The healthcare sector, like many others, is continuously evolving. The application of modern technologies will bring about changes in traditional processes. Therefore, healthcare institutions must find new ways to meet patient needs in both diagnosis and treatment. Digital transformation, or digital healthcare, is the solution and a crucial factor that healthcare facilities are seeking today. Although this term has become widespread, successfully implementing digital transformation in healthcare still poses many challenges for management teams.
According to Regulation 2021/694 of the European Parliament and Council on April 29, 2021, concerning the Digital Europe Programme, digital transformation refers to the use of digital technologies to transform businesses and services. Some technologies contributing to this transformation include the Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud Computing, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The sectors most affected by this transformation include telecommunications, financial services, and healthcare.
Digital transformation in healthcare is the comprehensive integration of digital technologies into data analysis and process innovation to improve the quality of healthcare services. Digital healthcare plays a critical role in healthcare innovation, empowering patients to participate in their care. At this stage, patients are given the right to participate in decision-making related to their health. The ability to search for information online or use digital health applications (e.g., via mobile phones) is essential for patients to make informed health decisions.
Improving the quality of healthcare is one of the top priorities for medical professionals. However, upgrading healthcare services is not always the primary focus. Instead, personalized care tailored to each patient's specific needs is the key to solving the issue.
For example, technologies like Electronic Health Records (EHR) allow doctors to create customized treatment plans based on patients' specific data, such as medical history and genetic profiles. By leveraging this data, healthcare professionals can personalize treatment plans, predict potential health risks, and provide interventions specifically tailored to each patient.
Although the use of EHR alone does not signify the successful implementation of digital transformation in healthcare, learning how to create more personalized patient care with these tools can lead to a more efficient healthcare delivery system that fully utilizes modern technologies.
Healthcare equity is a hot topic across all aspects of the healthcare sector today. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Black, Hispanic, and Asian adults in the U.S. were less likely to receive mental health services in 2021 compared to white adults. In Asia, where there are no ethnic divides, healthcare inequality is reflected in the disparity in patient volume between central and provincial healthcare facilities.
Telemedicine, a prominent digital transformation solution in healthcare, is expected to address disparities in access to healthcare services. Telemedicine allows doctors to provide optimal care regardless of the patient's location.
As a result, patients who previously had limited access to quality care, such as those in rural areas and the elderly, now have the opportunity to access healthcare services through medical apps and other digital tools.
Productivity in healthcare is crucial. It ensures that people receive timely care and that clinicians can treat as many patients as possible. However, with an aging population outpacing the younger workforce and a shortage of medical personnel, healthcare facilities are struggling with demand exceeding supply.
This is where digital transformation technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI)-based automation, can offer support. Automation in healthcare systems can significantly boost efficiency in various administrative tasks, such as:
- Optimizing appointment scheduling
- Ensuring compliance with healthcare laws and regulations
- Automating medical report generation and management
- Maintaining patient health records
- Automating note-taking and processing insurance claims
A notable example of digital transformation for hospitals is VinBrain's DrAid™ Enterprise Data Solution Solution key tool enabling hospitals and healthcare facilities in Vietnam to seamlessly transition to digital healthcare.
DrAid™ Enterprise Data Solution assists doctors in automatically generating medical reports following the standard report format from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). It also features speech-to-text technology available in 25 languages, allowing for rapid and easy report creation. Additionally, the DrAid™ ecosystem integrates the DrAid™ Copilot chatbot, a 24/7 virtual assistant specifically for doctors and managers. With its ability to swiftly and accurately respond to medical-related topics, DrAid™ Copilot helps doctors maximize their productivity comprehensively.
Affordable healthcare services are a top concern for most patients—especially in the United States. According to the Peterson Foundation, the U.S. had the highest healthcare costs globally, spending $4.5 trillion in 2022, averaging $13,493 per person. Meanwhile, healthcare costs in other countries are less than half of that.
With digital transformation in healthcare, medical professionals can now leverage technology to implement value-based care models, which focus on care quality, provider performance, and patient experience. The essence of value-based care is that patients don't pay for services unless they improve their health condition.
For example, the rise of community health clinics has provided timely care for many patients compared to emergency rooms, helping patients avoid costly emergency visits, which can be as high as $1,300 per visit.
While technology has brought many benefits to healthcare systems, digital transformation also presents significant challenges for healthcare managers to ensure it's used effectively. Below are some key challenges that healthcare managers should consider when implementing digital transformation solutions in hospitals comprehensively and effectively.
In healthcare's digital transformation, data security and privacy are the most critical and concerning challenges. In many countries, healthcare data remains fragmented, with no suitable solutions to address this thoroughly. Your medical data may reside in your Electronic Health Records (EHR), with your pharmacist, radiologist, or even your dentist. These systems are often disconnected.
This lack of integration makes it difficult for hospitals to effectively utilize healthcare data to optimize patient treatment. The solution lies in consolidating data through cloud technology, streamlining healthcare processes, and reducing costs.
At the same time, data security is another major concern. Digitizing medical data opens up vulnerabilities, putting this sensitive information at risk of being stolen or misused.
According to HIPAA Journal, from 2009 to 2022, more than 5,000 healthcare data breaches were reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights, compromising the information of over 350 million medical records.
Hospitals and healthcare facilities must strengthen cybersecurity to minimize the risk of data breaches. While improving the quality of healthcare, it's essential to comply with data security regulations—a prerequisite for successful digital transformation.
Digital transformation in healthcare leads to changes in patient care processes and administrative tasks. These changes can be uncomfortable for doctors and healthcare workers, especially when they are already dealing with heavy workloads daily.
Therefore, healthcare facilities should not separate the responsibility of seeking technological solutions to business experts while leaving doctors to focus solely on clinical solutions. Instead, they should collaborate to identify and implement solutions that meet the needs of all stakeholders.
This ensures that technology addresses both clinical and administrative functions. If healthcare professionals are forced to adopt technology without full consensus, the implementation of high-tech solutions may backfire.
Digital transformation in healthcare offers numerous benefits, such as digitizing medical records, invoices, and related documents, improving the efficiency and transparency of information management. However, in most countries, specialized healthcare technologies are still underdeveloped.
The lack of technological infrastructure, along with limited financial and human resources, makes it challenging for hospitals to implement technological solutions efficiently and uniformly. This creates significant obstacles to linking and synchronizing data between hospitals, clinics, and healthcare authorities on a wide scale, hindering the optimization of national and global healthcare systems.
Despite the challenges, many countries are making substantial progress in the digital transformation of healthcare. Below are some solutions to accelerate this process:
Artificial intelligence (AI) has garnered much attention in recent years. It's not just a trend in healthcare or hospitals but a global societal shift. When AI is integrated into medical devices, there is a visible increase in efficiency in care and treatment.
AI can be designed as a virtual healthcare assistant with the ability to remember medical information, diagnose, and treat patients. Furthermore, AI helps discover new active ingredients, successfully develop medications, conduct clinical trials, and provide accurate analytical results.
Blockchain plays a crucial role in the digital transformation of healthcare and is a key solution for hospitals. It ensures the security and accuracy of Electronic Health Records (EHR). As a massive storage unit, blockchain comprehensively records treatment information, medical history, prescriptions, etc., enabling doctors to have a holistic view of a patient’s health without needing any intermediaries.
In the 4.0 era, healthcare is also evolving. People are increasingly focusing on disease prevention rather than treatment. They are interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and understanding their bodies. As a result, companies have introduced numerous technology products for healthcare purposes. These devices are often compact and portable, allowing for real-time health updates anytime, anywhere.
One of the most positive outcomes of digital transformation in healthcare is the rise in virtual consultations and online health check-ups. Telemedicine allows patients to easily meet doctors anytime, anywhere, providing a comfortable experience. It saves patients significant costs, time, and effort compared to in-person hospital visits.
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