In the constantly expanding healthcare industry, the amount of data rapidly rises. We must develop means of storing, sharing, and using it in the best possible way to ensure fast and efficient healthcare delivery. We can achieve this through interoperability: the ability of a system to communicate information with other systems. Healthcare system integration is a must in an industry in which patients can see multiple providers and have to deal with insurance companies, the government, and potentially several other organizations.

Back in 1966, a team of scientists at MIT developed ELIZA - the very first chatbot. Although ELIZA’s capabilities were limited: her knowledge and communication skills weren’t as evolved as we see in chatbots today; she was nonetheless the first program to make certain kinds of natural language between man and a machine. Using inputted algorithms, ELIZA operated as a psychotherapist.

As researchers conduct their medical work, they potentially find ways of improving society. Coming up with new medications or treatments to improve the clinical outcomes of patients is the cornerstone of medicine. However, they need to conduct tests, gather data and volunteers, and ultimately use their research in ethical ways to better society. Throughout this, they need to protect their patients’ information by safeguarding medical privacy. Protecting patient information is the ethical thing to do. Collecting patient information for health research is necessary to benefit society. Therefore, to improve clinical outcomes and further health research, it is essential to safeguard patient information.

It is October, which means it is the month the World Health Organization (WHO) designated as the Pink Month to raise breast cancer awareness. In hoping that the number of affected women and men decreases, the WHO dedicated efforts during October to educate those affected on early symptoms and detection. It is a fact that, with modern technology, 90% of early-stage breast cancers are curable. We take a closer look at some innovations in cancer treatments and how they can help patients with this harrowing experience.

CRM stands for customer relationship management. It encompasses tools and strategies designed to organize and manage customer data. This information used to be manual: kept in notebook and post-it notes. Today, with the digital revolution, all this information is stored in multiple, often disconnected, databases. The necessity arose to manage this data better in all industries, and healthcare is no exception. We will take a closer look at what CRM for healthcare is and what are the benefits of implementing this solution in your medical organization.

Although commonly associated with gaming, virtual reality and its tools will revolutionize many industries. From driving fast and skydiving in your living room, virtual reality offers users a unique and fun experience. It also has practical applications in industries such as healthcare: it can help surgeons prep for surgery, it can help patients speed up recovery, and it also has applications in mental health delivery.

With the rise of telemedicine solutions in the healthcare industry, so did the amount of data. Numerous sources of information are available and ready to provide caregivers the opportunity to offer better treatments and enhanced clinical outcomes. However, we also need tools to help us process this vast ocean of information. That is why, in industries like healthcare, a focus has shifted towards interoperability and standardization, allowing caregivers to utilize big data analytics in healthcare.

Many industries stand to benefit from automation, and healthcare is no exception. Given the constantly increasing amounts of data, it is essential to automatize procedural or administrative tasks and allow care providers to focus on what truly matters: providing care. That is why medical institutions today are trying to find ways to reduce the burden of non-health-related tasks.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects how the body turns food into energy (CDC).

Our bodies break down food into sugar (glucose) and release it into the bloodstream. That is also the signal for the pancreas to release insulin which acts as a catalyst, allowing blood sugar into the body’s cells to use as energy.

We can define wearables as the technology we attach to our bodies to better monitor health services. Although we can trace this technology to the first half of the previous century (the first implantable medical device was a pacemaker in 1958), today, it is an industry that keeps evolving. By 2028, wearable technology for healthcare will grow to a $380 billion industry.

Apps have become a part of our everyday life. In healthcare, they became a solution for several problems arising in the industry. That is why we can categorize them according to their health purpose. Generally, we can define this technology as any application program that offers health-related services.

With the digital revolution, the amount of data significantly increased in many industries, and healthcare is no exception. From EMR to EHR and wearables, the data pool became too vast and complex for us to analyze it using traditional tools. That’s where AI and similar technologies come into play. Healthcare experts agree that proper storing, management and data analysis will drive the future of healthcare.

The vastness of available health information made it impossible to analyze using traditional tools. That is why we utilize AI and other analytic tools to analyze big data in healthcare and reap numerous benefits for patients and care providers.

This is aligned with the growing amounts of data globally: global data increased by 5000% from 2010 to 2020. 30% of this data comes directly from the healthcare industry, meaning there is an ocean of health data we can use to benefit society. Growing amounts of data equal increasing costs: U.S. healthcare spending in 2021 was $4.3 trillion. However, this number is expected to grow to $15 trillion in 2030, demonstrating just how much we’ll be spending on healthcare in the future.

Digital health is quickly becoming the way to correct historical wrongs and bring healthcare to patients who have trouble accessing it. While eHealth and telehealth encompass the overarching digital healthcare, the specific software and tools solve numerous problems for patients and providers. That is why most health execs in the past years have focused on investing in technologies to increase patient engagement and improve clinical results. Patient health portals are one such tool.

No longer just a storyline in the sci-fi genre, augmented reality has become a part of our everyday lives to improve our private and professional lives. Through wearable technology in healthcare and other digital solutions, surgeons, physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals can deliver improved healthcare to their patients. So, how does it work?

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the rise and adoption of digital health solutions. Telehealth emerged as one of the viable options, with remote care at its center. The ability to track patient vitals and progress remotely opened up numerous avenues for digital health: providers can now provide care to patients cozily sitting in the comfort of their homes. That is the true worth of remote patient monitoring systems.

Over 90% of hospitals today offer portals as a service to their patients. Telehealth solutions are rapidly changing the healthcare industry, and patients are receptive to this fact: 25% of patients are willing to change their care provider if that would give them access to remote patient monitoring services. However, despite their overwhelming benefits, portals remain one of the industry’s underused solutions.

In recent years, AI has become one of the most exciting technologies in many fields, and healthcare is no exception. It can quickly and accurately go through large amounts of data, be it information or images, and act as an essential support in the diagnostic process. But the application of this technology doesn’t end there, and, odds are, we are only going to become more creative with its usage in the future. We’ll take a closer look at some of the use cases of artificial intelligence in healthcare.

Instead of sitting and biting your nails in the waiting room and driving long distances to meet your healthcare professional, an alternative presents itself as remote care. You and your doctor don’t need to be in the same room for you to receive your diagnosis. By using technology, we can close this imaginary gap, and doctors can deliver care while you sit at home and drink your coffee. But the benefits of telehealth are far and wide, so we will inspect some of the telehealth stats everyone should know.

When COVID-19 erupted and disrupted our traditional modus operandi, preventing us from going to the movies and restaurants - it also prevented us from receiving necessary care. Patients across the globe had to turn to digital solutions to access remote healthcare, regardless of what condition they were combatting. The added stress required a modern solution, and we developed new, digital methods of receiving care, physical or mental.