Healthcare usually involves patients going to a doctor for consultations, the doctor examining them, and finally prescribing treatment. In the midst of the clinical visit, the patients generally ask some questions about their condition, which the doctor answers. After the consultation, the patients leave the clinic and go their way. In other words, this type of care has a uni-directional flow where the doctors speak and the patients listen. But real care begins after the patients leave the clinic.
It is finally up to the patients and their adherence to the course of treatment that determines the outcomes. That is where patient engagement plays a major role. Simply put, patient engagement improves doctor-patient interaction to help the patients manage their own care better. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of healthcare. It is where solutions for healthcare automation can help bridge the engagement gap.
Automation has vastly improved the efficiency and productivity of every industry it has touched. The same holds true for the medical industry. When it comes to patient engagement, innovations in health tech have paved the way for automated health services. One of the best examples of such a technology is AI-powered chatbots. These are usually included within telehealth applications and enable the patients to receive advice or have their queries resolved without having to go in person to a clinic or even contact their physician.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to play a big role in automation in the healthcare industry. AI-driven chatbots are programmed with the help of multiple doctors and can answer minor queries about medical conditions. Answers to questions about dosage, diet, lifestyle, and so on can be obtained through the chatbot. Such a feature helps patients know the dos and don’ts of their disease and enables them to manage their own wellness better.
Adherence to medication and follow-up appointments also impact the overall clinical outcomes for patients. It is estimated that a lack of timely consumption of medication and missed follow-up appointments cause billions of dollars of increased healthcare spending. Medical automation systems and smartphone applications send automated reminders to patients about upcoming appointments and medication timings. These reminders are through automated calls, messages, and alarm notifications. This is a personalized form of engaging with patients using automation.
Advanced healthcare process automation involves technologies for remote patient monitoring in real-time. Wearable medical devices monitor a patient’s vital signs like heart rate, electrocardiogram, and temperature and record the information regularly. These are measured against established baselines of normalcy and any deviation from them automatically notifies doctors of impending dangers. This is one of the most promising applications of automation in hospital settings and even outside clinical environments. It is nothing short of a small revolution in remote patient care. A single physician can monitor the health vitals of multiple people without even being in the same building, and know about any health issues well before serious symptoms set in. It has been touted as a game-changer when it comes to caring for elders and people at assisted living facilities. Healthcare automation can make up for a dearth of nurses and doctors without any compromise on the outcomes.
As entrepreneurs continue to pour more money into developing healthcare automation technologies, it won’t be a stretch to say that we’re living through a medical revolution.
