Have Hospitals Begun Accepting Healthcare Innovation Technology?

New tech may seem like a universally exciting development, however, many care providers are incredibly averse to incorporating them into their practices. Learn about the most commonly held hesitations and how to address them.

Despite the abundance of specialized knowledge shared by healthcare professionals, many physicians and nurses don’t fancy themselves tech-savvy. This can be rather prohibitive to testing out new healthcare innovation technology since, unlike with a manufacturer or retailer, hindered performance while health staff attempts to learn new technology can result in compromised patient health.

Hospitals Shouldn’t Settle for Consumer-Grade

Ill-fitting technology that isn’t specifically created with the healthcare workplace in mind can be an active risk to both patients and care providers. There are multiple certifications and specifications that need to be considered when picking out a device for a medical facility.

IEC60601-1 certification, for one, is incredibly important. Without this certification, hospital staff can’t be sure that electric signals given off by a device won’t interfere with other devices on-site of their facility.

It also goes without saying that devices that protect against infection are important when caring for patients. Unfortunately, several so-called medical devices are never properly fortified against bacteria as they only carry a thin coating of antimicrobial spray.

True medical panel PCs made by responsible, reputable manufacturers have remained one of the few happily adopted healthcare innovation solutions because they hold these certifications.

Hospitals are Averse to Risk

Difficult to incorporate hardware and software can cause problems for providers. Take EHRs for example. In 2014, the use of EHRs became mandatory in an attempt to optimize the storage of patient data. Despite these intentions, however, several medical professionals still face issues with EHR compatibility and sharing patient data, resulting in inconsistent care.

Unfortunately, compromised patient care often means heightened patient readmission rates which can then turn to financial penalizations for the hospital or dire patient outcomes.

People Don’t Want to Be Treated by Machines

Treatment is an incredibly personal interaction for all parties involved. Patients are vulnerable, sick, and scared. More often than not, they want those incredibly human emotions and fears to be validated and addressed by a person and not something like a chatbot.

Providers understand this and aren’t necessarily excited to automate care further, even if better results are theoretically possible, if it means lowering patient satisfaction rates. We’ve seen this same hesitation observed in the incorporation of several pieces of digital healthcare innovation technology spanning from AI diagnosis to telehealth.

New Innovations Can Mean Privacy and Compliance Issues

In an industry where patient data is constantly being attacked at all angles by criminals looking to steal healthcare and prescription credentials, utmost attention needs to be paid to how new healthcare innovations risk cybersecurity.

And unfortunately, several pieces of hardware, if not incorporated effectively, actually start to poke holes in a facility’s cybersecurity. The more interconnected devices hooked up to the internet there are in a facility, the more entry points for a cybercriminal looking to steal patient data.

What Have Hospitals Learned in the Recent Months?

All of the aversions we mentioned above, while they are valid and applicable, were all hesitations held by a healthcare industry pre-COVID19.

Infection control, telehealth, remote triage, these have all become prerequisites for delivering care in a world where social distancing, PPE conservation, and a highly infectious disease are the norm. Now, providers are realizing change is necessary.

According to a survey conducted by Black Book Research, despite healthcare providers on the whole suffering from massive drops in revenue, only 12% of them plan on cutting spending on digital transformations and healthcare innovation technology.

Where Does That Leave Those Looking for Healthcare Innovation Now?

Focusing on telehealth, since it’s easily been one of the more rapidly adopted innovations as COVID continues to spread, cybersecurity issues inherent to the practice can be addressed with authentication hardware such as RFID tablets, CAC readers, single sign on solutions, and more.

Medical cart computers that meet all of the certifications needed to operate within a care facility can also help diminish patient to physician infection by allowing providers to remotely control a cart into a patient’s room to care for them at a safe distance.

Adopt Healthcare Innovation Technology, But Adopt it Smartly

Now that adoption of healthcare innovation solutions has increased, it’s important not to overdo it and start investing in technologies that aren’t in line with your facility’s current and future needs. Healthcare revenue and resources are at a substantial low, meaning you and your team need to carefully convene and consider what innovations can help you navigate and address the needs of your patient-base. For more information on what tech can help you do just that, contact an expert from Cybernet today.