- Jun 01, 2017
Top 5 Observations about the Current Trends in Healthcare Industry
Almost all the health economies have become patient-centric. Providing quality care has gained importance as the right to choose services is completely in the hands of customers who are either patients or other healthcare professionals. As a result, healthcare organizations are focusing more on delivering quality in a meaningful way.
Though the medical industry is vast but based on the market analysis and statistical reports, we have come up with five valuable observations about the trends that are going to dominate the industry in the year 2017.
Increased Adoption of Technology
Although the adoption of technology in the healthcare sector has been slow, its impact has been quite noticeable from the very beginning. With each passing year, the industry is witnessing the upsurge of technological innovations and developments. Hence, it won’t be wrong to say that latest technologies like artificial intelligence, wearable devices, and virtual reality are all set to transform the medical industry in 2017, paving the way for an improved population healthcare. For instance, use of computer-assisted diagnosis of coronary artery disease in combination with echo, magnetic resonance, and positron emission tomography, medical imaging has taken a new dimension, increasing efficiency and providing better functional outcomes.
Patient at the Center of Care
In the recent years, the healthcare industry has shown a drastic improvement in its patient care management. Today, more focus is on providing patients with the best possible treatment facilities and faster recovery assistance. The healthcare marketers are trying to find out different ways to engage with the patients outside their generic office visit. Being the center of care, even the patients now demand transparency in access and information about their care. Before purchasing any medical product or service, they keep an eye on healthcare email marketing campaigns, checking online reviews, looking for quality metrics and comparing prices before purchasing any medical product or service. Making patients happy and satisfied with best-in-class services will still continue to be one of the major trends in 2017.
Data Continues to Gain More Importance
Be it a physician or an administrative professional; all require medical data to make decisions and offer improved services. But with the rise in the number of patients, the medical industry is growing and expanding, giving rise to huge piles of patient and other healthcare related data. Managing this data and making them available to the one in need in time is a challenge for the industry.
According to the recent studies, it has been found that the use of data analytics could help save more than $300 billion in U.S. healthcare. As demands for high-quality and accurate data is growing, medical professionals are in need of better analytics tools that can improve care and reduce expense. Hence, to overcome the current data challenges, an enterprise data warehouse (EDW) system is going to be an efficient tool for healthcare marketers this year.
Emphasis on Securing Data
Data security is of utmost priority in any field, especially if its healthcare data then its significance is even more. But with the increase in security breaches, managing and securing patient data will still be a matter of high concern for the healthcare providers, payers, and consumers. Adhering to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules and laws will continue to be essential as a measurement towards preventing further data breaches. Hence, healthcare organizations will need to make sure that they are compliant with HIPAA and are active and efficient in maintaining the privacy of their customer data.
Increasing Medical Care Costs
The shift towards providing better care models will lead to increasing costs. As innovation paves its way, expenses are bound to soar up. For better treatment facilities and improved healthcare services, individuals will have to go for expensive drug or surgery using highly advanced medical devices, doubling their medical expenses as compared to the past.
Due to increase in access to behavioral health and a higher focus on urgent care centers, the growth of medical cost is estimated to be 6.5 percent. Hence, healthcare businesses need to adopt cost-saving strategies to cope up with the situation in 2017.
Final Thoughts
Based on these observations, it can be concluded that the medical industry is heading towards a future with lots of opportunities and bits of apprehensions about the potential challenges. But, amidst the ups and downs, healthcare businesses need to be flexible towards the adoption of new technologies, analytics-driven approach and faster payment models in adherence to federal regulations to provide quality care services at low cost.
The year 2017 is waiting with million opportunities that can help in delivering the best health outcomes. As an expert in the field, businesses need to explore each in the best possible way.
