The revolution that information technology has introduced the healthcare industry to, is mind-boggling! Starting from a supercomputer like IBM Watson to Apple’s smartwatch, every such cutting-edge technology breakthrough & gadget is transforming lives of individuals with artificial intelligence (AI).
The advancements in Software for the healthcare industry can save the lives of millions by simplifying complex procedures. The objective of these newer technologies is targeted towards a more refined and accurate diagnosis.
With contemporary breakthroughs in technology, there is an emerging branch of service providers addressing the niche requirements of institutions in the Healthcare Industry creating custom as well as packaged utilities for them to cater to their clients.
Custom Software Development
Custom software development is a popular service for its ability to satisfy customized needs of individual clients. It covers every avenue of software development starting from creating something right from scratch, migrations from the legacy platform to a new one, and maintenance & support.
Custom software comprises made-to-measure applications customized for specific customers. The conventional off-the-shelf software can’t meet the specific customer need and therefore, custom software plays an important role in addressing the same. As these are uniquely catered applications, they can’t be migrated to another customer.
The above infographic explains the lifeline of a custom software development process. It starts with the first phase, requirement gathering and eventually ends up with testing by passing through design & development stages.
Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) or Package Software
The Commercial Off-the-Shelf Software are readymade solutions that are furnished for a wide range of requirements. Such software is strategically designed to be compatible with existing systems with minimal customization. In addition, the initial cost of such software is lower than custom solutions.
Software Development, Healthcare, and HIPAA
Both packaged and custom software are the bare bones of a more accessible, transparent, secure, and hybrid healthcare sector. Data privacy and security are the primary concerns when we talk about the importance of software for the healthcare industry. HIPPA was introduced in 1996 as a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in United States legislation with the aim to offer data privacy and security to the patients. And thus HIPPA compliance offers a safeguard to the patients against any fraudulent behavior on the Internet.
The Key Affected Areas: Below we are discussing the key affected areas of healthcare due to the advent of avant-garde software solutions.
Advanced Diagnosis
Technology is revamping the healthcare sector by not only providing efficient operations management but also by offering advanced diagnosis to the patients. The industry is bestowed with cutting-edge software solutions that help in detection of critical illness at early stages. AI-powered tools are helping develop medications much faster than the conventional process. IBM Watson is a leading name to mention for its overwhelming contribution towards advance data analysis and offering actionable input based on the same.
One-size-doesn’t-fit-all
Every healthcare organization is different from the other in terms of practices, patient care, operation areas, technologies, and approaches. Therefore, off-the-shelf software can’t cater to all the needs of such a sector. Only custom software can feed such customized needs. Moreover, it boosts the organization with automation, AI, machine learning, etc.
Data Security & Privacy
Healthcare sector generates a large chunk of data every day and they are customer-sensitive. And therefore data security is a primary concern in this sector. Hybrid applications help to protect patient’s data against any malicious attacks or data breaches. The patients feel secure while share their personal information in such a custom-made application.
Nowadays every cloud, email service provider, search engine, chatbot, website along with application are getting HIPAA compliant to offer optimum data security.
High-Quality Patient Care
The long queues in hospitals not only test your patience but also delay the consultation process. It is one of the major pain areas where patients suffer the worst. However, with the inception of AI driven software, this problem is solved to a large extent. Some of the top consultation software are Practo, 10to8 Scheduling Software, Intelligent Medical Software, Veribook, Cogsworth, and many more.
Ability for Growth
Sophisticated software is digitally transforming the traditional medical record maintenance system with a paper-free environment. The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) can keep the data of numerous patients in a secure place host on a cloud. It decreases operating cost and eventually increases the ROI of any healthcare organization. Thus, hybrid software plays a game-changing role by supporting massive business growth.
Easy Accessibility with Multiplatform System
The eminent companies develop software to work across platforms including desktop, mobile, tablets, etc. If all the stakeholders in a healthcare organization use a uniform software, the data gets synchronized. The doctors and patients are the main stakeholders and they can access the system on the go. It makes the consultation process faster with real-time data accessibility from multiple platforms.
An Integrated System
The custom healthcare software integrates the multiple workflows that your organization operates on, on a daily basis. Custom made software can synchronize multiple simple and complex processes including human resource, finance, OPD, etc. at one place. It reduces workplace stress for every healthcare employee enabling them to invest more time in patient care.
Improves your Healthcare Standard
Custom software remodels the traditional healthcare setup with advanced systems, automation, and cutting-edge technologies. It revamps every minor process starting from patient appointment management to data storage. By revamping the old processes, the custom software streamlines it to the existing healthcare standards to a greater extent.
Boosts Scalability
The off-the-shelf software has its own limitation and can’t give dynamic business growth with scalability. But when you hire a software company to build a custom solution, the vendor ensures that it scales your business growth at all levels. Thus, healthcare organizations can achieve long-time sustainability in terms of hassle-free operation, smooth maintenance, and efficient work process with the help of custom-made software.
Final Thoughts
Personalization is the future of the healthcare sector. According to Monetate, personalized web experience increases 20% more sales in an organization. The backbone of custom software is personalization and it can revitalize the existing infrastructure by changing every touch point of the patients.
In a nutshell, both package and custom software solutions fastens the pace of medicine development process, ensures world-class diagnosis of all diseases, secures sensible data in the cloud, and gives advanced recovery solutions by analyzing data in a cognitive way. Moreover, it improves the healthcare standard which is essential for the overall growth of a country.
Clarion has served as a technology partner for several SMBs as well as Enterprises for development of customized software as per their needs. Do go through our range of services to know more about us.
