Colin Hung
What well being IT developments ought to reporters look out for in 2023? I spoke with Colin Hung, chief advertising and marketing officer and editor of Healthcare IT Today, for perception.
This 12 months, search for hospitals to roll out the purple carpet in efforts to woo sufferers again into their bodily areas, and a rightsizing of telehealth, Hung stated. His feedback could spur further story concepts for journalists.
Developments to look at embrace:
Hospitals investing in patient-facing applied sciences to get them within the door. Sufferers haven’t totally returned to their well being care suppliers at pre-pandemic ranges for quite a lot of causes together with worry of catching COVID-19 and monetary issues. However hospitals and well being methods need folks to come back again and wish the income, and folks want care.
Hospitals are “placing much more effort into making it very, very straightforward for folks to come back again or make an appointment,” Hung stated. This contains investing in applied sciences that assist sufferers e book appointments based mostly on location and get extra appropriately matched with the kind of supplier they wish to see, by way of gender, ethnicity or different options.
Progress in distant affected person monitoring and hospital-at-home applications. It’s safer for sufferers to get well from sicknesses or procedures at house than within the hospital, particularly with present staffing shortages, Hung stated. However sufferers recovering at house do have to be monitored.
Many hospitals are teaming up with distant affected person monitoring distributors who not solely provide the know-how however the companies that go alongside it, Hung stated. Corporations assist sufferers arrange the applied sciences, join them to Wi-Fi and be certain that acceptable information measured by the units is shipped on to digital medical information.
Hospital rooms containing extra related units. “Sensible hospitals” loaded with know-how for affected person care and comfort, as I wrote about in a story post last year, are half of a bigger development across the web of medical issues, Hung stated. Affected person rooms can have extra related units together with the TV, mattress, infusion pump, IV pole, lights, thermostat and extra that may be managed centrally on the nursing desk or with voice instructions within the rooms. Most essential shall be units to watch the affected person, like mattress sensors that may monitor if a affected person has gotten up or rotated, or if any stress sores are growing. That info shall be fed to central methods and digital well being information. Additionally, search for gadgets like wrist screens and wi-fi EKG screens.
And hospitals are acknowledging that sufferers want a method to keep related to their family members, by way of enhanced WIFI for private cell telephones or video applied sciences, he stated.
Rightsizing of telehealth. Telehealth utilization has dropped off its peak, and despite the fact that the federal authorities prolonged Medicare reimbursement of telehealth by way of the tip of 2023, some sufferers are desirous to get again into docs’ workplaces and a few docs need their sufferers again in individual, Hung stated.
“I’m unsure the digital factor has actually labored out for each single kind of care,” he stated. “We’ve truly gotten smarter with using telehealth. Earlier than it was the one various. Now we’re seeing the place telehealth actually is including worth and making a distinction.” In different areas, utilization is declining.
Docs even have develop into accustomed to the know-how such that if they’re simply seeing a affected person for a prescription renewal or monitoring them throughout restoration after routine surgical procedure, they might nonetheless go for telehealth.
Incorporation of synthetic intelligence applications in workflows and administrative duties. Workflow-related AI is “undoubtedly going to see a giant increase in 2023,” Hung stated. For instance, an AI program for radiology could flag photos that may include a tumor, so a radiologist’s evaluate of these scans will get prioritized.
“A variety of AI instruments that assist docs remove pointless steps within the workflow are going to be very popular, given the labor shortages that we’re experiencing,” he stated. This contains AI utilization for areas like billing, claims and scheduling.
Nevertheless, AI at this level could not but be prepared for scientific diagnostics, Hung cautioned: “I actually don’t suppose we’ve crossed that bridge but the place we’re going to permit AI to make diagnoses for us, however some AI help goes to be OK.”
Potential improve in digital therapeutics. This can be a “big exploding trade, particularly for behavioral well being,” Hung stated of the applied sciences, and therapeutic interventions prescribed by a well being care supplier that use software program, cell apps or different applied sciences to enhance the remedy of a illness or situation.
Nevertheless, he cautioned, “There’s not sufficient information for me to know, is that this going to be a factor for the subsequent decade? Or one thing like telehealth, the place we all know it really works in sure zones. There’s simply so lots of them popping up proper now.” We will certainly see development in 2023, however whether or not or not we see effectiveness stays to be seen, he stated.
Continuation of cybersecurity incidents. Sadly, 2023 is prone to convey extra breaches for 2 causes, Hung stated: Hospitals are tender targets, and infrequently signify life-and-death conditions. Due to this fact, they’re extra prone to no less than consider paying a ransom. And because of information studies, “everybody on the market is aware of that hospitals haven’t spent sufficient on this space,” he stated.
In 2023, well being methods are prone to additional spend money on cybersecurity, not simply in ensuring medical facilities have the precise firewalls but additionally in processes to make sure the most recent safety patches are downloaded for units, sustaining stock of units, and guaranteeing backup and restoration processes are in place.
Extra sources
- 2023 Healthcare IT Predictions – a podcast episode the place Hung and John Lynn, founder and chief editor at Healthcare IT At the moment, focus on their predictions for this 12 months
- 2023 Health IT Predictions – a roundup of well being IT predictions from Healthcare IT At the moment in areas similar to telehealth, well being fairness and safety and danger
