcare industry is focused on cost-effectiveness. The healthcare industry’s willingness to adopt more IT solutions is making it possible to switch its focus from saving costs to creating a more value-based model.
Forbes anticipates 15% of healthcare spending across the world will be in creating or investing in value and outcome-based care. The majority of this spending will come from more economically stable countries, such as the US, Canada, Sweden, and more.
Because of this widespread adoption of new devices and applications, IT departments will experience greater strain and responsibility. As tech adoption increases, professionals who can support these new features will need to work in medical facilities to keep everything running smoothly.
IT departments can catalog new devices with ease by implementing an asset tracking solution customized to their unique situation. This software will provide them with a streamlined way to manage all of the technologies their company adopts as they are implemented.
There are so many opportunities for healthcare and technology to overlap that it’s hard to anticipate what will happen in the coming year. How will advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) influence treatment like surgeries and diagnosis? Will large scale facilities rollout cloud adoption? What will happen to data security and management?
This article will survey the outlook for healthcare information technology as we move further into 2019 and how it will impact the value-based care you as a medical professional strive to offer.
AI Applications
Hospital executives are convinced that AI in healthcare will help them improve their bottom line. In fact, 75% of healthcare organizations are planning to adopt an AI strategy this year. Forbes expects healthcare AI to surpass $1.7 billion and lead to a 10-15% increase in productivity.
Healthcare based AI is dedicated to improving existing processes, combating medical waste, preventing fraud and abuse, and maximizing the impact of wearable devices and how IoT influences medical care. Survey respondents are also hoping that AI will improve their diagnostic capabilities as well as increase overall workflow efficiency.
One successful application of AI in healthcare is the Google Brain learning to detect diabetic eye disease. Through a rigorous learning process, the algorithm was able to predict this disease simply by looking at photographs of eyes.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is the biggest concern for healthcare executives this year. Any potential HIPAA violation could result in an expensive lawsuit, so it makes sense that healthcare executives would want to make cybersecurity their top priority.
Data security and protecting healthcare information is vital to help clinics keep HIPAA regulations and continue providing stellar care for their patients. Unprotected IoT devices connect to larger IT networks, which is where the expected 300,000 cyberattacks in 2019 are most likely to occur.
Cloud Adoption
Hospitals have used Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology for decades to help improve worker productivity and increase the number of patients they can treat on a regular basis. This year, healthcare IT will continue putting EHR in the cloud and utilize SaaS mobile apps to do so.
HIPAA compliance has been one of the most difficult obstacles to implementing a cloud-based EHR. Improved cybersecurity measures are making it easier than eeverto maintain HIPAA compliance while allowing for more regular doctor and patient communication.
Cloud based EHRs also make medical asset tracking easier to implement and maintain. Healthcare enterprises will increasingly turn to cloud-based software to track medical inventory and solve other logistical issues. These issues include managing staff schedules and room for patient treatment.
Blockchain
Originally created for Bitcoin, blockchain is a new way to manage data and transactions. Blockchain is a shared and constantly re-evaluated database that everyone on the network can access. Hospitals and clinics need a reliable way to track patient care data, and blockchain might be the answer.
Applied in the healthcare industry, blockchain can help healthcare providers manage patient data, track assets through a supply chain structure, and utilize the efforts of everyone working at the facility. Forbes expects that 5-10% of healthcare enterprise focused blockchain applications will be available this year.
Value-Based Care
Right now, much of the healthcare industry is focused on cost-effectiveness. The healthcare industry’s willingness to adopt more IT solutions is making it possible to switch its focus from saving costs to creating a more value-based model.
Forbes anticipates 15% of healthcare spending across the world will be in creating or investing in value and outcome-based care. The majority of this spending will come from more economically stable countries, such as the US, Canada, Sweden, and more.
IT Will Be Busy
Because of this widespread adoption of new devices and applications, IT departments will experience greater strain and responsibility. As tech adoption increases, professionals who can support these new features will need to work in medical facilities to keep everything running smoothly.
IT departments can catalog new devices with ease by implementing an asset tracking solution customized to their unique situation. This software will provide them with a streamlined way to manage all of the technologies their company adopts as they are implemented.
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