10 Strong Benefits of Digital Transformation in Hospitals
Healthful Vitality | 07/30/2021 | By Tech Contributor | 10 Strong Benefits of Digital Transformation in Hospitals
Digital transformation in hospitals has become an inevitable shift that involves governance in providing quality and safe patient care. Digital transformation enables hospitals to unite cross-functional areas through integrating technology, allowing them to focus on core business functions widening safe and secure health care. Notably, it places them at the intersection of strategy, design, and technology to drive changes through turbulent times like the COVID-19 humanitarian crisis and many others to come for competitive advantages.
Here are 10 strong benefits of digital transformation in hospitals:
1) Digital transformation is a new way of empowering patient centered doctor-patient interaction
The enhanced doctor-patient relationship is the main benefit of digital transformation. Digital transformation involves the integration of digital technologies for patients to receive better treatment. Moreover, it facilitates the patients as they become able to opt for the virtual checkup. They won’t have to visit the hospitals, again and again, to get their checkup done. Indeed, it facilitates improving the patient’s experience.
2) Digital transformation helps expanding precision medicine
Digital transformation involves improved data analysis which enables delivery of precision medicine. Additionally, studies exhibit that digital transformation combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Medical Things helps offer personalized medicine. For example, digital clinical trials, deep real-time phenotyping with patient-reported outcomes, and high-throughput association studies between omics and highly granular phenotypic variation.
3) Digital transformation uses to respond to humanitarian health crises
Indeed, humanitarian health crises arose across the globe from COVID-19 pandemic and it appears there are many more similar pandemics to occur soon. According to Healthful Vitality, the COVID-19 pandemic challenged conventional health care services methods because many hospitals relied on paperwork and traditional filed database sources during the virus spread. Therefore, the digital transformation in hospitals has become a prerequisite in driving innovation and technology advancement in providing quality and safe health care services throughout the pandemic and beyond.
4) Digital transformation enables health economics more effective
According to Healthful Vitality, most of the world’s economies are struggling to deliver high-quality healthcare cost-effectively. [1] In this situation, digital transformation accelerates data analytics to identify the behavior of patients, health care providers, public and private institutions and, therefore, assists in decision-making to promote healthy lifestyles and positive health outcomes.
5) Digital transformation enhances predictive analysis of the patient’s conditions
Important to realize that the benefits of digital transformation in hospitals include the predictive analysis of the patient’s condition. Predictive analysis is used to get an idea about the patient’s condition in case of chronic diseases, such as hepatitis C, suicide risks, mental health, sepsis, diabetes, etc.
6) Digital transformation enhances patients and hospitals massive scale of data management
Hospitals are required to working with massive amounts of data daily. And they need intelligent systems to store data safely. In this regard, digital transformation has brought considerable benefits to the healthcare system. Notably, it has made it possible for hospitals to store data seamlessly and faster, enabling personnel to see and retrieve the data whenever they want.
7) Digital transformation promotes digital connections, which increases patients’ queries, boosts confidence
Through the help of digital transformation, hospitals can create specific platforms where patients can post their queries in real-time, and they get their answers from health care professionals. In this way, patients can ask questions in real-time rather than wait for their turn to visit the clinic physically. As a result, patients’ confidence boosts enough to ask questions quickly when they feel they need help.
8) Digital transformation enables effective communication within the hospital
The success of health care institutions mainly depends on efficient communication within the facility buildings that permits live, timely, safe, and secure transmission of information and data, which digital transformation has brought valuable changes.
9) Managing healthcare records through the next generation electronic enrichment means
Undoubtedly, digital transformation has brought significant benefits to the healthcare system, which is evident through its enriched EHR integration in healthcare systems. Certainly, it makes it able to store data electronically, helping to retrieve the information anywhere anytime, avoiding the chance of human error.
10) Wearable or other tools
Digital transformation also provides excellent benefits in the healthcare system regarding wearable or other tools. It has undeniably affected the proliferation of these tools and overall connected devices, such as fitness monitors, health-related mobile applications, different scales to measure individual weight, the use of glucometer in the case of diabetics, and much more. All these transformations have driven patients to control their health and keep a check on themselves.
Final Analysis
In conclusion, digital transformation has changed the way businesses operate to become more competent concerning systems and their body of work. Moreover, as digital transformation is driving to influence nearly every area of life, ranging from small to large businesses, it would provide many benefits to hospitals, not only for the patients but also for the medics.
Indeed, as there are strong benefits of digital transformation in hospitals, hospitals need to embrace innovation to accelerate digital transformation. However, it depends on how they embrace change—specifically, their readiness to support integrating technologies. In various areas and ways, there are many benefits digital transformation in hospitals can deliver, including:
- Enhances predictive analysis of the patient’s conditions
- Respond to humanitarian health crises with a competitive advantage
- Enables health economics more effective
- The massive scale of data management
- Wearable or other tools
- One mobile app for both patients and the medical staff
- Installation of digital screens in patients’ room
- Accuracy of the reports despite the patient’s condition
- Direct bookings and their system integration
- Telehealth and telecommunication integration and improvement
- Easy of ordering repeat prescriptions
- Digital diagnostic kits
- Easy public input to data to enhance understanding of diseases
- Digital platforms for the next generation patients requirements and managing crises
- Enhanced operational efficiency
- Patient-centered care
- Better workplace collaboration provides a sense of purpose in the hospital.
- Embrace innovation as a culture to accelerate change
- Easy interaction with patients and doctors to boost patient confidence and outcomes
- Better patient care while saving money- cost reduction while increase efficiency
- Digital transformation involves the effectiveness of governance
- Automation of healthcare processes that enhances precision medicine, no more errors!
Reference:
1. Healthful Vitality. (2021). “Digital Transformation in Healthcare Industry,” by Dr. Ahinsa Madumali, available online at: https://healthfulvitality.com/digital-transformation-in-healthcare-industry/