Let’s face it, health care is a costly endeavor, whether you’re a patient or a provider. In fact, Americans spent $3.4 trillion on healthcare in 2016 which equates to about 18 percent of the country’s total GDP.
Trends in healthcare aren’t just about scrub styles anymore. The cost of healthcare is driving Americans on both sides of the industry to look for new and innovative methods to provide and obtain healthcare. This includes new technology for both providers and patients.
If you’re not on the up and up about these trends, don’t worry. Read on for five trends that are dominating healthcare right now.
Patient Portals
Patients today are seeking the most value possible for their money. More and more providers are giving their patients to portals that give patients more control and access to their medical information and history.
Access is the bare minimum a doctor or healthcare facility should provide to their patients. The portal should have a clean, modern design, and must be intuitive and easy to use.
The best portals enable the patient to feel like they have control over their medical care, but also that their information is secure and privacy standards are being maintained.
Revenue Cycle Management
Revenue cycle management is a process that enables your practice to streamline the tracking of patient care via software. You can track everything from registration to appointments to bill pay. The end result is more income coming into your practice.
RealTime Medical Billing provides excellent revenue cycle management software to get your practice moving forward in increasing your revenue!
Marketing Automation Software
Marketing automation software does exactly what it sounds like it does. It automates patient outreach processes. This is achieved by gathering information from many sources and storing it in one place.
The data includes patient information such as current illnesses and the dates of their last checkups. Providers can then send out communications to patients that are tailored to their specific needs, such as an email reminder about a patient’s yearly checkup.
Heart Attack Detecting Smartwatches
Technology has come a long way for health, and now smartwatches can warn you and your patients if symptoms of a heart attack or cardiac arrest are occurring.
This is achieved through microsensors that monitor the user’s heart rate. If the watch thinks the user is having a heart attack, it notifies the user and can call 911 in the event of an emergency. It even has GPS for location tracking.
This device is great for senior citizens who live alone and aren’t in need of assisted living.
Health Apps
Health apps have been growing in popularity for years, and remain some of the most popular apps on smartphones and tablets. Apps help users track everything from heart rate to caloric intake, to sleep, to calories burned. Some even help users meditate.
Providers should encourage patients to utilize apps that allow the patient to track vital statistics, like their blood pressure or blood sugar. This will allow the patient to get to the doctor sooner in the event of an emergency, and to have more control over their health.
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Staying on top of trends in the medical industry is not an easy task, especially in the digital age where there are new innovations in technology every day.
Implementing the trends in this list will help you bring your practice in line with current trends and generate more income. More importantly, it will help your patients feel like they are getting a better value when they come to your office.
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