Category: Healthcare

What better place than Hollywood to see some “futuristic technology” in action, right? I’m talking about the hit science fiction series by James Cameron, “Terminator”! How many of you remember “Skynet”, the global intelligence machine that set out to destroy all of mankind in Terminator?
I’m sure none of you would have missed watching that evil machine with sensors everywhere, sending out terminators on its quest to destroy humankind.
The fact to be noted here is not that Skynet is an evil machine, but the level of technological advancement brought into light. We are more interested in the rich, sensor-driven network portrayed in the movie and what it could do. The Internet of Things (IoT)! Something that we’ve all been hearing about for quite some time now.
Now imagine having that kind of a network in our healthcare industry. The one industry that we all rely on, for our well being at all times in life. Imagine having that kind of sync and connectivity among all devices and people in a healthcare organization! We‘re talking about the Internet of Things working to save the lives of millions of people.
According to a report released last year by Swiss research firm, Soreon Research, by 2020 connected wearable devices alone could be able to save an estimated 1.3 million lives. Another report from MarketResearch.com says that by 2020, the IoT market value in healthcare will be close to $117 billion.

As exciting as that sounds, it is also likely to bring with it a huge revolution for the industry. And the good news is that, it’s here finally and it’s here to stay. Revolution is just around the corner and it’s time for healthcare organizations to gear up to facilitate the change.
Advocates of IoT say that it will make treatments much smarter and better suited to the needs of each individual patient and will also eliminate medical errors. It is also expected to change the way that severe and costly conditions, like heart diseases and diabetes are treated.

Now the real question is, how should healthcare organizations prepare and plan for such technology oriented future? Especially when concerns related to cybersecurity still remain.

Bill Betten, Principal at Sysgineering Solutions, who has also worked for firms like Nonin Medical, Logic PD and 3 PM says, “ One should definitely take advantage of the connectivity by building it in; it is hard to add it in after the fact. But I would encourage device companies to have a conversation around the strategy for incorporating into the future product offering.”

According to Betten, there are some things that could help organizations prepare for the future.

1. Looking back – According to Betten, a historical perspective can go a long way. He says, “I would argue that a lot of medical connectivity started in the late 80s and 90s. Looking back to this time period can give useful perspective in understanding what is happening in with IoT in healthcare.”
   Back then there was always the urge to digitize radiology-based imaging, but there were obviously technological and standard based obstructions for it. But in the later 90s, there were several manufacturers that came up with several methods for the same purpose and in 1997, the New York Times finally declared that digital x-ray systems were beginning to replace film-based x-rays. This was because of the DICOM standard, which evolved from the ACR/NEMA 300 standard finalized in 1985. Before the standard, all radiology images used to be disconnected. But with DICOM, images could be shared worldwide, they could be duplicated and machines from different manufactures could communicate. Other devices, such as blood pressure cuffs and oximeters, have also been advanced because of such support from the standards.
   Hence, Betten says that the first lesson of the IoT is interoperability.
2. Value proposition – Betten feels that there is definitely a need to study the value proposition of integrating IoT into medical devices and also the entire IoT healthcare landscape, to understand how much money is being spent on using the technology for different applications. There is a need to determine the exact utility of using the technology and not just the benefits.
   Although there is a lack of sufficient data supporting this fact, the most money is likely to be spent on taking care of the chronically ill. Forbes in January of 2013 had stated that 5% of the sick population is responsible for 50% health care costs. Betten feels that utilizing the IoT to bring down these figures and make the treatment of chronic diseases much more effective and efficient could be a possible investment.
3. Questions – As with any technology, there may be a dozen promises on the benefits of using it, but there is a need to consider the physical, social, economic and political environments as well before going ahead. When EMRs came, they had the promise of an annual savings of $81 billion annually, but in reality, they actually failed to bring down the healthcare costs. It was not a technological problem though.
   Any technology like the IoT, as well as, the EMR may have great potential, but the fact remains that they may not be able to deliver the said promises because of other factors like the ones mentioned above.
   The strategy needs to be thought out well and hard before deploying any solutions, considering all possible factors that can influence productivity and efficiency.

Security concerns also need to be addressed, as these days, along with the growth of technology is also the growth of ways to break in. Financial institutions are looking for advanced ways to protect the customer’s money and so are hackers for utilizing identity theft to steal important data. Medical-related data always forms a huge part of such important confidential information as they can lead to Social Security Numbers and the like. Hence, it is extremely important to use high level security features with IoT.

“For the IoT to be meaningful, you need interoperability, security and a reason for putting it together. And a knack at coming up with good answers to tough questions.”-
Betten

Smart healthcare has been an emerging trend in the world of healthcare for quite some time now. It focuses on providing the knowledge and service capabilities of the best clinicians to patients irrespective of their geographic location.

Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a mobile health application for the diagnosis of melanoma. And it was found to be more accurate than an average clinician. Melanoma is found to be the fifth most common type of cancer in the United States and hence the application is significant for timely diagnosis and treatment. Especially in rural areas where specialized healthcare services are few and far.

Just like the melanoma app, there are many other mobile health applications which can influence human lives in a huge way. They are especially useful in cases of chronic diseases where continuous treatment is essential. They can provide patients with constant expert advice and support when most needed.

Some of the major reasons why mobile healthcare is so effective are:

• An Intelligent System: It uses specific algorithms and/or artificial intelligence to simulate the guidance and care of a clinician. It also makes use of data it captures to understand the health conditions of a patient. Thus, it is capable of providing corrective pieces of advice for a healthier lifestyle.
• With you always: According to several studies, most heart patients, after discharge made errors while using their prescribed drugs. Mobile healthcare solves such problems, as it constantly guides the patient.
• Convenience: It is available at the convenience of the patient. It eliminates the need for them to go visit their doctors often.
• Cost: It lowers the cost of overall healthcare as it helps to save on manpower costs.
• Control: It empowers the patients by allowing them to participate in their own treatment and fitness regimen and thereby gives them control over their own health.

Another major reason for mobile health’s popularity is a concern for the future of all healthcare systems in the US. From another survey conducted by the PwC, it was assessed that in 1980, there was an average of 10 patients for every healthcare worker and only around 8% of the GDP was spent on healthcare. But by 2020, the US will be spending over 20% of the GDP on healthcare and will have a shortage of 800,000 persons in doctors and nurses. This will bring the productivity of the entire healthcare system down to unimaginable low. However, the use of smart healthcare tools and applications, through mobile healthcare, will provide the necessary support and bring up the efficiency levels even in such a state.

Smart healthcare is expected to grow further in the future globally. To facilitate smart healthcare, providers need to ensure that the adoption of mobile technology is possible. With the growth of the healthcare industry as a whole, it would become almost inevitable to use mobile technology to cater to the needs of every patient.

Sources: PwC, FDA

On the basis of several studies, it was assessed that nurses in hospitals spent up to one third of their time on documentation, whether on a spreadsheet or on paper. It was no wonder that hospitals went down on their efficiency, after a certain point when they grew in size. Someone had to bring about a change. That was when Electronic Medical Records (EMR) came into use.

The technological revolution in the healthcare industry came in the form of EMR. It serves the purpose of being an electronic or digital substitute for paper records of a patient maintained in a hospital. It can be accessed or managed by various staff within one healthcare organization.

7 Reasons why EMR was a hit

EMR has been one of the most effective contributions of technology in healthcare and this is not merely because it reduces paperwork in a hospital. It has the ability to improve the quality of care in a hospital. It in turn increases the efficiency of a hospital. Ultimately, it leads to improvement in the profitability of a hospital. So, as is evident, the benefits of an EMR system are manifold. Here are 7 such benefits that brought about the much needed change:

1. Centralized access to patient information – As all the medical information related to a patient are available in a single place, doctors have easier and faster access to the same. It helps in speeding up the processes of diagnosis and treatment. Moreover they are relieved from a load of paperwork. Put together, it increases the overall efficiency of the doctors.
2. Consistency of information – Compared to paper-based records, there are lesser chances of loss of data in the case of electronic records. It ensures that patient information or test results etc. are available when needed and that too, in any department.
3. Economic benefits – An EMR does need an initial investment of money, but health practitioners have reported to have saved money in the long run. Paper-based record keeping could actually cost a lot as it involves the expenses of transcriptions, physical storage and maintenance, staffing expenses to manage the charts etc. EMR helps to save on all these expenses as it is network-based.
4. Security of information – An individual patient’s records are protected in an EMR and are available only to authorized health practitioners. They stick to privacy regulations as well.
5. Advanced capabilities – An EMR system comes with advanced capabilities like e-prescribing and clinical documentation. It also has automatic alerts built-in, to track possible critical health conditions or such warnings. It aids in effective treatment.
6. Reliable tracking of history – It helps the doctors track data over a period of time easily. It also helps the patients keep track of their own medical records as well. It could be linked to their Personal Health Records.
7. Proactive functioning – An EMR system helps the doctors in being more proactive in their treatment and approach. This is because of the advanced capabilities along with real time effective communication. It enables doctors to do more than just treat.

On the whole, EMR is the solution to most of the challenges faced by the healthcare industry. It is indeed nothing short of a revolution. Nowadays, EMR is increasingly being used by many hospitals all over the world. This explains why a number of healthcare centers have become a lot more efficient. It is almost like the world was waiting for such a solution, to improve the healthcare industry as a whole.