Intelligent Health.tech Issue 15 | Page 18

H E A L T H I N S I G H T S

will require improved real-time visibility of patients and the ability to target resources to orchestrate care delivery efficiently .

Heightened visibility into the potential of telehealth , chatbots and remote patient monitoring prompt healthcare providers to determine the right care model and service delivery balance moving forward . Mobile devices with 5G connectivity will be imperative . Though most people think of telehealth as a provider consulting with an at-home patient , expect to see more inpatient oversight via telehealth through 2024 . In both scenarios , highvolume telehealth utilisation will drive greater use case sophistication , combining communications , asynchronous video and AI applications . Telehealth also offers clinicians the flexibility they desire .

Traditional telehealth will continue to gain traction outside the hospital . The rise of telehealth ( or telemedicine ) during the pandemic proved that virtual care can be quality care . It has also given new meaning to the phrase ‘ doctors without borders .’ In the past two years , healthcare providers have seen just how much they can impact people outside the local communities they normally serve . Clinicians are now available 24 / 7 / 365 to conduct routine checkups and triage medical crises .

Beyond increasing care access for billions of people in both developed and mobilefirst nations , telehealth has increased the convenience and comfort of care for patients everywhere . People no longer must go to the hospital or clinic for every appointment – or to get a prescription renewal or specialist referral . And they no longer must be concerned with commuting or wait times . They simply need to be virtually accessible for their scheduled appointment .

3 . Driving to comply with digital health regulations continues to drive tech modernisation and automation

Digital health is here to stay . This means the need to transform and adhere to digital healthcare standards is non-negotiable for healthcare providers . As the norm is to ID everyone and everything in all healthcare settings , the industry will be focused on digital identity for all patients and assets to improve asset management . Data transparency among all enterprise stakeholders is dramatically increasing . Healthcare leaders have an opportunity to build trust with partners and customers by proactively becoming more transparent .

Over 60 countries have now enacted digital health regulations and / or Ministry of Health digital mandates which include unique device identification ( UDI ) and medication serialised marking . Both UDI and medication serialised marking provide a digital identifier on medical devices used in patients , such as a pacemaker , and medications given to patients , essentially providing the ability to track and trace a device or medication . As hospitals implement digitisation to comply with these regulations , they ’ ll reduce adverse product recall and inventory events and falsified medical product use . Another benefit will be accelerating HIMSS Stage 7 implementations , the highest level that a healthcare organisation can reach to show it is leveraging technology in a useful and meaningful way .

According to Forrester , labour shortages will double the medication error rate among providers . Extra vigilance can be added with the help of barcode medication administration and IV infusion safety systems , and electronic health records to intercept adverse drug events . Expect IT teams to continue to spend on technology modernisation with an emphasis on laying a solid , long-term framework that can support rapid solution scaling in the years to come .

4 . Labour and staffing shortages will continue , leading to automation and AI solutions

Healthcare costs are 10 % of global GDP spend as the nursing shortage continues to grow and more healthcare providers drop out of

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