Five Changing Trends in Healthcare Customer Support

Healthcare is continually changing for the better and the next time you visit the doctor, it’s possible you’ll see these trends first-hand. Healthcare is increasingly becoming dependent on electronic data that is kept in your personal medical file. As technology continues to improve, it will be possible to quickly access your medical history at any hospital or private practice you visit. This will reduce errors, costs, and improve your physician’s ability to help you. Solutions like the ADP AdvancedMD service are already helping to improve the way doctors and private practices interact with patients and offer better customer support.

Electronic Records
Electronic health records have been in existence for over 30 years, but only recently have facilities really started to use them on a large scale. In 2008, only about 38 percent of the health records had been converted to e-records. By 2013, the number has increased to 78 percent. In the future, all records should be entered into an e-record system, making it easier to provide your doctors with information on your health.

Digital Tools
There has already been an increase in the use of digital tools. Tablets have proven useful in many different areas of healthcare, but there is even greater room for improvement as the technology continues to improve. Digital tools include telemedicine and in-office ehr software to help improve the health of patients and E-visits may become a new trend that may eventually replace more than 10 percent of in-office appointments.

Specialty Drugs
Niche treatments can be very expensive to develop and aren’t generally worth the cost when they only treat a small portion of the population. It’s likely the cost of these specialty medicines will eventually go down as Congress attempts to control the amount that drug companies can charge for new medications. Hopefully more specialized cases will be able to be treated as they are tested and made safe for consumption.

More Affordable Treatments
As the cost of medications go down, new treatments will be more readily available to treat unique conditions. As Medicaid gets more power to push for better prices with drug makers, it will be possible to inspire new competition and create a more efficient method for creating generics. As technology advanced in medicine, we will be able to see more people able to afford treatment and medicine.

Bundled Payments
Health care providers are starting to use a novel approach to cost-cutting. Bundled payments group all of the services a patient gets under a single fee. This new system sets a lump-sum fee that covers the entire cost of treatment from beginning to end. This can greatly reduce surprises and make treatment more affordable.

As health care continues to get more affordable and becomes increasingly digital, patients can expect to get better care. Customer support will change as a result of new technologies, and the ability to provide patients with exact quotes on services. Better managed payment systems will enhance the entire patient experience and we will see a greater improvement all across the board.

Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most her time hiking, biking and gardening. For more information contact Brooke via Twitter @BrookeChaplan

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How Health Information Technology Is Improving Healthcare

Health Information Technology (HIT) is an array of technologies that store, share and analyze organized health information through the internet between healthcare providers, consumers, government agencies, and insurers.

It can be the primary means of providing continuity of care for each patient, between the primary care physician and supplementary care from other doctors. If a patient were admitted to the hospital, all hospital caregivers and the primary care doctor would have easy access to the patient’s same medical records, lab results, vital signs and medical orders. This accurate report reduces medical errors through omission, illegible notations, and misplaced records.

Costs

The internet can simplify the administrative healthcare system by eliminating unnecessary procedures and reducing myriads of paperwork, which is often duplicative. Internet technology can limit medical errors that increase consumer costs and engender mistrust in the changing healthcare industry.

Improved Care and Treatment

Medical personnel can instantly check a patient’s medical records for allergies, adverse drug interactions. Doctors can ascertain whether a patient’s insurance covers a prescribed drug, then email the prescription to the pharmacy. New medicines and advanced treatments may reduce pain and suffering as well as recovery time.

All clinical data is organized and analyzed, in case an unexpected health crisis should arise. Surgeons and physicians can transmit this data to skilled specialists anywhere in the world, who will consult and supplement the patient’s care.

Benefits to Consumers

Health Information technology enables today’s consumers to be well-informed and interactive participants in their health care. According to Paula Kane, who works with online health information management programs, those who suffer from a chronic illness stand to gain valuable understanding of their condition with improvements in health information technology. This knowledge can initiate a candid conversation with the patient’s doctor by addressing his concerns about medications, symptoms or treatment options.

More Productive Research

Medical groups can learn from each other and incorporate the most recent and innovative treatment methods. Research encourages and produces better diagnostic tools and strategies. Research fosters progressive surgical and procedural techniques. Access to available sophisticated medical equipment and communication with trusted colleagues worldwide, reduces disparities in health care. Health Information Technology promotes the early detection of infectious diseases, and improves the tracking of chronic illnesses.

Conclusion

If Health Information Technology remains an effectual tool, health care is sure to improve. The sharing of medical information between specialists via information technology promotes better standardized treatment for all patients. Focusing on quality comprehensive health care prevents subtle abuses of this technology and helps identify disparities in patient care.

While this decade has seen widespread implementation of HIT, there remain some drawbacks which prevent it from being universally embraced by all healthcare providers. Cybervulnerability and “HIT fatigue”, a symptom of constant alerts and confusing user interfaces, need to be addressed before the full potential of HIT can be realized.

About the Author: Marlena Stoddard is a freelance writer who received her BA from the University of Georgia.

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