Digital Transformation In Healthcare: Benefits and Use Cases

Healthcare is one of the most crucial sectors of any developing as well as developed nation. The quality of healthcare, among other things, is a key driver and indicator of a country’s development and prosperity. Thus, in this blog, we would look at digital transformation in healthcare and how it has paved the way for life-saving innovations.   

What is Digital Transformation in Healthcare and How is It Bettering The Sector?

Digital transformation in healthcare has enabled patients and healthgivers to connect around the clock, anywhere from the globe, through a set of technologies. This has significantly changed the way healthcare is offered to people.   

Medical professionals leverage modular digital solutions to offer better medical facilities to patients, discover medicines and drugs, make on-demand care and treatment easily accessible, etc. Patients are being able to self-diagnose chronic diseases at early stages and seek medical help in a timely manner using the internet and other advanced technological devices.   

Furthermore, people are using smart devices to look after their overall health and adopt healthier lifestyles. Digital transformation in healthcare thus offers far-reaching benefits. 

Through research and digitalization, many breakthrough treatments and cures are being worked out. Life-saving drugs are being developed and tested in a remote lab through the combined efforts of professionals from all across the globe. Additionally, these drugs are given to patients using modern medical instruments and equipment during highly secure and effective procedures.     

In fact, the global healthcare digital experience platform market size is expected to expand at a CAGR of 12.9% from 2021 to 2028.  

Digitalization has enabled remote treatments, cures, and innovations.   

Note: CAGR- compound annual growth rate  

Benefits Of Digitalization To The Healthcare Sector  

Digitalization transformation in healthcare has changed the way patients seek treatments and healthgivers offer care.    

Some benefits of digital transformation in healthcare are as follows:   

1. Improved Communication Between Healthcare Professionals   

There are certain delays in the healthcare sector that are caused due to lack of communication within the healthcare organizations and ultimately with the patients. Now, this delayed communication could be due to multiple reasons such as a lab report taking too long to come through or someone in the chain taking an off, which could prove to be fatal for a patient’s health.   

A delayed diagnosis could have severe implications for the patient. In this case, technology simplifies and fastens the process. Using digital procedures, healthcare organizations can implement automated protocols that ensure smooth, timely communication every time.  

2. Doctor-Patient Data Management  

Hospitals have to deal with an abundance of data. The provision, and storage of medical reports, payment slips, and other patient data should not be a hassle for the healthcare organization. Additionally, they should be easily accessible to save time and effort for both the medical professional as well as the patient. All this is not manually feasible.   

Digitalization is the solution. The creation of centralized data storage and management platforms, workflows, and intranets would allow medical staff and professionals to retrieve, exchange, manage, and store data effortlessly. And it does not matter if the patient is physically present there or not. Reports could be shared through the internet on different preferred channels.   

Hospitals could also track the health vitals and monitor patient’s health using smart devices such as wearables, that further feed real-time data to clinicians. This would allow them to use advanced analytics tools for more accurate diagnoses and timely interventions.  

3. Digital Healthcare Platforms  

Digital platforms for the healthcare sector bring medical caregivers and seekers in one place. This platform includes all the services either of them could need, from EHRs (Electronic Health Records) to diagnosis to analysis, all can be accessed via one unified gateway.   

These digital solutions are optimized and made modern to cater to evolving needs and changing hospital-patient dynamics.   

4. Ease of Appointment   

Digital appointments have reduced the hassle for patients who, in ill health, used to look for doctors and clinics, frantically. At the same time, it is convenient for healthcare professionals as well to have a single platform to take and manage bookings, in an organized manner.   

These digital platforms require proper integration with other systems as well for better coordination and smooth functioning. Thus, these platforms are optimized for maximum results and ease of use.   

For example, cloud-based booking tech allows patients to make appointments from multiple locations using various devices. Patients could select the time and location that suits them. All this is done with minimal to no administrative staff involvement.  

A growing number of apps such as Practo, etc., are making the appointment booking process and communication between patients, and doctors or practitioners more convenient as the former is able to view all the nearby, available, or the best health caregivers easily on these apps. Moreover, these apps are making healthcare accessible in rural or remote areas too. People get useful tips, health updates, etc., through these platforms.   

As technology advances, appointments would be created, deleted, or rebooked in a more convenient and efficient way. The aim would be to reduce wait times, allowing healthcare institutions to serve a greater number of patients.  

Healthcare has become more accessible and efficient through digital transformation with less room for human errors and processes speeding up!   

5. Accessible Health Records

 The concept of EHR is an old one, with its inception in the 1970s. However, it has evolved with time and advancement in technology. Earlier, they were deemed unreliable in practice, however, with constant efforts towards improvement, these records are increasingly being used today and have been making healthcare a more accessible affair.   

EHRs eliminate the room for human error and make patient data readily available, at any or all times. This further enhances the efficiency of the process and enables health professionals to do the needful at the earliest.   

However, there are still some challenges such as poor system response times, and system crashes that could cause delay in retrieval of patient data and the treatment required.   

With so many minds researching and working out ways to fix these issues, EHRs would be soon used by every healthcare organization to save more lives every day!   

Let’s now look at some of the use cases of technology in healthcare.   

Also Read: Benefits of Blockchain in Healthcare Industry

Use Cases of Digital Healthcare Solutions  

Digital transformation in healthcare has streamlined healthcare processes, introduced revolutionary equipment, treatments, and cures, and made caregiving, a more accessible and effective practice for medical experts all over the world.   

Let’s look at some of the use cases of digital healthcare solutions that have been reshaping the healthcare sector for various stakeholders, bringing in more efficiency and sophistication in practices.

1. On-Demand Healthcare

On-demand services are being increasingly sought, especially after the pandemic. And healthcare also has been a part of this trend. From home, delivery of medicines to at-home blood tests and other health checkups healthcare is being provided at the doorstep with just a few clicks.   

Moreover, doctors and practitioners could be found, and appointments could be booked through a single platform within seconds.   

From saving paper to saving shoe-leather costs to achieving higher efficiency and ease of communication, all is possible through in-demand healthcare solutions using digitalization.   

2. Connected Ambulance  

Connected ambulances offer hospitals heads-up about the patient’s vital and conditions. This real-time data speeds up the decision-making process and allows hospitals to give emergency/immediate treatment to stabilize the patient.   

A connected ambulance gathers and shares the patient’s vital information in real-time, which is generally obtained through wearable devices, sensors, and HD cameras, with the hospital.  

3. Automation  

Almost all the major running industries use automation to simplify and streamline work processes. Automation handles mundane, everyday tasks and allows human resources to focus on more core, crucial operations, and tasks.   

Similarly, automation in healthcare is helping with repetitive or tedious everyday tasks, allowing human resources to devote appropriate time and give the best care to patients. Automation also sometimes uses artificial intelligence or AI in healthcare to better understand the data and simulate human thinking and conversations while taking patient queries, etc

4. Telemedicine And Virtual Visits  

The concept of telemedicine and virtual medical visits has been enabling patients and healthcare practitioners to communicate and consult without being physically present at the clinic or hospital, via phone or video appointments. This enhances the comfort and convenience of consultation and ensures the safety of the infected person and other patients as well.   

In fact, the telehealth and telemedicine market is expected to be valued at $237.45 billion in 2024, and $ 912.0 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 24% during the forecast period.

5. Health Wearables  

Wearables are portable healthcare devices that one can take with him/her anywhere they go. It’s basically health updates on the go.

These devices gather, store, and even share a person’s health vitals/parameters/metrics with a doctor or any other healthcare provider in real-time using WiFi or 5G. They offer high flexibility due to their small size and extensive functionality and features. Some of the most widely used health wearables are smartwatches and smart patches.   

Health wearables are witnessing rapid user adoption. According to a Deloitte report, the global market for wearable tech devices in healthcare is projected to grow to 440 million units per year in 2024.   

6. Patient Portals

Patient portals help patients and healthcare experts to access patient and treatment data easily and quickly. These portals give information about past, present and future appointments, generate electronic prescriptions, offer healthcare tips, etc.   

These portals increase the frequency and enhance the quality of communication between the involved parties.   

Conclusion

Therefore, digitalization has contributed largely to some major industries, especially the healthcare sector. The ease of seeking healthcare, and the quality of care/treatments offered, among other benefits, have increased after digital transformation in healthcare.   

And hopefully, healthcare practices and facilities would further improve as digitalization becomes more sophisticated and advanced. Additionally, healthcare would become more accessible and effective only if more and more medical professionals and institutions start adopting digitalization and leverage the benefits it offers.   

Need a Software Partner to Transform Your Healthcare?

You have landed on the right page!   

BigOhTech is a leading healthcare software development company that specializes in web iOS and Android app development, emerging technologies, etc. We also offer great staff augmentation and IT consultation services. 

Our dedicated development team has built a modern app that connects health caregivers and patients better, in just one click. A healthcare technology company based in Mumbai, nULTA approached us with the idea of an app that would bring doctors, counselors, veterinarians, and patients on the same platform and help the latter book appointments and track medical history and reports.

We have built apps for them with advanced features and functionalities using traditional as well as emerging technologies. These apps not only serve the purpose but also offer a lot more.  In fact, 2 lakh doctors and over 5 lakh patients got registered on the medical platform, in a short span.   

BigOh has worked on some similar projects where we helped the client to achieve their business goals through digitalization, effectively and efficiently.   

Get in touch with us today and let us help you climb the ladder of success!   

FAQs  

Q1. What is digital transformation in healthcare?  

Digital transformation in healthcare is incorporating technology into healthcare to create synergies. Combining technology with the healthcare systems helps institutions to offer better facilities and timely services to patients.
  
The meaning and adoption of digitalization is much wider in healthcare than just technology. It extends to the creation of new business models and working on innovations regularly for constantly trying to enhance the healthcare facilities indispensable to human life and existence.

Q2. What are the top digital transformation trends in the healthcare sector for 2024?

Here are the top digital transformation trends for the healthcare industry in 2024:–

1. Artificial Intelligence
2. M-Health
3. Big Data in Healthcare
4. Extended Reality
5. Wearable Medical Devices
6. Blockchain
7. Upgrade Legacy Medical Systems
8. Data Security
9. Digital and Social Connectivity

Q3. What are the top challenges to digital transformation in healthcare?

Here are the top challenges faced in digital transformation in Healthcare:-

• Data interoperability: Systems struggle to communicate.
• Cybersecurity: Protecting sensitive patient data.
• Resistance to change: Healthcare staff hesitant to adopt new tech.
• High costs: Implementing digital solutions is expensive.
• Privacy and ethics: Balancing data use with patient trust.
• Legacy systems: Outdated technology hinders integration.

Q4. Why is digital transformation important in healthcare?  

• Some of the benefits of digital transformation in healthcare are:   
• Ease of appointment and consultation  
• Accessible patient data and health records
• Optimization of digital platforms
• Enhanced communication between healthcare professionals