The Future of Healthcare: How Innovation Helps Mitigate Patient Risk
The Future of Healthcare: How Innovation Helps Mitigate Patient Risk
At a time of crisis in global healthcare systems, it is imperative to build confidence and trust in patient care.
While technology in healthcare continues to advance, there is an increasing gap between where existing legacy healthcare systems are and where they need to be. According to the latest global healthcare report from our software partner SOTI, as many as 20% of IT professionals say their biggest area of concern is spending too much time fixing small IT issues rather than focusing on transformative projects that enhance patient care. Furthermore, IT decision-makers are allocating budgets to AI instead of fixing basic technology gaps with devices, security and legacy system integration.
This article discusses this technology gap, the findings of the latest SOTI healthcare report and how innovation helps overcome these challenges to deliver the best patient care.
Workflow Automation to Reduce Healthcare Fatigue
The healthcare report found that legacy technology contributes to an increase in lost hours due to downtime, rising from 3.4 hours (2023 report) to 3.9 hours (2024 report) per week, per healthcare worker. Fatigue among healthcare workers is also an ongoing concern, as long shifts and extensive overtime lead to burnout.
Whether using AI or developing secure in-house apps to help staff digitize daily administrative tasks, workflow automation can improve and optimize current processes, enabling healthcare workers to better leverage existing mobile technology and save significant administration time.
“The results of our latest study show that 86% of healthcare workers believe their organization would benefit from better interconnectivity of devices, 85% believe new or better tech is needed to improve patient care and 85% think AI would help simplify tasks. All these enhancements would help reduce the time spent on paperwork with real-time updates across shared devices, reducing stress and overtime hours while enabling healthcare workers to prioritize patient care," states Shash Anand, SVP of Product Strategy, SOTI.
Patient and Healthcare Data Security Continues to Be a Major Concern
With the frequency and severity of cyberattacks in the healthcare sector, it is critical that shared devices are managed properly, particularly devices used during shifts. Implementing secure user logins on shared devices helps ensure data protection and compliance while ensuring patient care is attributed to the appropriate staff member.
External data breaches have increased significantly in 2024, and the frequency of them demonstrates the correlation between security issues and healthcare’s outdated technology. Additionally, 45% of global IT decision-makers state that all forms of cyber incidents have occurred more in 2024 than in 2023, and data concerns have risen from 16% to 23% to become the number one IT issue in 2024.
Example of Innovation in Healthcare: Enhancing Security with Barcode Scanning
Despite these ongoing technological challenges, it is vital that healthcare systems innovate and leverage new technologies to drive change. Since 1994, Sciamed has been providing barcoding and scanning solutions to the NHS in the UK. Sciamed approached Newland EMEA to help develop and enhance firmware for the HR32 Marlin Healthcare scanner in response to enhanced data security requirements.
Newland EMEA immediately understood the significance of this in the market and the contribution that advanced barcode scanning can make to patient safety. Demonstrating its adaptability and innovation in the sector, the Newland EMEA team championed this initiative across their technical, sales and product development teams.
Sciamed Director, Stephen Henry, said, “Newland EMEA engaged with Sciamed throughout the entire process and were able to deliver an initial version of the firmware for testing in a very short timescale. The final version has now been tested, validated, and accepted for use, allowing the HR32 to become a key product in the Sciamed portfolio of advanced scanning products. The commitment from the Team at Newland EMEA to understand the solution and the market for the product was a key driver in the successful delivery of the firmware for the HR32. There was also a determination to get to a level of detail that allowed the technical aspects of the barcode scanning to be fully understood so that the finished product would comply with the standard for ISBT-128 as published by ICCBBA.”
At a time when the healthcare industry grapples with budgets, legacy systems and new technology integration challenges, there is still incredible innovation taking place, making substantial differences to healthcare delivery and patient care.
It is imperative that decision-makers prioritize technological advancements and appropriately allocate budgets to bridge the current technology gaps, helping enable innovation in the sector.
To find out more about Newland and our partnership with SOTI, please contact us here.
