Originally Posted On: https://healthcareitsm.com/blog/it-services-for-healthcare/

The Transformative Impact of IT Services for Healthcare: A New Era of Patient Care

Technology continues to be a major driver of innovation within the healthcare sector, especially post-COVID-19. While the pandemic obviously had many influences on healthcare, its unique characteristics showed patients and medical professionals alike just how effective remote patient monitoring and telemedicine could really be. This is just one example of how IT services for healthcare are revolutionizing patient care, data management, and overall operational efficiency. The result is a truly transformative impact on hospitals and other healthcare providers.

Learn more about innovations in areas like data collection, pharmaceutical research, remote patient monitoring, electronic health record software, cybersecurity, and other critical fields.

The Role of IT Services in Healthcare

From electronic health records to telemedicine, IT services play a crucial role in streamlining healthcare processes.

Remote patient monitoring, telemedicine, Electronic Health Record software, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and other IT services for healthcare provide a range of benefits, including:

Time savings
Streamlined access to medical data
Cost reduction
Better communication between patients and doctors
Reduced paperwork
Improved medical business management
Improved patient satisfaction

Remote Patient Monitoring

Doctors and hospital administrators worldwide are paying attention to innovations in remote patient monitoring. This umbrella term encompasses all systems, procedures, and tools that allow healthcare professionals to monitor a patient’s health without having to interact with that patient directly.

Remote patient monitoring can take many forms. An increasingly common example is mobile or smartphone apps that enable patients to enter blood pressure, weight, glucose levels, or other measurements. The data can also be transmitted directly from devices that are connected to the internet. Healthcare software can analyze the data and send alerts based on preset parameters, and medical providers can make better decisions regarding patient care.

Remote monitoring is beneficial for patients because their information is updated frequently. Medical professionals are able to review real-time or near-real-time data without having to perform an in-person examination. Having up-to-date information allows healthcare professionals to respond to alarming symptoms immediately and ensure the best standard of care.

Benefits of Telemedicine

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of all visits to hospitals and medical facilities are for primary care purposes. As the population continues to grow, many hospitals are overloaded with patients. Telemedicine allows medical professionals to perform their healthcare duties without forcing patients to visit in person, straining infrastructure, exposing patients to ill patients, and requiring more time and manpower.

Telemedicine can be achieved through phone calls, video calls, text and other forms of messaging, and digital communication channels. Aside from patient visits, another popular application of this form of IT services for healthcare involves remote prescription and referral services. Medical staff can write prescriptions and create referrals without the patient having to leave home.

Electronic Health Record Software

Many hospitals and healthcare providers are turning to electronic health record (EHR) software to update and store patient data.

Crucial records EHR is commonly used to store include:

Treatment history
History of diagnoses
Prescriptions
Medical records
Allergy information

EHR software allows healthcare businesses to keep information from different facilities in one common database. This enables powerful cybersecurity to protect a large volume of patient data and reduces the risk of data duplication and data loss.

Core components of EHR software include:

Patient Information – Information about medical history, allergies, lab results, treatment plans, and more can be uploaded to the EHR software by the patient or a healthcare provider.
Centralized Database – EHR software runs on a centralized database that allows any authorized person to access information while protecting the data from hackers.
Data Entry‍ – Some of the heavy lifting of data creation can be done by data entry employees. In addition, some EHR software automatically uploads patient information.
Patient Portals‍ – Patient portals can be accessed via smartphones or computers, giving the patient the comfort of clear control over their most vital information.

As many hospitals, care providers, and other healthcare businesses continue to deal with overcrowded waiting rooms and rural communities struggle to staff healthcare facilities, IT services for healthcare will play an important and growing role in the years to come.

Health Tracking Apps

Health tracking apps make use of a ready source for data collection: smartphones. Thousands of currently available mobile health-monitoring apps are able to quickly provide updated information about a patient’s well-being. The apps can also send friendly reminders for users to make appointments with doctors and mental health professionals.

In addition, health-tracking apps can augment healthcare providers’ medical education efforts through posts, videos, and tips that are sent straight to users. The apps can be integrated with monitoring software and connected to IoT devices.

IoT Devices for Healthcare

Internet of Things (IoT) devices have become so ubiquitous in our daily lives that many of us fail to recognize how many daily tasks they now complete for us, including in the healthcare field. IoT devices used for medical purposes can collect critical information pertaining to a patient’s vital functions.

These can include:

Tracking blood pressure
Monitoring glucose levels
Tracking heart rate
Documenting sleep quality
Measuring body tension

While smartphone apps require users to upload information, IoT devices automatically monitor the patient’s vitals. The devices can also differentiate when the patient sleeps, exercises, or completes daily tasks. The wearable technology looks like a watch or wristband, allowing the devices to remain discreet.

Data collected on an ongoing basis can be synced with healthcare apps to allow healthcare providers to monitor their patient’s condition.

Case Study: Successful Implementation of IT Services

Jukka-Pekka Onnela, co-director at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was recently interviewed by The Harvard Gazette about the widespread use of digital devices to track behavior and moods. Product manufacturers, including Apple, say the devices can help alleviate symptoms of mental illness. Onnela said it is a positive development that could have positive effects on users. Since the devices rely on self-reporting, Onnela said it is yet to be seen whether users continue to log their moods and behaviors for years on end.

Onnella said one of the most powerful uses of these new devices and apps is for “informational intervention.” This critical capability can help patients and healthcare providers alike identify concerning symptoms and trends before they become dangerous.

Cybersecurity in Healthcare IT

Healthcare providers are a common target of cyberattacks and other danger. Those attacks could potentially compromise the privacy of patients because a breach of unregulated hospital servers could lead to sensitive information being released to nefarious individuals. Let’s explore the necessity of vigilant IT cybersecurity.

Potential Cost of Cyber Attacks

Cyberattack breaches could lead to serious fines and penalties, especially as they pertain to HIPAA. An information breach could also harm a healthcare business’ reputation. This could lead to critical financial implications. Worse, losing access to medical records could jeopardize the health and safety of patients. This could ultimately have serious implications for patient health outcomes.

The world saw the potential damage a ransomware attack could cause in 2017 when the WannaCry attack hit 150 countries. The British National Health Service was a major target. A large percentage of the health network’s scheduled procedures were impacted by the ransomware attack that took 48 hours to fully stifle.

Challenges Posted by the Internet of Things

While IT advances include improved cybersecurity for healthcare providers, other technological trends are also making it more difficult to defend against cyberattacks. Devices that are self-governing and use AI must be addressed by comprehensive cybersecurity efforts. These devices are not always equipped with features like firewalls and other protections that are found in traditional servers.

Social Engineering

As more healthcare employees work remotely, phishing bots and programs are becoming more effective at targeting those remote workers. Texting-based phishing, also known as smishing, is becoming more commonplace. Other online agents and bots use programs like WhatsApp and WeChat to trick workers into downloading their malware. Another phishing technique targets healthcare workers via phone calls from individuals posing as IT professionals, and it is often successful as healthcare workers are typically accustomed to receiving calls from IT employees.

Finally, nefarious individuals sometimes sound the alarm on a hacking breach to gain access to a SIM card. This is done by contacting a healthcare company’s mobile phone representative and reporting that their SIM card was hacked. The hacker then says they need their phone number transferred to another card.

The Importance of Cyber Security

Hospitals and healthcare providers that will be best equipped to meet tomorrow’s cybersecurity challenges should make cybersecurity a strategic risk-management issue. While many businesses are accustomed to hiring an on-site individual who focuses on cybersecurity, cybersecurity management services, as a part of managed IT services, can be an even better solution. Cybersecurity experts can regularly update key administrators and recommend steps the business should take to mitigate present and future risks.

The Future of IT Services in Healthcare

The healthcare sector continues to allot increasing resources to AI, machine learning, and other IT-related technologies because the benefits are clear. Technology continues to improve patient care, as AI assists with surgeries and can even create pharmaceuticals. Let’s explore how these unique benefits will continue to affect the future.

Data Management

When it comes to data management, AI systems can address lingering challenges through the use of automation. Areas like document processing, medical imaging, genomics, logging health records, and recording data from wearable devices are all potential sources of automation through the use of AI.

For example, AI algorithms analyze data for a wide range of applications, including for healthcare. EHR data can be recorded and stored more effectively using AI. Major software companies like Microsoft and Allscripts regularly leverage AI and open AI to manage EHR software and personalize patient care. Physicians use these AI-driven resources to customize treatment plans, optimize treatment outcomes, and promote patient engagement.

AI Use in Drug Discovery

Discovering effective new drugs is critical for keeping our healthcare system at the leading edge of patient care. AI improves the efficiency of the drug development process. For example, while mapping the sequence of amino acids in 3D is challenging, AI technology is remarkably adept at navigating these complexities. AI can leverage multi-sequence alignments while incorporating physical and biological knowledge when completing this task.

The results are monitored and reviewed by medical professionals who are able to improve efficiency by using AI.

AI for Mental Health and Wellness

America is facing a mental health crisis. Nearly 20% of adult Americans face mental illness symptoms at any given time. The divide between those struggling with these debilitating conditions and the shortage of mental health providers is being bridged in part with the help of AI.

Mental health continues to be a top concern for healthcare providers as Americans cope with growing rates of depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. As a technical innovation, AI can add value to mental health research. Already, certain AI-driven internet browser extensions provide feedback and advice for how browsers should tailor their web-browsing activities. Often, these features are blended with hands-on mental health support to create a flexible service that can benefit a variety of patients in unique situations.

AI can also be very effective in detecting symptoms of mental illness. Dementia, depression, and other mental symptoms can take decades to become readily noticeable. Early diagnosis via AI screeners and other telehealth services can help patients and providers take steps before concerns become severe.

Keep Up With IT Services in Healthcare Trends

IT services for healthcare are more than just a technological upgrade; they’re a necessary evolution for better patient care and efficient health management. As we continue to embrace digital transformation, the future of healthcare looks more promising than ever before. In response, our team at Healthcare ITSM strives to continue our innovations in the field of healthcare IT.

We stay ahead of trends in healthcare, so we are positioned to infuse innovative technologies into our solutions. Our clients rely on our holistic approach to IT service management that helps healthcare businesses of all sizes meet the operational needs of their organization. This allows us to provide consistent value in a technological field that is continually evolving.

If you’re interested in learning more about how managed healthcare IT services can help your healthcare business address the many facets of healthcare tech advances, contact our team online.

Sources:

Park, A. (2023, August). Mental health illnesses are rising; do mood-tracking apps help? Harvard Gazette. Retrieved from https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/08/mental-health-ills-are-rising-do-mood-tracking-apps-help/
National Center for Health Statistics. (n.d.). Physician Visits. CDC. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/physician-visits.htm
American Hospital Association. (n.d.). The Importance of Cybersecurity in Protecting Patient Safety. Retrieved from https://www.aha.org/center/cybersecurity-and-risk-advisory-services/importance-cybersecurity-protecting-patient-safety
Mental Health America. (2022). Mental Health America – Adult Data. Retrieved from https://mhanational.org/issues/2022/mental-health-america-adult-data