As countries went into lockdown amidst the global Covid-19 pandemic, many healthcare companies accelerated their digital transformation initiatives. However, expanding digital capabilities presents challenges for healthcare companies, and keeping up with fast-developing technology trends is demanding. Since the outbreak, finding the right transformation solutions and replacing non-digital services with digital ones is now more urgent than ever.
The need to transform the complex and restricted healthcare experience into an easy-to-use, patient-centric, and agile platform is at the top of many healthcare company’s agendas. However, adoption has been slow due to lingering concerns regarding the security and privacy of patient data, strict regulatory requirements and a fragmented market. This has resulted in disconnected doctor and patient experiences. The transition to digital services will support healthcare organizations to enable faster, more accurate and more affordable diagnoses, easier access to treatments, and an enhanced level of healthcare.
ON-DEMAND HEALTHCARE
Healthcare companies need to provide a seamless digital experience connecting patients to doctors, pharmacists, clinics and other service providers. Patient use cases include:
- Performing self-assessments to determine risk levels for various diseases
- Getting access to telemedicine consultations
- Refilling prescription medications at the local pharmacy
Additionally, patients desire price transparency and the ability to see the cost of an appointment and doctor’s fees before booking a consultation. New payment models allow easier management of costs and savings, and clinical-services include digital reports, test kits, and virtual assistance.
On-demand healthcare also provides non-clinical services that include lifestyle needs such as access to nutrition, health and fitness programs. Finally, e-stores allow users to browse and purchase a range of curated wellness products to help maintain a healthy lifestyle.
DATA ANALYTICS
The adoption and utilization of data analytics will play a significant role in the delivery of healthcare. Data analytics can filter massive amounts of data in seconds to find different treatment options and medicines for different patients. Data analytics is proving to be a critical tool in helping to predict future medical events, which in turn can assist people in avoiding potential diseases and reducing patient treatment costs.
The current Covid-19 pandemic is a notable example of healthcare organizations leveraging data analytics to inform decision-making. Since the pandemic began, healthcare organizations around the world utilized data analytics to assist in understanding risk factors, organize responses to Covid-19, and then streamline vaccine rollouts.
Contact tracing is one method being used to help control the spread of the virus. Contact tracing is the process of identifying all people that a COVID-19 positive patient has come in contact with in the last two weeks. Thanks to advanced analytics and data visualization, public health officials and investigators are finding new channels to quickly identify people who have been exposed to COVID-19 so they can self-isolate, seek treatment if needed and impede the spread of infection.
INNOVATION & COLLABORATION
The healthcare industry faces strict regulatory requirements and expensive, time-consuming R&D cycles. Internal efforts can be both slow and costly. Open innovation can enable forward thinking healthcare companies to cut costs and reduce time-to-market for products and services. Collaboration with innovative companies can solve technological dead-ends, modernize legacy IT systems and deliver personalized, on-demand healthcare.
While open innovation presents enormous opportunities for healthcare providers, hospitals and insurance companies, it is more than just trading notes and technology ideas. Successful open innovation collaborations function symbiotically, with participating organizations benefiting from the arrangement and filling knowledge gaps. A recent example of the benefit of open innovation in healthcare is Singapore’s launch of TraceTogether, a mobile contact tracing app based on voluntary public registration which uses Bluetooth to record close human contacts. This source code was then freely made available to developers around the world.
HEALTHCARE & LOTUSFLARE
To support healthcare companies to deliver on-demand digital healthcare, LotusFlare built an Integrated Health Platform which allows customers to access and fulfill all their health needs through a single app or website. The LotusFlare Integrated Health Platform keeps patients, doctors and healthcare providers connected digitally. Our cloud-native, agile, and low-cost IT stack enables intuitive digital customer journeys for healthcare organizations.
Contact us to learn more about how one healthcare company utilizes the LotusFlare Integrated Health Platform.
