How Digitalization Impacts the Healthcare Industry?
Digitalization impacts the healthcare industry in different ways. For one, it allows for better coordination between patients and medical experts. Today, both of these entities can create, share, and maintain digital records of medical information, making cooperation more straightforward.
Better yet, this data can be stored on a cloud, making it easy to access. Doing this can prove quite handy when a patient is assigned to a new healthcare expert, becoming particularly useful during emergencies.
Apart from that, modern healthtech has made it easy to log various observations made on patients. For instance, with a wearable device, medical practitioners can keep tabs on the vitals of their patients in real time.
Lastly, thanks to digitalization, it is also possible for medical experts to reach out to those in need with reliable diagnoses and treatments. For example, through social media, healthcare experts can communicate to the masses, disseminating information that promotes healthy lifestyles.
What is Healthtech Industry? How Big is It?
The healthtech industry refers to the branch of social life that deals with the use of organized know-how and skills in the form of machines, medications, processes, and systems. All these are intended to address health issues and better human life.
According to Statista, the worldwide medical tech industry’s market is worth USD 430 billion. The US and Western Europe are the most established regions of this sector, with China and the rest of Asia poised to play an integral role in the future.
Notable Healthtech Trends in 2020
New technological trends steer the growth of software development companies, also those providing IT outsourcing and nearshoring services. Thanks to digital transformation, new techs are on course to impacting healthcare in 2020. Let’s highlight some of them:
- Wearables: These devices will witness continued adoption in 2020, as medical experts endeavor to gather and track massive amounts of data from many people. The Apple Watch and fitness trackers are examples of these gadgets.
- AI: In 2020 and beyond, we can expect to continue witnessing the adoption of AI in diagnosing ailments, securing healthcare organizations from fraud, and cybersecurity.
- Telehealth: Patients will continue accessing on-camera consultations, sparing them from having to travel when ill, and the costs of making trips to healthcare facilities.
- Virtual reality: This technology will be adopted to a more considerable extent in 2020. It will be used for distracting patients during procedures, visualizing vitals ahead of an operation, and educating people on the experience of the sick, thereby, promoting empathy.
- 5G: Despite the controversy surrounding 5G, 2020 might witness the formative adoption of this tech. When used, we can expect quicker downloads and communication between doctors, their counterparts, and patients.
Read also: Nearshoring of software development services
Outsourcing Services Used in Healthtech Sector
With the costs of providing healthcare increasing by the day, healthcare establishments are forced to maintain their IT services within their capitals. One of the ways they are managing to do this is through outsourcing some of their IT functions. Some of the reasons behind this move are:
- Outsourcing IT operations can help to secure healthcare systems from cyberattacks.
- Outsourcing allows healthcare firms to scale up their IT services according to emerging needs.
- By outsourcing IT services, healthcare providers can be available round the clock, improving their reliability.
- Outsourcing IT services allows organizations to re-assign their limited staff to areas that are of the top priority for core functions, in this case, providing healthcare services.
Summary
While healthcare is quite a sensitive sector, careful adoption of emerging technological trends is sure to yield significant benefits. And given the speed at which digitalization is being implemented, we can expect mind-blowing possibilities in the healthtech sector in 2020 and beyond. Companies which are willing to take advantage of the newest trends in the healthtech industry should consider IT outsourcing as one of the options fostering technological boost.
Agata has years of experience in a software development environment, which helps her to understand how to manage internal and external IT product development. It is her role to help clients to maintain control in outsourced software development projects, reach deadlines and maximize business goals. In her private life, she is an enthusiast of antique jewelry and escape rooms.