Why Innovation is the Key to Improving Our Healthcare System

By: Ryan Ayers

In the United States, American citizens receive treatments for diagnoses that at one time meant certain death, and they enjoy the longest lifespans in recorded history. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that its National Prevention Strategy centers on preventative medicine, an outcome that is greatly promoted by current legislation and technological advancement.

Ultimately, says the CDC, this outcome will result in better academic and industrial performance in the nation. To this end, health care engineers are working on innovations designed to streamline the delivery of services and facilitate multidisciplinary collaboration, and several such improvements are already underway.

In an article published on The Hill, Doctor Richard Biehl, instructor of Healthcare Systems Engineering at the University of Central Florida, states that improvements are much needed. Biehl writes that, “With millions of Americans lacking adequate healthcare, extended life spans and treatable diseases are straining our already burdened system, and studies show it’s only going to get worse.”

Biehl adds, “Already, there isn’t enough provider capacity in the system to meet the expected patient demand going into the future, and just increasing the number of providers isn’t an effective long-term solution to the problem.”

A New and Effective Approach for Service Delivery

Rising treatment costs have health care organizations seeking ways to reduce expenses in light of the relatively new performance-based payment models promoted by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). By integrating clinical processes, care provider organizations can improve treatment outcomes and personnel performance in a new, patient-centered service environment. The nurturing of multidisciplinary collaboration in the health care field serves as an empowering catalyst for meaningful connections among providers that share the same goal but have different responsibilities. Through clinical integration, health care providers reduce waste and increase the value of their services.

Deep Thinking Technology in Medicine

In the very near future, deep thinking technology will affect nearly every field, including health care. Deep thinking and artificial intelligence front-runners believe that the innovations represent the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will encompass the fusion of technology, physical constructs and biosciences. For example, care provider organizations could use artificial intelligence (AI) to manage emergency response transportation logistics or present information from every available source that pertains to a specific case, delivered in the hands of physicians in an easily digestible format. Data scientists are sure, and optimistic, about the arrival of this kind of AI assisted intervention in the health care field inside of the next decade. The technology has already penetrated the health care field, aiding with repetitive tasks and pharmaceutical management, as well as the creation of customized medications.

When Insurers Collab With Care Providers

Predictive analytics will become a requisite resource for health care organizations as expectations for improved financial and clinical outcomes rise moving forward. A recent poll led by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) forecasts that big data analytics technology will slash care provider costs by 25-percent over the next half decade. Nearly 50-percent of care provider organizations and 70-percent of insurers have already invested in predictive analytics systems. Insurers outpace care provider organizations in this area, but the SOA predicts that payer-provider analytics will soon gain equal acceptance among both groups. In fact, 90-percent of leaders among both groups report that implementation of the technology is slated for launch inside of the next decade.

The Cure Is in the Data

The blockchain revolution is only on the cusp of its capability in the health care field. An IBM study titled “Healthcare Rallies for Blockchain” reveals that 16-percent of executives plan to implement the technology within the year, and another 56-percent plan to incorporate blockchain technology by the year 2020. In the meantime, blockchain engineers and health care experts are attempting to figure out ways to make the most of the technology. Presently, care providers have access to massive amounts of information gathered from sources such as clinical trials, research, electronic health records (EHRs), billing accounts and other sources. While blockchain experts cannot promise to solve every issue experienced by health care providers, the technology will certainly make a positive difference.

In the end, health care providers and technology experts hope to promote healthier patient outcomes and relieve society of the burden of the imminent medical talent shortage. Some proposed changes must take place in small steps, while other changes require implementation with sweeping momentum.  For these changes to materialize at all, it will take the right social, political and economic climates for them to come into existence.
By Ryan Ayers