How Digital Transformation Is Revolutionizing Healthcare in 2025?

Today's patients expect convenience and personalization—the same seamless experience they get from other digital services.

If your healthcare organization still relies on paper-based records and siloed data storage, it leads to increased manual errors, wastes physicians' time, and affects the delivery of medical services.

The reality is concerning. According to a survey, only 7% of pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations have gone digital, yet the ones that have adopted digital transformation have dramatically improved patient care and healthcare outcomes.

This digital divide represents both a challenge and an opportunity.

In this blog, we'll discuss what digital transformation in healthcare is, what specific benefits it provides along with few use cases.

What is Digital Transformation in Healthcare

Digital transformation in healthcare has enabled patients and health givers 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.

However, while healthcare organizations think that digital transformation is about buying new software or systems, it's more about a cultural shift. Transformation is more on the side of people and processes and less on the technology side.

When this mindset is adopted, medical professionals can 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 also 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  

What Benefits Does Digital Transformation Provide in 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!   

6. Customized Treatment Plans For Patients

One of the main benefits of implementing digital transformation in healthcare is making patients feel more personalized through custom treatment plans. This doesn't mean that you will improve your delivery processes; instead, it's more about meeting patients where they are in their journey.

It's more about taking care of the specific needs of patients. As Artificial Intelligence is evolving, healthcare professionals such as doctors and clinicians are making the best out of it to create customized treatment plans based on an individual's medical history, genetics, and lifestyle.

With the vast amount of medical data available at their fingertips, doctors can predict the potential risks associated with that patient.

7. Cost Effective

Digital transformation is a blessing for healthcare organizations as they can save their expenses by automating administrative tasks such as the appointment scheduling process, updating patient records, bill creation, etc.

With extra hours saved, the unnecessary cost of hiring administrative staff is eliminated, allowing doctors and medical professionals to spend more quality time with patients.

While the traditional healthcare processes deal with a lot of paperwork, the bad part is that these physical paper-based records are sometimes hard to read. And most times, doctors can conduct the same lab tests or scan multiple times.

But EHRs keep the medical records in one place, reducing the need for duplicate diagnostic tests.

This results in cost savings by 7-11% as the tasks are now automated and technologically enhanced.

8. Better Productivity For Healthcare Staff

Digital transformation changes the way the healthcare sector works. With the automation of routine tasks, physicians can now devote more time to providing better patient experiences.

One area where this transformation is particularly needed is staffing management.

Traditionally, it was challenging for hospitals to allocate staff from each department – sometimes this results in more burnout among doctors, along with increasing inconsistencies in scheduling.

To address these challenges, hospitals are turning to predictive analytics to better understand which patients need more quality healthcare treatment and can allocate resources accordingly.

Similarly, with the introduction of AI-powered diagnostic systems, EHR, and clinical decision support systems, healthcare tasks can now be automated, which leads to a shift in focus towards patient-centered and value-based care.

This automation is especially crucial given the administrative burden on healthcare professionals. In the US, physicians spend most of their time (30-55%) on clinical documentation, which sometimes affects patient-doctor relationships.

That's why many healthcare workers have started to use cloud-based tools for simplifying their administrative workflows, becoming more productive, and reducing overwork.   

Also Read: Benefits of Blockchain in Healthcare Industry

What are the Top Use Cases and Examples of Digital Transformation in Healthcare? 

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.

What are the Top Challenges that Digital Transformation Creates in the Healthcare Sector?

As the healthcare industry is a data-intensive and regulated one, integrating digital tools and technologies presents several challenges, as given below -

1) Concerns Related To Privacy and Security

One of the significant challenges that Digital transformation creates in the healthcare sector is rising security and data privacy concerns.

Generally, hackers tend to focus on stealing patient records such as their medical information, and such attacks not only violate patients’ privacy but also damage the hospital's reputation.

Healthcare digitalization is a lifesaver option, but you need to adhere to comply with legislations such as HIPAA, CCPA, and GDPR. That's why healthcare professionals should adopt stringent cybersecurity measures to protect the patient's medical information.

2) Resistance To Change

Digital transformation in healthcare becomes successful when you train medical professionals about digital tools and the adoption of secure data management procedures.

However, this training aspect is often overlooked.

A study from KPMG and Forrester states that 57% of people in the healthcare sector resist adopting digital tools and technologies because training is not provided to them. This resistance makes it difficult for them to implement digital practices.

It can be because they don't find time for learning new systems, or it might be because they have a fear of adopting digital tools in their workflows.

Though the implementation cost is quite high, the timely adoption of such digital infrastructure allows healthcare staff to adapt to the needs of patients. However, successful adoption requires addressing the human element first.

The best way to overcome this resistance is to educate your healthcare staff, make them aware of how digital technologies can save their time, make them more productive, and improve patient health.

3) Interoperability issues

In healthcare, different systems should work together and talk to each other, but when this doesn't happen, it results in data siloes.

According to Dr Arup Roy, Chief Strategy and Medical Officer of Elemeno Health, says

Healthcare digital transformation is less about converting paper to pixels; it's more about making information accessible, easy to find, and easy to act on. It's more about improving processes or refining treatments.

If the healthcare systems don't follow the standards or communicate with each other, then it means two systems are not interoperable, and this results in treatment delays and inefficiencies.

This is why doctors had to spend more time on accessing 2 different systems. The only way they can benefit from digitalization is by seeing whether the new software can be integrated with existing systems.

Whatever new software your organization wants to deploy, make sure it’s interoperable, meaning healthcare service providers can access the data and can make informed decisions.

4) Adapting To Technological Changes

The healthcare industry needs to constantly adapt to the latest technological innovations, such as machine learning, health information technology, etc.

They can keep themselves updated with digital innovations by partnering with a technology vendor who can align them towards the accomplishment of digital transformation initiatives.

The vendor should create a digital strategy, lay out KPIs, and ensure that the organization can succeed on the ladder of the digital journey.

What Key Technologies Drive Digital Transformation in Healthcare?

Here are a few digital technologies that are changing the healthcare industry -

1) Telemedicine

With digital transformation, healthcare is now beyond the four walls of the hospital. Through cloud communication tools and virtual consultations, healthcare has become more accessible.

This means patients can talk to medical staff through video calls, virtual consultations, even if they're located in remote areas.

Royal Blackburn Hospital connects patients to stroke consultants through video consultations. This way, doctors can monitor the patient's health regularly, see if there are vital signs, and provide them with medical care at the right moment.

Remote monitoring is essential, as when a person receives a stroke, every single minute matters the most.

2) Electronic Health Records

Electronic health records make patient information more accessible and manageable, and healthcare service providers can communicate in one place.

Initially, these EHRs required investing in on-premises architecture, but now everything has shifted to cloud-based EHR solutions.

3) Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Through artificial Intelligence and machine learning, clinicians can predict the likelihood of diseases, their genetic information, and determine which patients have a higher risk of diseases and then help doctors provide personalized treatments to patients.

Clinicians at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde use Artificial Intelligence to spot head injuries on the go when there's a shortage of trained radiologists. This helps doctors to spend more time with patients who are at a higher risk.

4) Cloud Computing and Data Analytics

Healthcare organizations deal with a huge amount of data, but they don’t know what to do with it. Dr Chaudry from Seattle Children’s Hospital says that they kept health records of patients for over 30 years in 16 systems. She said, “Much of the valuable data was not in use."

By shifting from traditional on-premises architecture to cloud-based solutions, they helped 10,000 kids avoid the risk of addiction.

5) AR and VR Technologies

Surgeons can use AR and VR technology for conducting medical training and for surgery visualizations, such as the brain, heart, and eyes. They can conduct safer surgeries without even hiring extra staff.

This saves them time and money.

How Can BigOhTech Help You in Your Digital Transformation Journey?

As a healthcare app development company, we create scalable mobile apps that connect healthcare staff with patients.

Having worked in the healthcare domain for over 15 years, we care about safeguarding patients' information, so we create apps that are compliant with international healthcare standards such as HIPAA.

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 an idea of an app that would bring doctors, counsellors, 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.

Want to get similar results for your business? Reach out to our digital transformation consultants and mark your presence in health industry through revenue generating apps and devices.

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