There are many advantages of technology in healthcare, in fact, technology has become a medical necessity. Every healthcare practice big and small uses a system of computers and programs. Without these tools, productivity would plummet, and healthcare workers would quickly become overwhelmed. Here are the four biggest advantages of technology in healthcare and why they are so helpful.
1. Increase Productivity
If nothing else, technology can be an excellent tool for increasing productivity. The beauty of technology is that once it’s set up, it can often run on its own. Office managers can use automation tools to schedule appointments, bill patients, pay employees, set up email responses, and update contact lists in real time. These are all simple systems that can be programmed to run without constant supervision from you or your staff.
A password manager is another great way to automate your systems for increased productivity. These encrypted vaults securely store passwords to all your platforms. Whenever you go to a program that needs a password, instead of trying to remember what it is, a password manager automatically fills the correct one in. You’ve just saved more time and energy, as well as took a huge step toward protecting your patients’ information.
2. Improve Internal and External Communication
Just like technology, communication is a critical part of any healthcare practice. Luckily, the two can work together to create a seamless work environment. There are plenty of advantages of technology in healthcare communication, from secure messaging systems to shared calendars to project management tools.
Remote and hybrid work are becoming the norm, so it is imperative that your virtual communication is protected from cyberthreats. This is where cloud-based tools come in handy. These programs allow employees to safely communicate with each other no matter where they are physically located. Because of technology you can share patient files, obtain second opinions, and verify information instantly.
But secure communication isn’t just internal. Practices can implement apps and portals which allow patients to fill out private information before even arriving at the appointment. This is not only convenient for the patient, but also useful for practitioners as they can review the information ahead of time and be more prepared for their appointment. Additionally, these appointments can take place online via video call, allowing practitioners to reach even more patients.
3. Convenient Access
The advancement of technology has also provided convenient online access for healthcare professionals. Electronic Health Records, or EHRs, allow practitioners to quickly and easily access a patient’s information. This system is made even more accessible with the use of mobile devices such as a shared tablet. With this, healthcare professionals can access all the details of a patient’s information like medications and clinical images while on the move. No more having to stop by the office between appointments to check a patient’s chart. Now everything you need to run your practice and aid your patients is at your fingertips.
4. Apply Preventative Measures
One of the most recent advantages of technology in healthcare is the ability to proactively keep your practice organized using artificial intelligence or AI. The world is constantly changing, and your healthcare technology must keep up. AI can help monitor device logs for potential issues. This way you can stop and fix a problem before it even arises. AI learns from the data it collects from your devices and can create work orders for the IT support team to address anything that slows your business down.
AI doesn’t only help IT support teams, though. This new tool can also help administrative teams and the overall flow of a practice. By monitoring current trends in appointment volume and length, AI can calculate patient wait times and determine a practice’s busiest hours. Administrators can take this data and use it to create staff schedules and increase workers to compensate during peak business hours. This saves your team time from collecting data and helps you run your practice more efficiently and focus on your patients.
Strategy Can Help Enhance Productivity and Reduce Stress
Practices can not only improve their productivity but reduce their stress when they implement these advantages. In the bustling world of healthcare, there are countless things practitioners must keep track of. Luckily, technology can take some of these things off your plate. By automating certain systems and using AI to track company data, you can free up your time and discover new ways to improve your workflow.
Healthcare technology also offers secure virtual messaging and convenient access to information for internal and external individuals with the proper clearance. By making your practice more cybersecure, you don’t have to worry as much about cyberthreats and can get back to helping people. Strategy IT offers an abundance of tools and support for those looking to be on the cutting edge of technology. Book a conversation with us today to learn more about how Strategy can help make your healthcare practice secure.
