Healthcare Transformation: What Technologies Drive a Consumer-Centric Approach?

In this topic, we will discover the rationale for healthcare transformation and the technologies that are driving it.

I. The reasons that drive the healthcare transformation

With the flourishing of science and technology in 2021, we have witnessed numerous technological advancements in business, particularly in the healthcare transformation. Healthcare providers have been driven by the COVID-19 epidemic to reconsider their business strategies in order to stay up with the rapid developments. 

There is a human-centric approach intended to improve health care in addition to obtaining corporate value through change. Let's investigate the driving forces behind the healthcare industry's digital transformation as well as the key inventions that have contributed most to this development.

II. Apply digital to perform healthcare transformation

In the past decade, support for digital healthcare software development projects has expanded considerably. According to Statista, the sector spent over 21 billion dollars in 2020, 20 times more than in 2010.

Without technology, healthcare can't change. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated industry digitalization, although demand for digital technology in healthcare predates it. Digital health tracking tool utilization rose from 42% in 2019 to 54% in 2020, according to a survey. New innovations such as: mobile app development in healthcare need additional software development company, time, and money. 60% of healthcare organizations questioned by Deloitte considered themselves mid-journey. Why should healthcare providers embrace digitalization?

Due to the pandemic, healthcare users must prioritize accessibility and convenience. Digital transformation is motivated by the desire to modify company models and procedures to be more consumer-friendly. Improved patient experience drives 92% of healthcare providers' digital transformation. 97% of Americans now use virtual visits, according to PWC.

III. Advanced orientation that have been applied in healthcare transformation

As was already indicated, there is rising interest in the digital transformation of healthcare organizations' fundraising. The COVID-19 pandemic has driven the major developments in healthcare digital transformation listed below.

1. Trend #1: Telemedicine and the Evolution of Remote Care

a. WebRTC for video conferencing

In many instances, a more specialized solution that can more precisely adhere to legal privacy requirements is required. WebRTC, an open-source API system that connects web browsers and mobile applications and enables the transmission of audio, video, and data, will be one of the most important technologies required for a telemedicine-specific mobile application development. This is particularly useful for teleconferencing functions.

b. Cloud hosting and data storage

The majority of cloud storage services are relatively secure for storing data, but not necessarily compliant with government regulations regarding protected health information. HIPAA-compliant cloud hosting services are essential to the functionality and efficacy of any healthcare operation that utilizes electronic health records.

However, teleconferencing and data hosting are not the only features that your organization may find useful. Other potentially useful features include security, location services, appointment management, secure messaging, healthcare provider reviews, visit history, and wearable integration.

Some applications may be required to store fitness data collected by consumer devices like Google Fit and Apple HealthKit. Maintaining these integrations in a secure and efficient manner can be of great benefit to both the patient and the caregiver.

2. Trend #2: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare

a. AI in diagnosis & drug development

There are several uses for artificial intelligence that go beyond pandemic treatment and response. AI has a hugely positive impact on how quickly information is processed and decisions are made. Machine learning has a huge impact on the healthcare sector's ability to generate new medications and improve the effectiveness of diagnostic procedures.

AI is assisting in the analysis of CT scans to find pneumonia in patients being treated for the effects of COVID-19. A radiation AI technology called Project InnerEye was created by Microsoft. This significantly shortens the time it takes to finish the patient's 3D contouring, from hours to just a few minutes. On GitHub, the project is open source. Another Microsoft AI system called Project Hanover is designed to compile biomedical research articles from PubMed. This shortens the time it takes to diagnose cancer and aids in choosing the right medications for each patient.

b. AI in mental health

AI inventions go beyond physical health. MIT and Harvard researchers used machine learning to track COVID-19 trends and mental health. Using an AI model, they examined hundreds of Reddit chats and found that suicide and loneliness had increased. This might change our understanding of large populations' mental health.

AI may also recognize mental signs of brain-chemical illnesses. This includes dementia. Alzheimer's disease causes problems with communicating, thinking, and remembering. These illnesses can develop over decades without being diagnosed. Early detection of dementia is one of the most effective ways to treat and, in some cases, cure symptoms.

Deep learning and AI audio processing have made it possible to evaluate human speech for dementia symptoms. A speech-processing AI model may be trained to differentiate between healthy and dementia-affected speech. These models can be used for Alzheimer screening or self-checking years before serious symptoms appear.

c. AI improves cancer diagnostics

For decades, biopsies were the sole reliable method of diagnosing cancer, which includes tissue extraction and examination. However, this does not offer a comprehensive view of organ tissue. Modern histopathology techniques rely on digital scanning of particular regions susceptible to cell mutations. Using whole slide imaging, or WSI, pathologists are able to analyze significantly bigger regions of human beings simultaneously.

Due to the high quality of the picture, working with WSI may look difficult. Even though WSI scans are incredibly informative, it takes hours of careful zooming in and out and scrolling from region to area before the outcome can be determined. Therefore, the AI mobile application development is capable of processing WSI utilizing computer vision and convolutional neural networks. This method assists medical practitioners by identifying the region of interest where probable cancer cells may reside, hence saving diagnostic time.

Apparently, the AI-based method for WSI analysis not only yields reliable findings, but also requires minimal model training preparation. Which supports its acceptance throughout the healthcare business, as WSI scanners become standard equipment in medical facilities. Mobidev conducted its own experiment using WSI data, and you can read about our methodology and results in a separate post.

3. Trend #3: IoT and Wearables in Healthcare

a. Wearables

The progression of wearable technology is one of the most significant advancements in the healthcare business. The capacity to remotely monitor a patient's condition throughout the day or to check one's own condition is highly valuable. According to a poll done by Deloitte, 39% of consumers had a smartwatch. As smartwatches for consumers become more widely available, it is important to recognize their potential for usage in healthcare applications.

The heart rate is one of the most fundamental features of a smartwatch that may be utilized for health monitoring. Nonetheless, this is not the only metric a smartwatch can track. In addition to monitoring physical health via pedometers and blood oxygen saturation sensors, these devices may also track physical fitness. Without appropriate sensors, it is difficult to identify low blood oxygen saturation. As this situation can be fatal, smartwatches equipped with this sensor can save lives.

Smartwatches are also enhancing their abilities to assess blood pressure and heart rate. Photoplethysmography (PPG) is an optical method that can assess blood volume and composition fluctuations. As a result of its miniaturization for usage on smartwatches, it can offer consumers with more information than ever before regarding their blood vitals. This information can aid healthcare practitioners in advising patients and completing diagnosis.

Smartwatches are not the only wearable device with potential in the healthcare sector. The impact of bio patches and smart hearing aids is comparable. Without a smartwatch, bio patches can provide a greater understanding of a person's vitals. Additionally, artificial intelligence can be utilized to enhance the noise isolation of hearing aids.

b. Smart Pills

The concept of a smart pill, which transforms The Internet of Things into The Internet of Bodies, is one of the most significant healthcare applications of IoT technology. Smart pills are ingestible electronics that not only function as pharmaceuticals but also provide valuable information about patients to healthcare providers. In 2017, the first smart medication authorized by the FDA was introduced.

Final Thought

What obstacles must the digital transformation of healthcare still overcome? Despite the speeding up of digital transformation in the healthcare sector, funding and hefty implementation costs remain the primary obstacles. The protracted nature of a transition process poses yet another significant obstacle. The poll respondents recognized that "the transformation process is lengthier than they had initially envisaged as the prospects and definition of digital transformation broaden," according to Deloitte.

Finally, to put ideas for digital transformation into effect, healthcare businesses require a reliable dedicated development team. It will be much simpler to meet the problems of healthcare transformation in collaboration with technology specialists who have experience and industry understanding in outsource mobile app development. If your business is undergoing revolutionary changes, get in touch with Adamo Software right away!