Information and Communication Technology – A Digital Paradigm Shift in Healthcare

Jan 28, 2022

Information and Communication Technology

Today, information and communication technology (ICT) is changing the global landscape. Traditionally, the healthcare sector faced many challenges like storage of medical records, medication error, maintaining manual hospital information systems, etc. The emerging role of information and communication technology has created a colossal impact on the healthcare industry. Hospitals, nowadays, entirely rely on ICT to modernize the whole process of the healthcare domain.

Information and communication technology refers to computers, telecommunications, and other systems to store, retrieve, share and manage health-related information. It increases data protection and patient security and decreases administrative and operating costs while enhancing patient care quality. ICT in healthcare enables health tracking and keeps the patients’ connected to their medical professionals. This ambulatory system ensures that patients have a seamless medical experience.  

At KMG, we provide excellent ICT solutions to healthcare organizations enabling them to keep up with the ever-growing patient demands, using the appropriate technologies.

How has ICT Improved Healthcare Industry!

Healthcare ICT is based on the development of databases, digital technologies, and other applications that aids in preventing illness, managing chronic diseases, treating illnesses while enhancing healthcare for communities and individuals, and provide capabilities for system efficiencies, and prevent medical inaccuracy. Health ICT furnishes contemporary and more efficient ways to communicate, access, process, and store information.

ICT is being used in various ways to enhance patient safety, healthcare delivery, and communication between patients and healthcare providers. One of the areas where ICT has done wonders is patient records and data management. With ICT, Electronic Health Records replaced outdated paper records. Also, there has been a shift from medical assistants to medical coding professionals and registered nurses.

Benefits of ICT in Healthcare

• Increased Patient Care Quality: One of the most significant flaws of the healthcare sector is the fragmentation of the information and the difficulties associated with the efficient transmission of data. ICT can help improve the quality of patient care through direct access to the medical case story, monitoring online treatment, keeping track of the patients’ progress, and anticipating possible medical fallacies.

• Efficient Coordination: ICT systems permit multiple medical professionals to simultaneously get involved in a patient’s care to record, disseminate, and share updates, logs, and findings. This cross-disciplinary data sharing has drastically enhanced coordination among healthcare professionals by creating a more seamless patient experience.

• Increased Access to Patient Information: Health information and communication technology systems allow seamless and instant access to patient records for all medical professionals. Also, digital versions of patient data could potentially be accessed from anywhere and at any time, permitting patients to be more involved in their treatment plans and stay better informed.

• Reduction in Operational Costs: ICT systems allow healthcare companies to allocate resources and save significant amounts of money strategically. Besides staffing arrangements, ICT allows better management of supplies by tracking, viewing, and updating in real-time with ICT systems. Therefore, the financial wastage in healthcare can be curbed by implementing ICT that increases system efficiency.

• Increased Mobility: ICT-driven mobile software applications are vital to facilitating accessibility for healthcare professionals and patients. Mobile apps help people efficiently manage their health, everything from taking appointments to finding general health-related information or accessing their test results securely online 24*7. Healthcare professionals are rarely in one fixed location, and the usage of mobile apps ensures they can quickly access information that supports their daily work.

• Integrated Medical Records: Formerly, medical information was held in different locations with different health practitioners and hospitals. But today, with ICT, Electronic medical records permit all patient case histories, diagnoses, test results and pertinent information to be stored centrally in an online location. The data permits for more accurate and focused care. ICT-driven medical billing systems allow hospitals to run much more smoothly.

Information & Communication Technology offers numerous ways to enhance the RPA healthcare system. The healthcare industry has to use ICT more prudently to bring in more developments and escalate the healthcare sector to a much higher level in the coming days.