Patient-centric Care: How Technology can enhance the Healthcare Experience
In today’s fast-paced world, healthcare organizations are constantly searching for ways to enhance the healthcare experience by focussing on patient satisfaction and privacy. These two aspects are pivotal in healthcare delivery, as they directly impact the quality of care, patient outcomes, and overall trust in the healthcare system.
But there are more reasons why it is important to enhance the healthcare experience. When patients are satisfied they are more likely to follow their treatment plans, attend follow-up appointments, and actively engage in their healthcare. This can lead to better health outcomes and reduced hospital readmissions. In addition, they are more likely to trust their healthcare providers and follow their advice.
Besides patient satisfaction, privacy is also important. Protecting the privacy of patients is even a legal and ethical requirement. Healthcare providers must comply with laws and patients need to be assured that their personal health information will be kept confidential. While privacy is essential, healthcare data can also be a valuable resource for medical research and innovation. Striking the right balance between privacy and data sharing is a complex challenge that technology can help address.
Fortunately, technology is stepping in to address these concerns about patients’ satisfaction and privacy, offering innovative solutions that are changing the face of healthcare. In this blog, we will explore the significance of patient satisfaction and privacy, the challenges faced in ensuring them, and the promising innovations powered by technology.
Challenges in Patients Satisfaction and Privacy
Ensuring high levels of satisfaction and guaranteeing patients’ privacy comes with some challenges and complexities. Let’s dive into some of these obstacles and examples illustrating the difficulties patients face.
Long Waiting Times
Patients often experience frustration when they have to wait for extended periods in waiting rooms or for appointments. This can negatively impact their satisfaction with healthcare services.
Communication Challenges
Poor communication between healthcare providers and patients can lead to misunderstandings, misdiagnoses, and treatment errors. For example, if a patient doesn’t fully understand their treatment plan due to limited communication, they may be dissatisfied with the care they receive.
Lack of Access
Some patients, especially in rural areas, may have limited access to healthcare services, including specialist care. This can lead to dissatisfaction due to long travel times or lack of available providers.
Data Breaches
Healthcare organizations are prime targets for data breaches. Patient records may be compromised, leading to identity theft or unauthorized access to sensitive health information.
Innovative Tech Solutions in Patient-centric Healthcare
Fortunately, there are more and more technologies that can improve the challenges that patients face. We explain which technologies these are, how patient-centric they are and how this contributes to patient satisfaction.
Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
Electronic Health Records (EHRs) help streamline healthcare operations, improve accuracy, and provide access controls to protect patient privacy. They also make patient data readily available to authorized healthcare providers, enhancing patient care coordination.
Digital Biomarkers
A digital biomarker is a measurable health indicator collected and analyzed using digital devices like smartphones, wearables, and sensors. They provide valuable information about a patient’s health, disease status, or response to treatment. They can encompass a wide range of data, including physiological measurements (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure), behavioral data (e.g., activity levels, sleep patterns), and even data related to cognitive function or emotional well-being.
3-D Printing
According to Bradley University, 3-D printing has numerous applications in the healthcare industry, such as: customizing dental work, printing epilepsy medication and customizing hearing aids. It can help health organizations enhance on-demand inventory, distributed supply chains and prosthetics and transplants.
Remote Patients Monitoring (RPM’s)
Many patients benefit from constant monitoring, but doctors can’t be available 24/7. Using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, patients can track their vital signs and other physical conditions, and send data directly to their doctors. Remote patient monitors can reduce hospital readmissions by 70%, the length of stay by 30-40% and costs by 40%. Common conditions monitored by RPMs include: blood sugar, heart conditions, blood pressure and sleep apnea.
Telehealth and Telemedicine
Telemedicine enables patients to receive remote care through digital apps and video calls, connecting them with specialists worldwide. This approach allows healthcare providers to remotely evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients, addressing the need for convenience and bridging the gap caused by the shortage of medical professionals. Telehealth and remote monitoring technologies allow patients to receive care remotely, improving access while still maintaining privacy.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI is revolutionizing healthcare, key applications include robot-assisted surgery, virtual nursing assistants, and administrative workflow aids. Image-based AI assists in diagnosing medical conditions through photos, and predictive patient data analysis helps identify infections and personalized cancer treatments based on genetics, transforming healthcare.
Kepler Night Nurse
Kepler Night Nurse is a healthcare software that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor the well-being of individuals. Why is this important for the experience of patients? Well, healthcare workers often receive hundreds of alarms during their shifts. The overwhelming majority of these alarms often do not reflect what is actually going on, only which sensor triggered them. Meanwhile, when a patient falls, they often lay on the floor for a long time without assistance.
The Kepler Night Nurse swiftly detects falls in under a minute, and it also promptly triggers alarms and notifications that provide precise information about the situation. The total amount of false alarms is reduced by 99%, freeing up care staff to focus on other tasks. This way, Kepler Night Nurse frees healthcare workers as they no longer need to spend time on monitoring tasks. They can focus on providing actual care for their clients.
More information?
Kepler Vision Technologies is the specialist in developing unique, high-quality and safe AI applications for healthcare. Our mission? Making healthcare even safer and helping healthcare institutions and employees organize their daily work more efficiently.
Would you like to know more about our company and get acquainted with our solutions? Please feel free to contact us via +31 6 51455192 or info@keplervision.eu.