Based on the current trends where the healthcare industry is changing at a very fast rate, it is evident that most organizations especially hospitals have embraced the use of technology in the running of their activities in a bid to improve the quality of services being offered. Readily available healthcare technologies make the selection of solutions to adopt a difficult task for hospitals, as there are several that are suitable for the healthcare setting. Since many technologies in healthcare hold the potential to contribute to the enhancement of the hospital system, this article will discuss some of the promising technologies in detail.
Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
EHRs have significantly transformed how health information is captured, retrieved, and transmitted across various centers that administer health-related functions. Since EHRs replace paper-based patient records, it is possible to name several benefits of the technology: First, the new system contaminance brings more accurate records.
EHRs allow healthcare practitioners to view and update any information regarding a patient including the tests, prescriptions, and history of allergies and treatments from any point of access that is allowed. These continuous transfers of information are useful and assist in reaching correct decisions while minimizing the occurrence of medical errors due to a lack of complete and accurate information.
On top of that, data in EHRs are intelligently used in analytics and hence, the hospitals can use this insight to spot trends, allocate resources efficiently, and even manage the health of the people in the population.
Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring
Patients have increasingly embraced Telehealth products in the current generation, especially after the outbreak of COVID-19. Telehealth can also be defined as the provision of virtual consultations, remote patient monitoring, and follow-up care through and with the use of a tablet, smartphone, video conference, secure messaging, and remote monitoring devices.
This technology has been of huge help in bridging the gaps of care especially where the patient is from a distant region of the healthcare facility. It also helps to decrease the load on healthcare institutions by excluding unnecessary off-site contact and optimizing the process of providing follow-up outpatient care.
Wearable technologies such as Remote Patient Monitoring Systems that capture and transmit health status information ranging from simple vital signs, weight, blood sugar, and even images from patients’ homes expand telemedicine options. These systems help in tracking persons with chronic illnesses and in the determination of problems that are likely to develop to provide actions that are likely to prevent admission to hospitals or other complications.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
AI and especially ML are becoming significant for a wide range of healthcare areas including diagnostics, new drugs and treatments, decision-making support, and healthcare organization management. Due to their ability to analyze data, even large datasets, and distinct problem areas, AI algorithms are capable of discerning patterns that are difficult for human specialists to discover.
In the facilities operating in a hospital environment, diagnostic AI applications can help radiology specialists in the analysis of medical images including radiographs, computer tomography scans, etc. They can also help in the diagnosis of the diseases at an early stage followed by the plan of treatment according to the individual patient.
Furthermore, the use of such CDS in healthcare can include automatically generated recommendations to the clinician in real-time, thus minimizing the incidence of medical errors while at the same time following evidence-based protocols.
Robotic Assistance and Automation
Robotic technology has been one of the key developmental focuses in the healthcare industry as it has provided new prospects in surgery, dispensing of drugs, and even handling all the delivery services in hospitals. For example, surgical robots assist in performing less invasive operations, with more accuracy and flexibility that ultimately results in better and shorter recovery periods for the patient.
Automated medication dispensing systems, on the other hand, assist in decreasing medication errors by confirming the distribution and storage of the pharmaceuticals. They can also be useful in tracking inventories and improving the safety of patients by giving current updates on stock and shelf-life information of certain medications.
In addition, many activities in the hospital logistics can be aided by robots and AGVs so that some of the non-critical human labor such as the transport of supplies, specimens, and materials can be managed by the robotic systems.
Hospital Feedback System
Hospital feedback is therefore of immense importance since it is used in the realization of the experiences of the patients, and the identification of some areas of improvement in hospitalization. Constructively acquiring negative feedback from the patients, families, as well as other healthcare givers, enables the hospitals to decide on their eminent prospects and weak points.
A good structure to form the hospital feedback system should include more than one method of getting feedback like online questionnaires, mobile applications, kiosks, or call centers. In this way, all the feedback is provided across several channels, which widely cover different types of users and their preferences for communication channels.
However, opinions and feedback data can be transformed to bring value by using analytics and natural language processing (NLP), to group the feedback, visualize them systematically, and reveal the most emergent topics, the tendency in patients’ sentiment, and the critical issues that need to be solved in the shortest time.
Thus, by reacting to those and similar cues, the hospitals can pre-empt the issues, find ways to solve the arising problems and promote a culture of patient focus in their institutions.
Cybersecurity and Data Privacy
Hospitals are nowadays digital and dependent on technology to manage patient information and its vital equipment, so cybersecurity is vital. The key reason why healthcare organizations remain on the radar of threats is that most of the information that is processed and disseminated by these organizations is often extremely sensitive, and disruption of these organizations’ services will directly affect the treatment of patients.
That is why firewalls, encryption, and other systems of access control have to be implemented as effective means to prevent cyber threats, data leaks, and other malicious activity.
Also, to preserve the confidentiality of patients, hospitals are bound to adhere to data privacy laws like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the United States.
Conclusion
The integration of technology in health care can and will go a long way in changing the working of hospitals, increasing patient satisfaction, and raising the productivity rate. The use of EHR and telehealth solutions, AI, and robots in healthcare has been proven useful in the organization and provision of healthcare since they are beneficial in aspects such as data management, an extension of access to healthcare, reduction of operational costs, and promotion of safety among patients.
However, it is critical for the adopters including the hospitals to ensure that they take their assessment Pilgrim’s depending on the need and resources that will be required in implementing the technology. Preparation, assignment of a clear work plan, and training of the staff and management at all levels are crucial for the proper implementation of technology and its integration.
In addition, due to the abundance of applications and ways to transfer and analyze health data, hospitals must ensure cyber security and data privacy to guard patients’ records and sustain trust in the healthcare system.
With the aid of effective healthcare technologies and the implementation of their possibilities, the difficult task of providing patient-centered care and increasing the quality and efficiency of the services delivered may be achieved by hospitals while standing on solid ground in the rapidly changing world of healthcare services.
What is in it for hospitals, to adopt Electronic Health Records (EHRs)?
There are several benefits of using EHRs and they include accuracy of patient information, better coordination of patient care, safety of the patients, and an efficient way of getting details on the performance through data analysis among others.
What is the use of telehealth in hospitals and patients?
Telehealth practice allows patient consultations, patient monitoring, and follow-up appointments to be conveniently conducted through virtual means instead of repeated clinic visits, unnecessary admissions, and follow-up inpatient visits.
The position of Artificial Intelligence in the healthcare sector is what makes it central in enhancing healthcare Technology
AI and Machine learning can help in the diagnosis of diseases, finding treatments for diseases, clinical decision-making and reinforcement of decisions, and improving the functionality of the system by going through large volumes of data and figures and coming up with patterns and conclusions.
That brings the question of how robotic technology can enhance the flow of hospitals
Surgical robots help in doing operations that are less invasive with high accuracy, medication robots help cut down the errors in medications, and robots/AGVs help in the material transportation and delivering supplies in a hospital.
When proposed, why is utilizing a hospital feedback system significant?
The hospital feedback system is a system that enables healthcare organizations to know what their patients, their families, and other consumers or caregivers have to say about the hospital, specific areas in which it has to improve, and ways how to improve the quality of care to be delivered.
Hospitals need to protect cybersecurity and data privacy; what needs to be done?
Healthcare providers should utilize and adopt the best practices such as firewalls, use of encryption, and proper controls of access to patient information to reduce risks and adhere to laws such as HIPAA to serve the patient’s interests and uphold their trust.
Hospitals that are considering charging and implementing new healthcare technologies should consider what aspects?
Health organizations should always consider their requirements, available assets, and structures before integrating new solutions. Nevertheless, staff training and change management are also an effective way of implementing and integrating the technologies.
Could you, please, give an example of how a feedback system in the hospital may be used to advance the level of patient treatment?
Presumably, based on the feedback data, a hospital may recognize that there are several negative comments about waiting for a long time in a given department. This insight could lead to changes that help to modify the working system and reduce the time a patient takes before being attended to, thus increasing satisfaction.
In what ways can telehealth technology help patients in disadvantaged or rural areas?
Telehealth means the patient with an illness can receive treatment through technology without having to travel long distances to consult a doctor or in case they lack the means of transportation.
Hence, the following are some of the possibilities for the use of AI in the functionality of a hospital
Furthermore, AI can be useful in many fields within hospital services, including capacities for forming the agenda and the utilization of resources, managing and tracking supplies, and correcting necessary maintenance of medical equipment based on data that is collected and patterns that are identified to eliminate expenses.
