Robotics, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and virtual reality reshape healthcare.
Despite it, Healthcare services providers face challenges that arise from the use of tech-driven innovations. In our today’s article, we’ll explore some of them and see how they can be mitigated.
1. Healthcare providers find it difficult to measure the impact of technology-enabled innovations in healthcare.
When healthcare professionals deliver tech-assisted care, time is saved per procedure and collection of electronic patient records. Another example is big data and analytics solutions. They ensure storage and analysis of medical data recorded that can be leveraged to identify a group of patients for certain medical interventions.
But what tangible impact do technology-driven innovations in healthcare have on patients’ health? Do they improve the overall efficiency of healthcare facilities? These are the issues that are left without any response in many cases.
“Patient cost and outcome data are rarely available, and when they are, they are not standardized or collected by an entirely digital system. This means that the data is not comparable between different health facilities and that it is difficult to consult”, says Joanne Castonguay, associate professor at the HEC Montreal Health Center.
Healthcare providers need to see the estimate of value creation from healthcare digital transformation technologies. They should see more use cases and analysis of their potential return on investment rather than just an increase in spending on technology. Such use cases do exist.
For instance, robotic-assisted surgeries. Inter alia, they
ü enhance the precision of percutaneous coronary interventions
ü improve circulation to the heart
ü reduce demands on the hospital staff
ü decrease radiation exposure during the procedure for both the groups.
Distalmotion, a Swiss start-up, has created a surgical robot backed up by McKinsey, trusted counsellor to many business worldwide. The concept of Dexter surgical robot was based on the assumption that today’s surgical robots place the surgeon at a console away from their patient. According to Marcus Heneen, McKinsey representative, this is not ideal and makes communication between surgeons and their operating-room teams complicated.
A lot of complexity and high costs are barriers that prevent healthcare facilities from robotic technology adoption. Remember about HIPAA compliance in development as well. When creating Dexter surgical robot, the developers received feedback from surgeons and nurses on issues like draping procedures, endoscope control, and the setup of imaging systems.
“We know from experience that human-robot interaction works best when technology caters to the social setting in which it is deployed,” says Marcus. “Surgery is not a purely mechanical task of making incisions and joining tissue. It’s a collaborative process between surgeons and their teams with a strong social component to it.”
This is also confirmed by the 2018 research by McKinsey revealing that patient-centric and clinician-centric design of medical devices is a key for developers to stand out from competitors.
Research from McKinsey Global Institute indicates 25 technology-enabled use cases, among them you can find
ü cognitive engagement platforms designed to improve wellness among all patient segments
ü automated analytics tools that enhance diagnosis by utilizing data aggregated across the population
ü AI-based assistance in patient diagnosis and routine administrative duties to enhance physician productivity, etc.
Cases could build more trust and confidence in technology if healthcare providers tangibly see how healthcare outcomes can be improved by leveraging digital innovations.
2. Healthcare providers do not understand what happens to the data transmitted by wearables and connected devices in the background.
Wearables and connected device related to healthcare can be divided into two large categories. One category includes wearables that have been equipped with health monitoring functionality like a smart watch. The other type is healthcare-related devices attached to a part of a human body to track meaningful information like vital signs.
When a wearable ECG monitor measures an electrocardiogram, detects atrial fibrillation and share the data for the doctor’s use, it saves time and money for a healthcare provider in terms of number of visits of patient by a nurse.
The question is «what happens to the data?». Technology should ensure the ability to build comprehensive predictive analytics of disease developments and progression. Software developers who will show how new predictive tools can identify developing disease patterns will definitely succeed.
3. Cyber-security threats make technologies in healthcare vulnerable and threaten patients’ safety
Let’s check an up-to-date example.
Telehealth and Internet of Things are expected to massively grow further amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In the U.S. alone, telehealth is predicted to boost with a 64% year-over-year increase in 2020. In the same report, Frost & Sullivan, business and consulting company, indicated that telehealth businesses will ensure their sustainable growth if they deliver:
ü User-friendly sensors and remote diagnostic equipment.
ü Practical applications of artificial intelligence, Interactive Virtual Assistants, and robotics that expand the telehealth deployment model.
ü Deployment of big data analytics that can help researchers learn more about the way COVID-19 progresses among diverse patient populations.
ü Adherence to cybersecurity and privacy regulations that avoid data breaches following the use of telehealth services.
ü Measurable data that confirms the value of telehealth.
4. What is an extremely important point here is cybersecurity.
The major threat today is ransomware by means of which cybercriminals try to compromise healthcare providers’ systems. A recent ransomware attack aimed at infecting systems for financial gain took place in several U.S. hospitals in October 2020.
As a rule, such cybercrime threats hit online systems forcing healthcare providers to pay great sums of money to restore their functionality. It has been reported that ransomware payments for 2019 exceeded $ 11 billion with an increase of approximately 30 % compared to 2018. 491 out of 621 successful ransomware attacks against U.S. companies were attacks against healthcare providers, 62 targeted schools and 68 – government facilities.
Another top security threat is data breaches. Electronic medical record systems contain comprehensive patient information: personal data, bank details, health issues etc. Cybercriminals may steal them leaving patients vulnerable.
What software developers need to do is capacity building and cooperation with security experts and healthcare service providers to identify respective risks and protect their products from attacks or mitigate their impact. Some custom healthcare software development companies has focused in that for years to build their reputation an good name.
Conclusion
As we look into the future of tech-enabled healthcare, we’ll definitely see more tech-driven solutions. Yet, an error-free tech-assisted doctor is not possible and there are areas to improve technologies for healthcare.
Evidence-based technologies, pro-active use of patients’ health data and secure software tools will enable comfortable ecosystems of healthcare facilities both for healthcare professionals and their patients.
