Healthcare Trends For Improved Patient Experience

The health industry is among the top beneficiaries of the many innovations of the digital age. With a foreseen increase in healthcare facilities, fueled by healthcare providers investing more in complex real estate portfolios, healthcare has never been as driven by patient care and improved customer service as it is today.

More flexible facilities for inpatients are on the rise, thanks to widespread training among clinicians in augmented reality. With AR, providers can now decide on the correct procedures quickly. AR likewise addresses the lack of professionals by instituting more hands-on systems for healthcare training and learning.

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Big data and machine learning technology are freeing up practitioners from the clerical aspect of healthcare, allowing for better preventive measures, faster diagnoses, improved feedback, and generally limiting the spread of diseases. All in all, both beginning clinicians and experts can hone their skills as they are provided quicker access to data for deeper analytics. 

Patient personalization is key, especially as healthcare providers seek to address paperwork, evidenced by elaborate questionnaires for incoming patients. With patient data at their fingertips, patients need not fill out these forms. Doctors can even view patients’ clinical history remotely and hand out diagnoses online.

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John Kang was the president of Medical Manager Corporation, a company acquired by WebMD in 2000. After his tenure with the healthcare IT company, he focused on research and investing in commercializing amorphous alloys. Visit this LinkedIn profile for more on John’s professional background and interests.

Micro-Hospitals Are Key In The Evolution Of Healthcare Technology

More and more micro-hospitals are being constructed all over the U.S., small facilities that are independently licensed and offer amenities that are a fraction of what people can expect in a full-fledged hospital. But their steady increase and presence are crucial to the future of healthcare, to say the least, as they grant more immediate access to medicine and physicians, especially in places where people live and work.

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There is a clear, emerging market for micro-hospitals, bolstered by a more community-based and urban-centric world. Speedy access to good, pre-acute healthcare and in-house doctors is key in many modern neighborhoods, and micro-hospitals offer more expansive services than, say, the standard emergency room or retail clinics.

Consider micro-hospitals as part of an umbrella healthcare delivery system, a branded destination allowing for better and more continuous patient engagement and support. They have a different set of patient demographics, are cost-effective for the provider, and provide premium support for patients since they are not targeted to build or expand outside a particular community.

Keeping to this small-industry model makes micro-hospitals best in both rural and urban areas. They will continue to focus on what the population seeks most in healthcare for a given setting, adjusting the services offered accordingly. Focusing on fewer patients allow for more personalized healthcare, which in turn benefits the patients via faster discharge and reduced waiting time. Micro-hospitals develop patron-like loyalty and relationship, similar to that of a medical home.

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John Kang has more than 30 years of experience in developing and managing strategies for rapidly growing companies. He was the president of Medical Manager Corporation, a company acquired by WebMD in 2000. More on John’s work and interests here.