Automation in Healthcare: Biggest Trends of 2020

Automation in healthcare is helping to reduce the rising costs of the health industry, costs which are putting a heavy strain on an already overburdened system.

Healthcare spending in the U.S. was roughly $11,000 per patient in 2017, and that number is predicted to rise to an unprecedented $17,000 per person by 2027

What’s fueling the climbing cost of healthcare?

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), factors such as a growing and aging population, service price and intensity, increased usage of medical services, and disease prevalence are all contributing to the acceleration of these costs.

How Automation in Healthcare Can Support the Industry

Fortunately, deploying digital initiatives in the healthcare workplace can take some of the burden off of healthcare providers and related businesses by making both subtle and overt improvements in the way business is conducted.

For example, poor patient communication can result in substandard experiences and suboptimal outcomes that combine to produce a decline in revenue.

Digital strategies and automation in healthcare can keep patients and doctors on the same page for improved patient experiences.

Digital strategies can also assist in one of the most critical aspects of the modern healthcare operation—the securing and protection of private and sensitive patient data

Keeping systems protected from cyberthreats not only protects the healthcare provider from ransomware and other financial losses but establishes an environment of trust between the provider and patient.

Now let’s look at some of the other areas where digital transformation is assisting the healthcare industry in taking the next steps toward better care and increased profitability.

1. Healthcare on Demand and Increase of Telemedicine

On-demand healthcare, from doctors that make house calls to appointments conducted via video teleconferencing, is continuing to increase.

Telehealth provides improved access, cost efficiencies, and improved quality—not to mention the increasing consumer demand for these services.

Digital strategies that underpin telehealth can assist providers in reducing readmission rates, preventing adverse health events, making better—and safer—prescription decisions, and introduce a host of other positive benefits.

2. Using Big Data and Analytics to Improve Outcomes

Healthcare, by its very nature, accumulates vast swaths of data that can be used for the beneficial analysis of critical areas to foster growth and improvement.

For example, data can underscore patient and physician behaviors to develop highly personal care programs and help steer business decisions using the information on patient outcomes, satisfaction, and hospital growth patterns.

In other areas, big data can help streamline treatments and reduce errors.

The Network for Excellence in Health Innovation stated that 7 million people in the U.S. are affected by prescription errors annually, resulting in 7,000 deaths and costing associated healthcare organizations about $21 billion per year

Leveraging the power of data can have a significant impact on reducing the errors that contribute to these less-than-optimal outcomes.

3. The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Healthcare Environment

AI is allowing healthcare organizations to corral unstructured data and use it to produce better staff and patient experiences across the board.

Today’s analytics can take digital images down to pixel level to help identify infinitesimal changes not obvious to the human eye—resulting in faster, more accurate diagnoses.

Smart devices are similarly poised to reduce the number and severity of complications by identifying deterioration while it’s still in the latent stage to head off progression.

AI can also be used to predict risk without the drawbacks of hidden biases.

AI deployed using ethical guidelines can serve as an unbiased way to handle sensitive patient information, provide accountability, and formulate deeper-reaching care plans and diagnostics.

4. Protecting Sensitive Data with Blockchain

Security is crucial for the healthcare industry, but it’s also rife with bureaucracy, which can slow down the transfer of data and impede the swift resolution of health issues.

Blockchain can provide the fast transferability alongside stricter and more reliable security to accelerate predictive care and management of cases in a protected environment.

This seamless exchange of data can be made with reduced cost and increased safety owing to advanced cryptography and real-time request processing inherent in the blockchain process.

5. How Digital Strategies Can Help Prevent Physician Burnout

Physician burnout is real—and it costs the healthcare industry somewhere between $2.6 and $6.3 billion dollars annually due to reduced productivity and staff turnover, among other related issues

Automation in healthcare can help transform this area of the industry by reducing paper charts and records to alleviate workload, connecting and increasing interoperability across systems for faster record transfer and easier information access, and using accumulated data to assist in directing diagnoses and ongoing care plans.

Takeaways

• The rising costs of providing healthcare are putting a massive strain on an already overburdened system. In fact, healthcare spending in the U.S. is predicted to rise to an unprecedented $17,000 per person by 2027.
• JAMA indicates that factors such as a growing and aging population, service price and intensity, increased usage of medical services, and disease prevalence are all contributing to the acceleration of these costs.
• Fortunately, leveraging automation in healthcare can take some of the burden off providers and related businesses by making both subtle and overt improvements in the way business is conducted.
• Providers can realize several benefits from digital strategies such as AI, blockchain, telehealth, and other automated processes. These can improve patient experience and outcome, increase data security, and help reduce staff burnout.

Learn More About What Automation Means for the Future

Robotic process automation helps companies achieve and maintain a competitive advantage in their industry. Through leveraging the tools available, which increase staff productivity and decrease costs—companies can enjoy higher operating capacity while delivering superior customer experience.

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