5 Benefits of a Digitalised Healthcare System
With industries across the world quickly shifting to digital platforms, healthcare is by no means falling behind. In 2019, the National Health Service (NHS) introduced the NHSX, bringing together teams from the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, and NHS Improvement to drive digital transformation in the industry. Since then, the NHSX has brought care homes into the future by providing broadband deals and iPads, activated legislation for secure data sharing across the NHS network, and enabled 99% of all GP practitioners to do video consultations. Private health providers have also shifted to digital platforms, improving the quality of healthcare provided to patients nationwide while enjoying massive benefits, such as:
Improved access and responsiveness
Digital health technologies such as telemedicine and mobile phone applications help healthcare professionals provide better support to their patients – no matter where they are. The World Health Organization also notes that digital technologies provide more opportunities for self-care through remote monitoring devices and wearables.
This frees up important healthcare resources and allows professionals to tend to more urgent cases. Moreover, this expands the healthcare network to remote and rural areas that would otherwise lack the necessary support. Patients who are incapable of making long trips to hospitals and clinics for routine appointments may instead do teleconsultations. This has the added benefit of reducing the number of house calls doctors are required to make.
Centralisation of patient information
Hospitals and care facilities have long relied on paper-based systems to keep patient records. Tracking appointments, prescriptions, and procedures can be taxing on resources, and sharing information from one facility to the other can be a logistic nightmare.
Thankfully, the digitalisation of records has made this process simpler. Verizon Connect explains that replacing paperwork with digital systems can help staff make more efficient use of their time by capturing information electronically and holding it in the same central location. By storing information on a system that can be accessed by any qualified individual at any time, patients can have one centralised record that is easily updated by their doctors. Struggles with data loss could soon be a thing of the past.
Focus on prevention and faster response times
Digital technologies are capable of alerting healthcare professionals of any changes in their patients’ conditions. Be it through devices that help track heart rate and blood sugar levels, or through easy-to-access medical advice, both patients and doctors can be alerted as to whether or not visits to their GP are necessary.
This reduces emergency room visits, helps patients identify symptoms, and enables doctors to treat symptoms before they get any worse. Moreover, wearables and other gadgets are able to automatically capture relevant patient data to provide doctors with more accurate information about the medical history of their patients.
Automated administrative tasks
Through digitalisation, healthcare professionals are able to spend less time on administrative work and more time on practising medicine. Technologies such as artificial intelligence can be used to take care of repetitive tasks and use predictive analysis to equip the healthcare system for potential doctor shortages and the like.
Meanwhile, electronic bed tracking can give hospital administrators an easy overview of bed availability and status, and admissions, transfers, and discharges can be easily tracked through digital systems.
Future-proofing information systems
A large drawback to using legacy systems is how they are limited by the obsolete technology they run on. Many healthcare institutions that attempted to digitalise early in the past have largely been left behind, continuing to use software that no longer receives updates, or worse yet, software that runs on operating systems that are no longer in use. This results in systems that cannot be updated to address the needs of the evolving healthcare landscape or incorporate newer technology. Moreover, today’s IT professionals may not be equipped to deal with legacy systems, putting organisations at risk of losing data should issues with their systems arise.
By adopting current technology that is developed specifically for their needs, they future-proof their information systems and minimise risk.
With the many benefits digitalisation presents to both patients and healthcare professionals, it’s easy to see why both public and private institutions have opted to adopt digital technologies. If you’re interested in seeing how a digital system can help you, book a demo of our Compucare Suite today.