The rise and rise of Healthcare Technology (HealthTech)

Healthcare technology includes any IT tools or software designed to increase hospital and administrative productivity, provide new insights into medicines and treatments, or improve overall care quality. Today’s $2 trillion healthcare industry is at a crossroad — currently burdened by crushing costs and red tape, the industry is looking for ways to improve in almost every conceivable area. This is where the concept of HealthTech arises — technology-infused tools are being integrated into every step of the healthcare process to address two major issues.

So how exactly are innovators increasing access to healthcare and improving hospital operations? By tailoring experiences to the individual, healthcare technology companies have provided a much-needed boost in efficiency. These businesses understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to proper care, so customisation is essential. HealthTech companies are amplifying human health and reducing unnecessary strain on the industry by personalising everything from insurance payments to diets and sleep patterns.

The insurance technology business, or ‘insurtech’, is making healthcare more accessible to a wider range of individuals. Patient wait times are decreasing as a result of artificial intelligence and predictive analytics, and hospitals are more effectively staffed. Even surgical operations and recuperation periods are being reduced thanks to ultra-precise robots that aid doctors and make some treatments less intrusive.

Uses of Healthcare Technology

The uses for technology in the healthcare industry are seemingly endless, therefore explaining its meteoric rise. Tech is being implemented in everything from hospital administrative processes to cancer research, and surgery to improve efficiency throughout the industry and make the patient experience as painless as possible.

Administrative

A whole host of software, tools and applications are making it easier for hospitals to handle their growing administrative workloads. Artificial intelligence is helping administrative teams streamline patient flows by doing everything from accurately calculating wait times to predicting peak busy hours for staff scheduling.

Surgery has seen some of the biggest improvements in HealthTech efficiency and progress over the years. As you read this, robots are assisting with a variety of operations, from minor, non-invasive procedures to open-heart surgery.

Virtual and augmented reality are helping doctors and surgeons to better perform various important tasks, like practising new surgical techniques or more thoroughly explaining procedures to patients.

Drug Development

The pharmaceutical industry is leaning on AI and machine learning to power a new wave of drug research and development. These tools are currently being used in a variety of aspects across the industry to help speed up time-consuming tasks like pinpointing certain chemical combinations that might help create the optimal drug and identifying patients who could best benefit from a particular drug trial.

Fitness

Fitness is obviously becoming a larger focus of the HealthTech ecosystem. The industry has developed hundreds of wearables, apps and other tools that do everything from track our workouts to measure our sleep schedules.

Diagnostics & Error Reduction

The healthcare business is currently utilising a number of technologies to address one of its primary issues: erroneous or delayed diagnosis. Healthtech businesses have helped diagnose catastrophic diseases like cancer early and with higher accuracy than humans alone by incorporating technology into genetics, pathology, and other vital diagnostic domains.

Real-time information exchange

Many diverse organisations, from physicians to patients to payers, want access to health information for various reasons. Traditionally, organisations had to keep separate records for each category. However, new technology makes it simpler to standardise and securely store digital patient information, therefore, more organisations are integrating their data so that authorised personnel can access documents when needed.

Mental Health

Mental health is one of the developing areas of healthcare that is greatly benefiting from technological advancements. Virtual reality is seen as a promising tool in the battle against depression, PTSD, and possibly Alzheimer’s disease. Patients who undergo exposure treatment eventually train their brains to develop tolerance to prior traumas until such memories no longer negatively influence them. Furthermore, telemedicine applications have facilitated access to counsellors and healthcare experts by enabling contact and assistance and decreasing the need to wait for an in-person session during times of crisis.

Conclusion

JPIN believes that HealthTech has the potential to trim the fat from our traditional healthcare scene. Tech-infused care has improved or at least addressed skyrocketing costs, unbearable wait times, inefficiencies in drug development, and limited access to insurance. As the healthcare industry faces new challenges, technology solutions are helping leaders to improve performance, increase collaboration across systems, and manage costs. JPIN opines that as demands on organisations increase, healthcare technology can streamline processes, automate tasks and improve workflows at a scale that’s not possible for humans alone.