Last Updated on February 23, 2024
One of the most difficult tasks in medicine is knowing how to quickly assess, treat and prevent conditions from getting worse. In many cases, the circumstances call for all of these procedures to be done in mere seconds.
So, in order to help doctors provide the best treatment for their patients, many healthcare organizations are working with software outsourcing companies in data-driven projects that could change the entire shape of the industry.
By leveraging on IT outsource services, medical professionals are finding new ways to provide quality care while also reducing costs and patient risk. A recent study by Future Market Insights revealed that hospitals commonly resort to outsource development for services like Electronic Prescriptions, Electronic Health Records (EHR), and even Complete Hospital Information Systems.
As emerging technologies become more powerful and mainstream, we can expect more hospitals and clinics to partner up with IT service providers, fueling the ongoing digital transformation of the health sector.
Using Data for Outcome Prediction
Every benefit that the IT field can bring to Healthcare revolves around data. By managing and sorting large amounts of information, software solutions—particularly Artificial Intelligence—can recognize patterns that are simply impossible to detect by humans. This way, doctors can interpret those patterns and help families and individuals make better decisions.
In general terms, the result of this is simple: prevention. Historically, medicine has always been about detection and treatment. If a person feels sick, a physician can assess their condition and act upon that person’s clinical history. But, for the most part, there have never been any metrics to accurately predict the chance someone has of getting sick.
As healthcare organizations often lack the necessary expertise to develop tech solutions in-house, software outsourcing companies stand as the most reliable alternative. This way, hospitals, and clinics can reduce operating costs, gain access to top IT talent, and—most importantly—focus on their core business: the wellbeing of the people.
We can find a good example of this in Canada, where the Toronto Surveillance Protocol was recently put in motion. This system is designed to help families with a mutation in a particular gene (TP53), which makes people have a 70% chance of having cancer before the age of 40, and 100% chance before the age of 70.
With the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning, doctors can effectively prevent complications and begin the best treatment at an adequate time. This gives families and their children the possibility to access crucial information that can totally change the outcome of their condition.
Just a few years ago, none of this would have been possible. And come to think of it, the more and better data we can feed this type of system, the better they can help us understand the deep patterns of human health. As more healthcare organizations outsource software development and collect data from millions of different people, the benefits of artificial intelligence grow exponentially.
But what about privacy?
In a way, healthcare data is some of the most private information anyone can have. And it is no secret that we are still quite a few years away from completely solving the data privacy problematic. But even when the threat of a cyber-attack is honestly terrifying, sharing healthcare data is an almost certain way to give billions of people a better chance at a better life.
Even so, it’s not like your information will just be sitting defenselessly in a server. While there are several methods to protect large amounts of data, one of the most effective ways to do so is through pseudonymization.
This means processing sensitive data in such a way that it can not be linked to the data-owner with additional information, which is kept by such data-owner. Naturally, this a service that the best IT outsourcing companies can provide to any healthcare institution.
The bottom line is that researchers need access to clinical data, and it is in all of our best interests to make that information available. While privacy restrictions shouldn’t prevent better care for people, they are still one of the biggest challenges the industry is facing.
As long as this is the case, IT companies all over the world will continue working to guarantee safe data-sharing without sacrificing privacy.
Closing Thoughts
Without a doubt, the automated deep analysis of data can help speed up healthcare processes and prevent patient complications. Therefore, by working together, healthcare organizations and IT service providers can attempt to fully harness the power of technology in a secure way and bring benefits that were unthinkable a decade ago.
We have explored nothing but a few of the implications technology will have in the healthcare landscape. As their relationship continues to strengthen, it is likely that doctors and developers will discover new ways to build a better way for everyone to live their lives. Hopefully, the rate at which systems improve will only continue accelerating while we dash into the digital health world.