COVID-19 has led to massive changes in the way work is done in the healthcare industry, and technological innovation will be a defining part of this
“Adapt, improvise, overcome” – a phrase that has never been so true than in the last two years. Businesses across the globe have faced changes to the way they work, and no industry has been left unaffected.
This is especially true for healthcare, the industry on the frontline for combatting the pandemic. During these two years the healthcare industry has specifically seen an increase in focus and investment on technological innovation.
COVID-19 has highlighted the requirement for healthcare businesses to maintain high levels of agility in operation, collaboration with other organisations and increase visibility into day-to-day processes. All these elements will inform technological trends that will define the post-pandemic healthcare industry; knowing what they are can help your business get ahead of the trends and take advantages of the right tools for any challenges ahead.
Below we look at four technology trends that all healthcare organisations should be prepared for in 2022 and beyond.
1. The adoption of telemedicine
Social distancing and the stay-at-home orders massively disrupted the care model during the pandemic – the usual face-to-face GP and other medical appointments quickly became unachievable. Telemedicine became an indispensable tool for healthcare professionals to provide care to patients when “normal” practices couldn’t be fulfilled.
Although telemedicine had been available pre-pandemic, it was not really adopted by most healthcare organisations. It 2020 however, its growth reached $79.79 billion and due to its success throughout the last two years it is now projected to grow to $396.76 billion by 2027.
Despite some healthcare delivery returning to in-person (which is necessary), certain specialists will continue to shift to a virtual-first model in 2022 instead. As a result, many healthcare organisations are deploying solutions which enable real-time access to patient information as well as seamless collaboration to other members of staff who may no longer be based in the same location.
These elements will be vital for continuing to provide quality care to patients who may no longer travel to visit in-person clinics and facilities.
2. Growing importance of data and analytics
The healthcare analytics market is predicted to grow from $3.74 billion in 2019 to $28.99 billion in 2027. This statistic alone demonstrates how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the need for the healthcare industry to make informed decisions based on real- time data to adapt to rapidly changing conditions.
The adoption of technology by the healthcare industry results in a massive amount of data being produced. Data and analytics are hugely important for generating actionable insights – they can be used for things such as predicting and preventing future epidemics and minimising cost.
3. Systems moving to the cloud
To truly take advantage of the previous two trends, healthcare organisations need to establish a strong technological infrastructure that can support their growing digital needs.
As a result of this, another defining trend is the move towards cloud computing throughout the healthcare industry.
Cloud-based software solutions such as NetSuite provides data storage that offers significant savings on operational expenses. It will allow healthcare organisations to store data, such as medical records, in the cloud without the need to invest in hardware servers. (You can find more information on cloud-base vs on premises here)
Cloud-based solutions are also ideal for supporting the increasing need for real-time data analytics, from any device, anywhere – which the healthcare sector will become increasingly reliant on.
4. Investment in cybersecurity
In addition to the pressures of COVID-19, data breeches and malware have also targeted healthcare organisations throughout the previous years.
With the healthcare industry shifting to technological solutions that support telemedicine, data analytics and digital tools, malicious actors have more opportunity to attack than ever.
Because of this, healthcare will be investing heavily to increase their cybersecurity capabilities – more than ever before! These could include both security awareness training for workforce as well as investments in technological solutions that automate security and have tight processes in place.
With NetSuite you have a complete set of security features including access controls, data encryption and server-based processing. You have complete control of your data and reports, and who can access them, all from within a single suite.
NetSuite can help the healthcare industry drive forwards
A true cloud-based ERP software like NetSuite is the ideal solution to support the transition towards the cloud, and digitally transform your healthcare organisation to stay ahead of the above anticipated trends.
Working with Elevate2 to implement NetSuite will get you ahead of competitors and utilising tools that will maximise growth and delivery for 2022 and beyond.
