Digital health solutions have recently revolutionized the healthcare industry. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 further accelerated the introduction of online technologies in healthcare. These online services include member interactions, service operations, and pharmaceutical deliveries. Let’s delve into what exactly these solutions are and their significance today.
What Are Digital Health Solutions?
The concept of digital health solutions, or digitalized medical services, is an expansive, multidisciplinary idea that incorporates technological and health industry concepts. This approach incorporates digital technologies in the healthcare industry. Some examples of digital health solutions include mobile health applications, electronic health records (EHRs), electronic medical records (EMRs), wearable gadgets, telehealth, telemedicine, and customized medication.
The digitalized medical services industry’s primary stakeholders are patients, healthcare specialists, scientists, application designers, medical gadget producers, and merchants. Technologized medical care now holds an undeniably revolutionized healthcare today.
The Significance of Digital Healthcare Solutions
The utilization of data and technology innovation to make healthcare more accessible and to prevent diseases is not an entirely new concept but has been looming for a while. Recently, the coronavirus pandemic illustrated the need to provide healthcare remotely through digital means. Recent conversations surrounding racial and gender inequality, such as ‘Black Lives Matter’ or the various women’s rights movements highlight discrimination in access to healthcare and have also boosted the process of digitization. The impact of poverty and racial discrimination on access to medical care indicates that digital health solutions should be the next step to modernizing the health industry.
To address these inequalities, these solution developers will have to integrate all segments of society in all steps of the process, ranging from data sampling to employing a diverse mix of representatives. The usage of contextually tailored and socially equitable digital health technologies is key to making an impact.
Breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, information sharing, advanced mechanics, and digital platforms have helped create digital healthcare solutions. Solutions such as robotic caregivers, ingestible sensors, and devices or applications to screen patients remotely will revolutionize the systems of hospitals and old homes and even make things simpler for at-home patients.
Artificial intelligence will encourage innovation in digital healthcare. It can speed up the formation of new treatments and immunizations to battle infections. With the help of machine learning, a form of AI, specialists can design vaccines by recognizing and duplicating various genetic or viral patterns. Such simulated computerized therapeutics and customized treatments will enable patients to keep track of their medical problems and diagnose their concerns early on. Artificial intelligence-created experiences will help in disease analysis and treatment decisions, resulting in more secure and impactful medicines. Smart manufacturing and better supply chain solutions guarantee that patients get proper medication and medical advice when required.
The Link between Digital Healthcare and Health Insurance
The health insurance industry has also recognized the value added by digital solutions in health care. From an insurer’s point of view, digitalization has simplified the entire process of regulating monstrous amounts of important information. Digitized medical solutions ensure efficiency and transparency.
Digital platforms assist with connecting clients to medical specialists and create a detailed image of clients’ general health. Besides, being a part of such a well-connected interface makes for smoother information sharing and helps technology innovation.
When patients collaborate with a medical care framework, they interact with various gatherings, specialists, drug specialists, and insurance agencies that support the development of medical services. Acquiring circulated or public records on a public interface can empower all partners experiencing similar symptoms to be updated on their health and interact with other patients in real time.
Obstacles to Digitizing Healthcare
While having several benefits, the digital evolution of medical care also has its challenges. Due to the enormous scale of information gathered from various frameworks, such as Innovenn, each using a different form to code their information, data interpretation can prove to be a testy process.
A significant concern in transitioning to a digitalized system is the digital literacy of the patients. Approximately 16% of adults are digitally illiterate, meaning these digital solutions alienate 31.8 million American adults. This number would be even lower in third-world countries, as they have limited access to the internet and electronic gadgets. The inequality in access to healthcare can increase if these concerns relating to digital literacy, information access, and ownership rights are not addressed.
Another concern brought up is security and protection. Along with digital evolution, there has been a sharp rise in cybercrime. Storing all your confidential information online makes it vulnerable to cyber attacks or system failures. The framework could lose all the company’s or clients’ data if your technology is damaged. Backing up all available information makes the entire process even more lengthy and costly. In projection, cybercrime will cost the world a startling $10.5 trillion by 2025.
Lastly, there are concerns about accountability. Who is liable for any mistake made during a medical procedure utilizing clinical robots? This legal technicality will have to be addressed as all patients require collateral security when making a potentially life-altering decision.
Endnote
Digital healthcare solutions are rapidly evolving, as they are at the forefront of the healthcare industry these days. It’s relevant to all industry segments, ranging from hospitals to health insurance and even to the health benefit policies in the corporate world. While technical to navigate, the benefits outweigh the costs, attracting a larger conversation around it. In conclusion, however, we can identify that digital health solutions are the future of the healthcare industry.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.
