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The coronavirus epidemic has accelerated the adoption of digital healthcare applications, especially in remote patient monitoring, teleconsultation and telehealth. McKinsey reports that telehealth usage has increased by 38 percent since the pandemic.
In the next few years, the adoption of digital solutions will increase along with the use of healthcare software. This highlights the importance of investing in digital healthcare programs.
Even before the pandemic, it was predicted that Healthcare IT solutions would reach $326.1 million in 2021. It is now expected to reach $662 million by 2026. We are also witnessing some of the barriers falling (digital Skepticism). Healthcare stakeholders around the globe have now agreed that digital is the way forward.
This article will discuss how healthcare software is revolutionizing the industry. It can also help you take your business to the next level.
What is Healthcare Software?
Sometimes, you may see the terms "healthcare" and "medical technology" interchangeably. Both terms cover similar but distinct domains.
Although the FDA refers to medical software only in medical devices, it can also be applied to practices.
Medical software can monitor, analyze, and interpret the patient's medical condition and perform various functions that will help medical professionals deliver the best possible treatment.
Software solutions for Healthcare and medicine are often developed for simulation, training, research, diagnosis, and storage of databases.
Software for Healthcare can be described as specifically designed to serve the needs of the healthcare industry. It includes medical solutions.
This software could be defined more precisely as medical. The former refers to patient care and experience, and the latter to diagnosis, treatment optimization, and treatment optimization.
These healthcare solutions can be viewed as such. They are designed to improve the patient experience by streamlining communication among hospitals, patients, pharmacies, and other healthcare suppliers.
Software is essential for Healthcare
The global healthcare information software market is expected to reach $8.2 Billion by 2023. This represents 25% of the $32 billion healthcare software industry. These impressive numbers beg the question: What is the purpose and benefit of medical software?
Medical practice management software can transform your health management and drastically reduce errors that impact hospitals and practices. It also offers many benefits for users who want to migrate faster digitally. These are the most important:
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Patient satisfaction is higher
Satisfaction is the key ingredient to success. With so many healthcare options, patients must have a positive experience with your service. Patient satisfaction is dependent on speed and efficiency. Features like instant access to medical records and treatment histories are no longer optional.
Automated scheduling, integrated communication channels, and in-app messaging and reminders are great tools for customer satisfaction.
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Management of equipment and hospitals better
Hospitals are becoming larger and more complicated every year. As healthcare equipment and machines become more advanced and have more expensive parts, the global market for medical equipment is expected to grow to $603.5 billion by 2023.
Best Hospital management system and other healthcare providers use specialized software to efficiently maintain and manage these costly assets. It is designed to automate inventory stocking and to ensure vital equipment is appropriately serviced and taken care of.
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Comprehensive patient monitoring
Wearable technology is unlocking the power of digital as we rely more and more significant on the Internet of Things (IoT). Doctors can monitor patients remotely using software that allows them to consult, diagnose, and examine without leaving their office.
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Fewer mistakes
Healthcare workers are under immense pressure. They are under immense pressure from dealing with the COVID pandemic and endless work hours.
Healthcare software can automate tedious, repetitive tasks and is known for being accurate. It reduces or eliminates the chance of making mistakes.
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There is less paperwork
Hospital administrators don't want to fill out endless forms on paper anymore.
These files can be digitalized using healthcare software. It is easier to fill out paperwork electronically. Electronic filing is also much easier to locate and refer to in the future. This reduces the chance of losing any documentation. Patients and healthcare professionals can soon forget about paper.
Software's role in Healthcare
Medical practice management software offers many benefits to those who want to improve their medical business goals.
Hospitals are becoming more prominent every year and more complicated to run. Hospitals and other healthcare providers are switching to specialized medical software to help them manage their expensive assets and optimize inventory stocking. This software is also designed to ensure critical equipment is appropriately maintained and cared for.
To ensure patient satisfaction, it is now a must that patients have instant access to their treatment history and medical annals. Automated scheduling, merged communication networks, in-app reminders, and messaging are all critical ingredients to customer satisfaction.
Doctors can now monitor their patients remotely via healthcare software. This allows them to examine, diagnose, and consult with their patients from anywhere in the world.
20 Types of Healthcare Software you can use
Many software programs can be used to enhance specific processes. Some software programs are designed for patients, while others are used for research, clinical management, and prognostics.
This section will discuss the 20 most popular types of healthcare software and the potential benefits they can bring to the industry.
1. EHR (Electronic Health Records)
EHRs (or electronic health records) digitally store patient information. Hospitals and clinics use EHRs to store the complete medical history of a patient. Many governments are moving to make EHRs mandatory.
These records are more secure than paper records and can be accessed easily. Electronic records are not at risk of losing your medical history. Because only one file can be modified at a time, electronic records prevent duplicate medical records.
EHR software is prevalent software that hospitals and clinics use. It's similar to a CRM but tailored to the medical industry.
EHR software stores information about patients, such as their medication, doctor's recommendations, and any past procedures.
Many programs include a financial module that allows for payment and invoicing. A separate portal is available for patients, which allows them to view their consultation history, medical records, prescriptions, and more.
These are the two most common types of EHR software:
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Hospitals use EPR (electronic patient record software) to store and process patient information.
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The EMR (Electronic Medical Record Software ) stores information such as medication types and dosages, past and planned procedures, and data about the patient's recovery process.
Hospitals and clinics use electronic health records (EHR) software. It is often merged with hospital management software.
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2. Software for telemedicine
Telemedicine allows professionals to communicate with their patients via a remote platform. This software makes it possible to offer medical services online. Today's telemedicine systems can be described as virtual clinics that integrate multiple medical processes, such as scheduling appointments and diagnosing.
3. Telehealth software
Telehealth software allows medical professionals to remotely provide healthcare services, instruction, mentoring, and other health information via telecommunications technology. Telehealth software is not limited to clinical services.
Medical personnel can use Telehealth software to remotely monitor the patient's progress after they are released from the hospital. It also allows them to engage with patients and offer advice online on the topic of preventive care.
4. Management of medical equipment
This software is designed to simplify the maintenance of medical equipment. These systems will free hospital staff from the tedious task of maintaining medical equipment manually. You can automate inventory tracking for dozens of disposable items with correspondent alerts.
This software also facilitates timetabling for hospital infrastructure that requires regular maintenance. Managing medical equipment is often included in larger hospital management software packages.
5. Apps to track your health
These apps aren't directly related to medical software development but can provide additional health-related information. Healthcare apps usually fall under one of three categories: diet, fitness, and well-being. They can also integrate functions from all three.
Wearable technology is often paired with them. This can provide more accurate health data, such as pulse rate and sleep quality, or act as thermometers or glucometers. They could be subsidized with additional information if the apps were synchronized at some point with actual health records.
Appinventiv developed a platform that allows users to connect with healthcare professionals, create detailed health records and find caregivers. Health-e People can pull data from over 200 apps and devices in one place and connect unwell relatives to medical caregivers.
The app was designed to be easy to use and benefit all users, caregivers, researchers, and others.
6. Software for Hospital Management (HMS)
Software for hospital management provides insights and management capabilities to multiple stakeholder groups in a hospital, including patients, administration, and licensed healthcare professionals.
HMS often contains two portals. One for management-oriented capabilities and one for patients. The management panel contains all information necessary for hospital management. This includes medicine and food management, scheduling and booking of rooms, doctor's itineraries, and scheduled appointments. There are also mundane aspects such as utility expenses, laundry management, and power and water consumption.
The patient portal contains the following:
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An electronic application form.
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All admission details (often synchronized with Electronic Medical Records or EMR Software).
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Patient payment details.
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Medical coverage.
It also includes updates about admittance, medication, and prescription information.
7. Software for medical diagnosis
Medical diagnosis software can be used to refer both to physician-facing and patient-facing applications. Both were extremely useful during the pandemic.
Software that allows doctors to communicate with each other via anonymized patient records is called physician-facing medical diagnosis software. Artificial intelligence is used to help in certain situations.
Doctors can use medical diagnosis software to share anonymized patient records to fill in any informational gaps that could prevent them from giving an accurate diagnosis. These apps often use artificial intelligence (AI), which analyzes all patient data to generate probable diagnoses. These apps let users check if they need to visit the hospital for their symptoms. These apps were popularized during the COVID-19 epidemic.
Patients can use medical diagnostic apps to report their symptoms and determine if any medical action should be taken, such as booking an appointment with a doctor. This has helped to reduce the burden on healthcare workers during the pandemic.
8. Software for medical imaging
Medical imaging software can process CT, MRI, and PET scans. It can also be used to create treatment-relevant 3D visualizations. Surgeons can assess a 3D model from an MRI scan before performing any procedures.
The printing and design of medical equipment, such as implants or prosthetic limbs, can also be done using medical imaging software. This will become an increasingly important part of medical imaging software as 3D printing becomes more common and complex.
Read More: The Ultimate Development Guide To Building A Healthcare Software In 2020
9. Software for healthcare billing
This software is also known as medical billing software. This software automates the billing process for the healthcare industry.
Billing software simplifies the billing process. This includes billing the patient and the patient's insurer, as well as other parties. All medical expenses can be accessed quickly and efficiently using billing software. It can also improve the financial flow of a healthcare facility. Although they are now integrated into practice and hospital management systems, they can still be used as standalone.
The most critical components of a healthcare billing software program are:
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Facilitating and increasing reimbursement rates
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Financial health and stability of healthcare organizations
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Revenue optimization
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Automating and tracking financial flows
10. Software for e-prescribing
Slowly but surely, digital prescriptions for medical purposes are being converted. The main reason is the convenience of changing or expanding a prescription in just a few clicks. Patients and doctors both benefit from e-prescriptions. E-prescribing software makes it much easier to prescribe. This medical business software allows you to grant, renew, and suspend prescriptions quickly. Not far away, e-prescribing could become the norm in the global healthcare industry.
11. Software for medical research
Each healthcare institution has unique healthcare experiences that are based on unimaginable cases. Every patient is unique, even though their symptoms may seem similar. Medical research software exists to help others have similar experiences. Just like other applied sciences, Healthcare never stops researching to improve the qualifications of doctors and medical students.
Software for medical research is used to educate and share research with the medical community. This software is used to train medical staff and support diagnosis if there are no similar cases within the patient population.
Medical research software is one of the most focused software products in the digital age. However, it is crucial for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
12. Software for pharmacy management
Software for pharmacy management provides insight into and optimizes drug inventory, monitoring and optimizing pharmaceutical product flow.
The software's comprehensive pharmacy management solution helps in pricing management. It coordinates prescriptions to the proper medication and dosages, automates claims processing, and coordinates gains for customers' insurance.
Integrating pharmacy software can route workflow tasks between multiple systems, like robotic prescription vending systems. It also allows pharmacy employees to access prescription information within and around the remote health monitoring system channel.
13. Software for medical databases
Similar to other databases, this software stores information about various medical issues. Medical database software stores more information than electronic health records. In addition to case reports and treatment plans, medical databases contain continuously updated information about diseases that doctors can use in their practice.
Like Electronic Health Record software (EHR), medical database software stores patient histories and treatment plans. The database, however, is not categorized by patients' profiles, as in EHRs.
Two critical areas of medical database software help doctors:
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Cross-referencing cases with others can help you make better decisions when treating patients.
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Learn from the clinical cases.
14. Software for patient management
It is also known as clinic management software or patient management software. This term refers to automated systems that track patient data, interactions, prescriptions, and encounters in healthcare environments like hospitals or clinics.
Healthcare facilities need patient management software to increase their income and improve patient happiness. Cloud-based software that manages patient records streamlines processes by combining administrative and medical data. It is easy to use patient management software for medical invoicing, inventory management, and appointment scheduling tasks.
15. Software for Healthcare RCM
Software for Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) is designed to help healthcare providers better manage their revenue cycle. It automates many tasks previously performed by humans, such as billing and collections. This increases efficiency and speeds up receiving payment for services rendered.
RCM software can be developed in different ways. The best RCM software will have a few distinct characteristics that distinguish it from its competitors. Like professionals in other industries, healthcare billing and collections professionals understand the differences between good and lousy RCM software. Many other devices, including ERP software solutions, can be used to monitor any condition, such as blood pressure, heart rate, glucose, and others.
16. Software to ensure hand hygiene compliance
The hand hygiene theme has become more critical than ever in the last quarter. It was an integral part of medical professionals' lives. It is important to remember that hand hygiene habits can hurt patients' lives and health. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before systems were developed that could monitor them.
Software for healthcare institutions such as Ecolab and Biovigil can monitor and ensure that healthcare workers wash their hands properly and disinfect them on time.
The Ecolab Compliance Monitor System is part of the whole Hand Hygiene Program. It tracks every disinfection, reminds you when it's time again, and helps eliminate the risk of infection from poor hand hygiene. It assists hospitals in monitoring hand hygiene and encouraging positive change.
The Ecolab complex consists of three components.
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Patient area: This is a unique group of devices connected to the system. This eliminates the possibility of healthcare workers contacting patients without washing their hands.
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Individual badge: This badge records hand disinfection and sends light and vibrating messages to patients before and after contact.
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Reporting system: It collects individual information from employees and can be connected to badges, dispensers, and sensors in a bed area.
Notably, the system does not have a central hospital system. It does not require Wi-Fi or a wired connection.
Biovigil and Ecolab are systems that encourage, motivate, and reinforce appropriate behavior. Hospitals and medical centers use guidelines to ensure hand hygiene compliance and have the ability to monitor and improve compliance with WHO requirements.
17. Software for glucose monitoring
There are many diabetes monitoring apps. Each has a different purpose, works with different data, operates differently, and can be more expensive or accessible.
One Drop for Diabetes Health, for example, collects data on glucose levels and monitors physical activity. It also has manual medical data. The system generates a lifestyle management plan and sends out text reminders. It also allows communication within the community and provides news about the topic.
18. Software for Healthcare CRM
Software for healthcare customer relationship management (CRM software) helps hospital administrators and medical professionals keep existing patients updated and informed about new services. It also improves communication. CRM software improves patient satisfaction and reduces hospital costs.
A CRM allows you to follow best customer management practices and store client data, such as visits, medical history, bills, and other pertinent information. This data can be continuously updated and kept accurate. You can also establish an online medical portal to track and create appointments. Healthcare CRM offers valuable metrics and reports that allow for the analysis of clinic work.
The main benefits of healthcare CRM systems include the following:
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Ability to assess patient needs and provide better services.
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Customers report recurring problems, and we provide faster resolution.
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To give patients the best possible care, we will manage administrative tasks.
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If necessary, synchronizing and allowing other specialists to access patient information.
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Rapid response to patient requests
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Monitor the outreach pipeline to close more deals in a short time.
Management tools such as Monday.com, Salesforce Sales Cloud, and Trello are essential in the healthcare industry. Castor is an excellent tool for the healthcare sector.
Read More: What services does a typical healthcare software development company provide?
19. IoT and Medical Diagnosis Software
Medical Diagnosis software can help you avoid giving the wrong diagnosis. It shares anonymized patient data, collects information about patients' diseases, treatment, and recovery, and allows you to share that data with other medical professionals.
It is a database that allows information exchange and is available to other medical specialists. This allows a cardiologist to diagnose using information from thousands of cases. The software makes it easier to exchange information among doctors in different fields.
We should also include solutions that aren't strictly Medical Diagnostics software but were created to improve diagnostics. These solutions often use AI, Machine Learning, Big Data, and Big Data to gather information about different cases to speed up and improve the diagnosis process. StethoMe, an IoT solution like this, can help patients who tend to Google their symptoms first.
The software can detect respiratory tract abnormalities and help differentiate a common cold from more severe conditions. This software was designed for both patients and doctors. StethoMe can examine patients 29% faster than a specialist's ear, according to the company.
20. Software for medical research and training
Medical research platforms are another beneficiary of healthcare technology development. This software is used primarily to educate the medical staff. You can also use it to collect medical reviews, publications, and journals. Another use of this technology is allowing institutions to share information on different patient cases for medical research.
Software solutions for medical training are also worth mentioning. Augmented and Virtual Reality play an essential role in this. Global AR and VR healthcare markets were valued at $567million. VR apps are handy for surgical training. Until recently, surgeons had to learn about cadavers.
Virtual reality solutions allow physicians to make as many attempts as they want. This is not possible if they are working on a natural body. Because there are very few cadavers, it makes learning more accessible and easier to train.
In 2023 and beyond, Digital acceleration in Healthcare
The healthcare software market is booming. It's no surprise that digitalization in Healthcare has many benefits. They include cost reduction, improved efficiency, control over finances, and greater control over patient data. The industry will continue to grow with the digital acceleration of medical services worldwide and the growing number of online health-tracking apps.
The software used in Healthcare is unique
The Healthcare industry is the best industry to understand this concept. Doctors and healthcare professionals have to deal with emergencies and illnesses every day.
These features can automate repetitive or complex tasks in healthcare management software.
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Geolocation
The United States has current medical laws requiring a telemedicine platform to connect patients with doctors in the same state. The software can find pharmacies near the patient, provide directions and calculate the time it will take to reach the hospital during an emergency. Patients will find it easier to locate the correct department when maps and images of hospitals are available.
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Healthcare analytics
Information is a powerful tool when it comes to healthcare analytics. Healthcare analytics is an essential feature of healthcare management software that every modern hospital and practice should have.
Healthcare analytics uses big data and powerful computations to analyze and correlate relevant patient data. These numbers are converted into meaningful statistics that your team can use to coordinate your business and financial aspects.
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Patient portals
A portal that allows patients to access information transparency is a must-have for medical organizations. This system can improve patient satisfaction and help them to provide better services.
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Voice Recognition
Voice recognition is far more efficient than the old method of drawing notes, then having an assistant type them into a patient's medical record. Or having the doctor recite notes for documentation by a third-party transcription team.
Voice recognition allows the practitioner to enter data using a variety of voice commands. Voice recognition reduces errors due to poor handwriting and improves efficiency. You also save valuable time by not waiting for the transcription service's return to your work.
Soniphi, for example, has brought bio-acoustics science into a mobile app that evaluates your vocal information and provides a detailed well-being analysis report.
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Healthcare software: The future
The digital healthcare market must not only grow but will also continue to grow. The 2020 COVID pandemic warned governments about investing in technology to adapt healthcare services to modern times. The reports of growing investment in healthcare technology during Q1 2020 show that the private sector has recognized this opportunity.
