The future of Healthcare – AI opening up opportunities

Technology today has provided patients will all the information they need. Patients can now accurately classify diseases using the International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes just like their doctors. You’d be surprised they even know what lab tests to do to rule out some illnesses and confirm some. For doctors, this is a big challenge. Some practitioners have found themselves arguing with patients on what medication they want and what the doctor is ready to prescribe. For other medical officers, this situation has made their work even easier. Rather than argue with the patient, they take such opportunities to educate the patient on why he/she is prescribing alternative medication and not what the patient had ordered.

In the end, the client leaves satisfied and happy. They even heal and realize the doctor was right. For healthcare in general, it is more than patient-doctor agreements. Today, the client is very knowledgeable and demanding. The COVID-19 pandemic happened in 2020 and made things worse. 2021 saw different countries experience different waves and it turned the state at which healthcare is administered. Some health systems were stretched. But let’s think through what solutions could change the now, and the future of healthcare.

Existing Challenges

Healthcare business management is one of the hardest to run. The greatest challenge being the technology one chooses to work with. It can be overwhelming sometimes, with hundreds of new ideas coming up every other day. The worst part is that these systems are stand-alone. This means that every time there is a change, a team has to be established to transfer patient information to the new system. Technology too could be involved. But the accuracy with which this data is moving is heavily reliant on the tech’s syntax.

You lose it when you lose patient information. Return patients have issues like drug resistance, addiction, and so forth. When you lose such details, the quality of care deteriorates. That is not the way you want to treat your patients.

While other industries were embracing working from home, healthcare was not impacted. It’s hard to work from home when dealing with patients. Some need you to see them for treatment to be effected. The patients you could see remotely are those not in dire need of critical care. But even in that case, how can technology be used to change the fortunes of these patients?

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

According to https://www.leewayhertz.com/digital-transformation-in-healthcare/#:~:text=Digital%20transformation%20in%20healthcare%20is,offer%20a%20better%20user%20experience., AI can be used in pathology image analytics and drug & vaccine research. This could change the outcomes in care. The rate at which viruses are mutating is alarming. That is why we need technology to improve things. This is a work in progress and we will need to improve with the mutation of viruses.

Another way AI could be used is to improve patients’ waiting time. Service will be offered faster and the clients will be happier. This will fasten their recovery rate. Billing and other support services could be done using technology. Most systems today have centralized billing points. Whenever there is an influx in the number of clients in a health facility, the billing points get overwhelmed, and patient anxiety skyrockets.

Internet of Things

Monitoring patients remotely is a way to decongest hospitals. Home-based care also saves clients from paying bed charges that makes healthcare expensive. When accompanied with alternative forms of medicine, it could save the patient millions in the long run. Internet of things allows for patient monitoring remotely.

But when performing this, there’s a need for proper risk management. That way, it would be easier to manage the condition and let the patient have better outcomes. Through proper risk evaluation, the doctor will be able to perform proper health condition prediction. After that, he/she will accurately prescribe medication to the patient if need be. As a result, cases of misdiagnosis and wrong drug prescription will reduce. When it comes to patient data, there’ll be proper documentation and doctors will be properly informed for future decision making.

Big Data input

Proper planning can only happen at a point of information. Big data will help managers predict the numbers their facilities will likely host. That way, they can plan on staffing and resources to facilitate a better patient experience. The result will be client satisfaction and the numbers will likely go up. This means more business for insurance companies and hospitals.

Besides, big data will significantly reduce human errors. This will save the patients as well. Remember the moment you make mistakes in data capture you risk putting the patient’s life in danger. Big data will help in the proper recording and storage of patients. Besides, retrieval and analysis will be smooth. The end will be a better decision-making management team and we will see healthcare improve significantly.

 

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