The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is presenting an unprecedented challenge to the healthcare sector around the globe. As we are facing one of the most significant challenges, the big question is, what could ease the healthcare business processes?
Tech experts advocate relooking at healthcare web applications.
Some innovative web-based solutions can streamline healthcare business processes during such epidemics. Such solutions are not only futuristic but also a dire necessity.
End-to-end healthcare web application development can help uncover new ways of facilitating healthcare professionals. How?
In this blog, we will look at some web development solutions for the healthcare sector to fight the corona-like pandemics.
Web Development Solutions for Healthcare Businesses to Fight Coronavirus Pandemic
Healthcare businesses have been adopting technology at a slower pace than other industries, and it is time to change this.
When it comes to healthcare, a delay could lead to potentially compromising the lives of many. Healthcare web apps can facilitate professionals stretching beyond their limits.
Let’s look at some viable web solutions that can transform the current healthcare scenario.
1. Real-Time Communication Platform for Consultations and Telemedicine
What is the most critical skill in medicine? You’re right! It is communication.
Interactions between doctors and patients have been quite dated. Why? That’s because many providers argue that digitization takes away the ability of a doctor to look at patients in person.
However, it is critical to have contactless communication channels during a crisis such as COVID-19. An implementation of a solid plan can help you reap the benefits of real-time data.
Let’s look at some benefits that you can gain from properly utilizing real-time communication apps.
- Instant Communication: Patients can schedule an appointment and even get prescription updates. They can communicate with a doctor or nurse from the comfort of their home. Imagine the power of such communication at times when there is a complete lockdown.
- Remote Monitoring: Imagine an app monitoring your blood sugar levels and heart rate. When the readings reach a certain threshold, this app would trigger an alert to your physician. Professionals can connect such essential features to hospital devices, both on-site and on the move.
- Important Alerts and Notifications: It can help all relevant users. Doctors can receive new patient alerts and also reminders of upcoming appointments.
- Telemedicine: Telemedicine has been around for over 40 years. However, today with the power of online video conferences, wireless devices, smartphones, and wearables, you can experience its full potential. Initial consultations and remote patient monitoring during pandemics can be beneficial.
The power of real-time communication is enormous. You can choose to integrate real-time healthcare apps into your existing communication infrastructure and get closer to the data.
Are there any potential implementation problems? You can seek support from expert tech companies such as Imaginovation, who can help you identify issues and build real-time capabilities into an app or infrastructure for you.
2. Patient Education with Interactive Online Libraries
Take a moment and think. If you were to read about dos and don’ts during the coronavirus pandemic, where would you go to find the information?
Of course, you will straight up Google the information or visit a healthcare website. As a healthcare service provider, if you have an online library full of useful information, it could help a large group of people. Professional multimedia and interactive libraries have more important takeaways than printed information.
Using multimedia for health education can promote active learning and also generate more user interest.
QuHarrison Terry, Growth Marketer at Mark Cuban Companies, says in an interview “healthcare people traditionally speak the healthcare vernacular that they’re taught. They live in that world. But it’s very hard for a person that lives outside of the healthcare realm to interface and engage with what’s going on.”
Therefore, it’s important to provide information on healthcare in a way that it’s easily understood by the end-users.
Health awareness and patient education is a critical facet during a crisis. You can integrate useful multimedia and animation into your healthcare apps to educate a large population.
3. Staff Training to Improve Safety and Compliance
A John Hopkins study states that more than 250,000 individuals in the US die due to avoidable hospital errors. Now, that’s a considerable number.
What can you do to improve patient safety outcomes?
You can provide an online web-based training to your healthcare staff. This can help you improve patient safety and compliance. It can also help in avoiding errors, reducing mistakes, lowering infection rates, and limiting harm. How? Let’s find out.
- Incorporate a Safety and Health Management System: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published an assessment tool for hospitals. The publication suggests that care providers should formulate guidelines. The guidelines can determine enterprise safety and health management system performance. You must perform regular organizational performance reviews, which can encourage compliance with safety protocols.
- Develop a Safety Compliance Plan: Developing and maintaining a safety compliance plan can help to promote safe treatment environments. You can check how your staff is following established policies. Use the information to adjust organizational policies, if needed. You can develop compliance standards that best suits your organization and the community. It can help to mitigate any illegal activity. You can also maintain insurance claim integration.
- Create a Rapid Response System (RRS): The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has developed Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance & Patient Safety. The design can aid organizations in planning rapid response systems. The tool also outlines apt decision-making models for varying scenarios such as Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA), Failure Modes and Effect Analysis (FMEA), and Root Cause Analysis (RCA).
- Communicate Safety Information to Patients: Educated patients can assist in limiting medical errors. Hence, it is prudent that you provide health-related facts for unique circumstances. At times like the global pandemic, users can increasingly participate in understanding their recovery planning. You can empower consumers with information that can help with safer treatment.
- Incorporate Safe Hospital Design: Transcending from operational efficiency to patient-centered building design is essential. You must focus on structural characteristics that can limit contagion spread. However, it is equally crucial to use advanced technology that reduces errors.
4. Modernizing Health IT Infrastructure
Healthcare businesses need to provide quality care. The stakes are quite high, with lives at stake. Rigorous testing and planning are critical when you plan to modernize health IT infrastructure.
Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are still a backbone for most organizations’ health IT infrastructure. They still suffer from a lack of interoperability, but government interventions could change the tide.
You can also upgrade to technologies such as big data, IoT and AI. These technologies can help with improved remote patient monitoring and patient management.
It is also critical for healthcare businesses to protect themselves from cyberattacks, as such attacks could disrupt hospital operations and jeopardize patient safety. Let’s look at some healthcare tech trends:
- Cloud-based technologies could play a key role in shaping the future of healthcare. The techniques could help improve real-time patient monitoring and patient management.
- IoT solutions could help with connected healthcare. The future of connected healthcare will also include chatbots and Medicare changes.
- With more web solutions, you need to be aware of cyberthreats. Healthcare businesses will need to integrate robust solutions to ensure the security of patient data and organizational information. FDA also recently took additional steps to promote medical device cybersecurity. Mobile device security in healthcare is already a priority. With increased attacks, health IT must be diligent in protecting endpoints.
- You can also look forward to deception technology making inroads in healthcare, with increased automation and virtualization.
- Cryptojacking is relatively less harmless than cyber threats. However, you will need to remain alert with the new type of attack.
It’s heartening to see innovative solutions. What’s important is that you choose to look at your healthcare business needs. After assessing your needs, you can incorporate solutions that are best for your organization.
5. Improving Insurance Claims Management and Billing Operations
As a healthcare organization, reducing inefficiency in revenue cycle management must be a priority. Reimbursement is changing rapidly in healthcare and you will find an increasing focus on value-based care.
You must ensure that patients get value in terms of accuracy and timeliness. Technology can play a significant role in improving claims management. However, technology cannot replace the inefficiencies of processes.
To ensure success in claims processing, personnel must be skilled, and the processes should be well-monitored. When various departments in a healthcare organization communicate in a scheduled way, you will find that the revenue cycle functions smoothly.
When it comes to billing operations and claims management, you can implement organizational models that can augment efficiencies in such areas. There are several billing models, and you can choose the one that benefits you the most.
Here’s a quick preview:
- Centralized Billing Model: Staff can perform the billing functions in a central business office (CBO). You will benefit from consistency, economies of scale, dedicated expertise, and opportunities for enhanced IT systems. On the downside, you may face response lag and higher billing costs.
- Decentralized Billing Model: Staff can perform the billing functions at the site of service. You can benefit from a prompt resolution of errors. On the downside, it could lead to distinctive standards and processes and staffing inefficiencies.
- Outsourced Model: You will find a third party managing the functional areas, enabling your organization to focus on its core competencies.
- Hybrid Billing Model: Typically, if you have a moderate-sized physician group, then this could be a useful model for you. The blend of centralized and decentralized facets could give you an excellent mix of centralized and decentralized worlds.
With technology, you can benefit from more reliable business intelligence. You could use facets of big data and data analytics to get insights into your processes and serve the healthcare financial services better.
6. Mobile-Friendly Web Apps for Home Health Agencies and Remote Employees
Picture this: you want to achieve your organizational goals effectively. You also want to keep everyone involved on the same page. What should you do in such a scenario?
You’re right! Keep internal communications par excellence.
But How?
Web and smartphone apps can help you streamline internal communications and also improve efficiency.
Gone are the ‘intranet communication’ days. You must move on to using apps that can allow instant messaging, email-style message threads, and sending out notifications via SMS text message.
Here are some communication apps that are available both on mobile devices and desktop computers:
- Slack: The cloud-based team communication app is one of the most popular project management and collaboration tools.
- Basecamp: The app is ideal for sharing files and collaborating on various projects. Developers have designed the app to make communication easy in different departments within a company.
- RedBooth: The app helps to track tasks. It also allows for instant communication between team members.
- Skype: You can use the app both on desktop and mobile. The text, voice, and video chat can help teams to stay in touch.
- HipChat: You can access the team communication app from the web or mobile. You can enjoy the freemium version and also try an inexpensive paid version. The app allows integrating with Facebook, Google Drive, Dropbox, and other software.
During a pandemic, it is even more critical to implement effective strategies for fast and proficient internal communications.
You can also develop your own slack-like internal communication platforms and integrate different workflows.
7. Health Apps for Patients with Daily Reminders for Self-care and Disease Management
We live in an era where technology has made monitoring health easy with fitness trackers, sleep apps, and more. Apps that focus on patient’s needs are a brilliant way to communicate more effectively with your team.
For the families that you care for, the apps are just ideal for providing enhanced service. Caregivers can focus on delivering improved care and let apps take care of some of their tasks.
Here are some of the best apps for home care, home health agencies, and private duty:
- Boomr: The app can help to keep your employee’s earnings, hours, overtime in order.
- Mile IQ: If you want to track employee mileage for reimbursement and tax purposes when your caregivers travel across town. Then Mile IQ is just for you. It will help you track mileage using a smartphone’s built-in GPS.
- MedChat: A HIPAA-secure live chat app, MedChat is ideal for the healthcare industry, which can allow you to communicate with patients seamlessly. You can also have access to all your conversations with patients and their families.
- Elder 411: The app offers a comprehensive guide to all aspects of senior care. You will have access to over 500 pieces of advice and information for caregivers, which includes tips on safety, housing, mobility, and more.
- iPharmacy Pro: Sorting medications for patients in a weekly pill holder can be time-consuming. That’s when this app can be a wonder. The app allows you to identify each pill by typing in the imprint code, shape, and color.
The apps can help you find free time, allowing your home care business to grow at its best.
8. Data Capture and Analysis
One of the most promising technology entrants in healthcare is Big Data. You can manage, analyze, and leverage data with Big Data.
With healthcare analytics, you can enjoy the potential to reduce costs of treatment, predict outbreaks of epidemics, and even improve the quality of life. The application of big data analytics in healthcare has myriad constructive and life-saving outcomes.
Using healthcare data analytics using data-driven findings can predict and solve a problem. There is also a huge demand for big data analytics in healthcare facilities than ever before, and the rise of SaaS BI tools is also answering that need.
Here are some interesting Big Data applications in healthcare:
- Big data can come up with predictions, daily and hourly, on the number of expected patients to be at each hospital. At times of crisis, this can be critical. You can solve the issue of staffing with analytics.
A Forbes article reiterates the model. The Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris used consolidated data from various sources to come up with such daily and hourly predictions.
- With EHRs, every patient has a digital record comprising demographics, medical history, and more. Professionals can share such files via secure information systems. Every record consists of one modifiable file so that doctors can implement changes without the risk of data replication.
- Imagine if a patient’s blood pressure increases alarmingly. Through big data analytics incorporated into healthcare systems, doctors can get real-time alerts.
- The use of big data in healthcare allows for strategic planning and gives better insights. Care managers can analyze check-up results among people in multiple demographic groups. They can also identify what factors discourage people from taking up a particular treatment.
With big data applications in healthcare, you will find improved experience for your patients. You can also use technology to improve the overall health of the population.
9. BI Reporting for Operational Improvement
Predictive analytics in healthcare is getting increasingly essential. With predictive analytics and business intelligence, you can address concerns of inefficiencies in your healthcare businesses.
Think of deploying an embedded BI solution that can seamlessly integrate all reporting functionality into your existing framework. The new technological BI solution can adhere to governance and security standards even after integration.
With an embedded healthcare business intelligence solution based on web technologies such as Java, your organization can continue hosting in a web environment.
Your clients, in turn, can enjoy the simplicity of data access and reporting. The integrated system can be more flexible with embedded BI and reporting, improving processes, and reducing errors dramatically.
Critical times call for futuristic measures. You can take steps that can benefit the entire humanity. Healthcare businesses, professionals, the staff at the frontline, and you can benefit from technology. Web solutions could help improve healthcare use cases, and that’s an emphatic take away.
Build Robust Web Solutions for Your Healthcare Business with Imaginovation
It is critical to start planning for streamlining your healthcare business processes with the help of web technology solutions. Our award-winning team at Imaginovation can help you.
It’s decisive that you take the right steps now. Be safe. Let’s talk.
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