The global healthcare industry has benefited from the rising use of digital solutions in the healthcare sector. Today, the medical world is under a big cloud of condensed new technology trends, in which innovations are advancing at a rapid pace, even with complex systems like medical robots, augmented reality, 3D printing, etc.  IoT, AI, and mobility play key role as the enabler of this new era in digital transformation. According to the global healthcare, EDI market is projected to reach USD 2.45 Billion by 2022 from USD 1.65 Billion in 2017, at a CAGR of 8.1%. (Source: Markets and Markets) The growth of this market is majorly driven by the development of regulations for transaction processes, the rising need to curtail healthcare costs, and government support for HIT implementation.

Prominent challenges faced by the Healthcare Industry

Some of the primary challenges of the healthcare industry today are: the access to sophisticated medical services everywhere (including remote areas) and the speed with which the critical care is delivered to the patient in-need.

The primary levers that enable the ease of providing efficient yet affordable connected healthcare solutions come from the advancement in sensor technology, effective connectivity solutions to share huge data over long distances (especially from and to the cloud), and high power mobility devices to remotely monitor and control the system parameters.

Many healthcare and pharmaceutical companies are experimenting the feasibility of remote dispensing machines to deliver drugs to the patient, based on the diagnosis done over a video conference with the doctor. This can involve sharing the data and video stream over to the cloud, through a Wi-Fi or 3G/4G/LTE protocols, which can then be accessed remotely from an application in a smart phone/device by the doctor. The doctor would also be able to access the EHR and EMR of the patient, stored on a secured private server/cloud, and can prescribe the medicine remotely. 

Though technology has changed the paradigm and it all seems too easy, there are some eminent challenges in translating the technology into actual widespread applications for treatments. The inability to accurately store and retrieve this information can lead to disastrous health implications for patients. The following issues can arise as a part of a mismanaged or an overloaded data system:

• Improper applications of treatment
• Failure to respond and adapt to new conditions
• Security Issues
• Missed diagnoses

Why is this digital transformation eminent?

So if there are difficult technological and feasibility challenges confronting the digital transformation initiatives within the healthcare industry, why bother with this endeavor in the first place?

The response to this question will be: Access to proper medical care has become a fundamental need. Mobility is firmly at the center of the healthcare industry’s future, and to connect with a more prominent number of people, mobile healthcare solutions and healthcare apps are a requisite. Coupled with IoT and Artificial intelligence, technology driven healthcare will drive the industry in the coming years.

eInfochips has hands-on engineering experience in FDA Class 2 and Class 3 devices for monitoring, diagnostics, imaging, wearable health and telemedicine. eInfochips has also provided solutions for mobility enablement for medical devices and clinical software, integrating them securely with the cloud infrastructure for remote diagnosis and ease of access.