Latest trends in Digital Transformation of Healthcare

The healthcare industry is developing at an extremely fast rate and rapidly heading towards digitalization. Until now, the healthcare industry has taken to digitalization at a very gradual pace, relying heavily on tried and tested methods to provide patients with care.

Now, however, the changed needs of the patients across the globe have compelled the industry to look beyond the on-premise solutions. Use of Telemedicine, Artificial Intelligence, ePharmacies, and other similar technologies need to be made a mainstream part of the healthcare system in order to facilitate the digital transformation of healthcare. 

In many countries, the digital healthcare market is predicted to increase at a steady pace over the next few years. In India, for example, the digital healthcare market is predicted to grow to INR 485.43 Bn by 2024. Here are some latest trends that will lead to this growth because of the digital transformation of healthcare: 

1. Patients are looking for on-demand healthcare 

People’s lives are getting busier by the day. They want to fit-in activities into their busy schedules without taking out time from their routine. This includes healthcare as well. People no longer have the time to wait in a queue for several hours just to consult with their doctors. They want on-demand care as and when they require it and have the time for it. 

This has led to a lot of people flocking to telemedicine services in order to receive remote healthcare at will. A number of hospitals are developing and upgrading their telemedicine services to retain patients and help doctors in providing services to more people. In the coming years, telemedicine is expected to grow and become an essential part of the healthcare system. 

2. Big Data is becoming an important part of the healthcare 

Big Data has become an important part of several industries as it collects information from various sources and is able to predict future trends. Healthcare firms are also turning to big data to reduce errors in diagnosis as they can store all the medical records of all their patients remotely. Any inconsistency can be flagged immediately and doctors can look into providing care. 

Moreover, big data analysis can help hospitals estimate rates of admission in the coming days and they can allocate staff accordingly to help out as many patients as possible. The rate of investment into big data must be increased by individual healthcare firms so that they can offer better services. 

3. Wearable medical devices are becoming popular 

Healthcare companies are looking towards collecting their own data for offering better care to patients. This trend has been possible only because of the rise of wearable medical devices. Today, more patients are focusing on the prevention of diseases than on the cure. This leads them to opt for wearable technology that can track different symptoms in their body. 

The data from these devices can be shared with hospitals or doctors to check for any underlying illness or the possibility of getting one in the future. Doctors themselves are recommending patients to wear devices like heart monitors, sweat meters, and oximeters for a certain period of time. The data from these devices is now being linked directly to software used by hospitals to be stored remotely and making it simpler for doctors to access at any point in time. 

4. Growth of online pharmacies 

As mentioned in the first point, people are now looking for on-demand healthcare which does not disrupt their routine. Taking time out to go to the local pharmacy in order to purchase medicine isn’t ideal for fulfilling this requirement of the patients. Moreover, there are a lot of instances where people have to go to the pharmacy several times before the medicine is available. This has led people to turn towards online pharmacies. 

With the introduction of eCommerce into the healthcare field, it has become easy for people to order important medicines whenever they want to and have them delivered at their doorsteps at any time. The future for online pharmacies is very bright as more people are adopting it every day. In fact, it is predicted that the Indian ePharmacy industry will be worth about $3.6 billion by 2022, a growth of about 63% from 2019. 

These are some of the latest trends. Follow these trends to develop your own strategy in order to have a smooth digital transformation for your healthcare company.