Electronic Health Reporter

Guest post by Mark Kelly, Drupal developer, CMS Website Services

Digital technology is arguably the best gifts of the 20th century as it has largely influenced the way the world works. Right from business to education and health, there is no sector that has been left untouched or uninfluenced by the digital revolution. Especially when we speak of the healthcare industry, we can see the huge impact that digital revolution has left on it and took it to the next stage of evolution. There are a number of benefits offered by digital revolution to the healthcare industry that has helped both patients and healthcare professionals. Let us know some of the best benefits offered by digital revolution:

Easy communication between doctor and patient

Communication plays a vital role in a doctor-patient relationship. However, there are various factors that affect free communication including long waiting hours, concerns about disclosing personal details in front of other patients and language proficiency/expression disorders. Most importantly the present state of mind of patients of doctors (agitated, confused, angry, annoyed or absent) can ruin entire communication. Patient portals offer an excellent environment for hassle-free and instant communication between doctor and patient. The patient does not have to physically visit the doctor and wait for his turn. He can message him from comforts of his home. Besides, he does not have the hesitation in revealing any personal details of any nature as he is not in a public place. He does not have to go through the hierarchy (receptionist, attendant, assistants, etc.) and can directly communicate with the doctor one-on-one.)

Relation between multiple healthcare specialists

Many patients suffer from multiple diseases or disorders that need services of different specialists. Needless to say, it is very important for all the specialists involved to maintain constant communication and share details with one another to offer the best support. Besides, some medications don’t go along well with one another. With the help of constant information sharing the specialists can identify the other medications; the patients are taking and design their medication schedule accordingly. It can also speed up the treatment, eliminate unnecessary administration jobs like attending phone calls and also allows the specialists to create, monitor, manage and modify the referral flow.

Security of data even in most unfavorable conditions

No matter how secured physical records of a hospital may be, there are always the possibilities of losing them during unexpected conditions like staff negligence or disaster. However, that’s not the case with Digital Records. It can be saved online and can be accessed from anywhere. Besides it also saves time as the digital records can be accessed by multiple health professionals at the same time. It is especially helpful for the patients who are being treated for multiple health disorders by different professionals located in different areas. The shareable information is secured using best and foolproof technology.

Collaborative studies and research

There are many times when health professionals need to study a number of similar cases for recognizing the pattern or prescribing the best treatment depending upon the existing data. The community of healthcare professionals can collaborate in the most suitable atmosphere of specific softwares and share a number of trials that can aid in recognizing patterns, diseases, and possible treatment process. It also helps the diverse medical community to unite over the net and collaboratively research over a single case.  It not only helps in arriving at a conclusion in relatively less period of time but also offers wholesome results.

Ease of online appointments

One of the latest and most useful web development in healthcare industry is the online appointment. Many times, especially during the initial stage of diseases, the patient is not able to fix an appointment due to his busy schedule. It allows the disease to spread and aggravate. On that stage, the patient finally fixes an appointment and visit the doctor. Even during that time he has to go through inconvenience: traffic, job schedule, seasonal extremities, etc. Patients can use any fixed or mobile devices and with s a few easy steps they can make online appointments. It not only encourages patients to take timely appointment while it is also beneficial for your profession.

Building a sustainable loyal following

The digital healthcare websites also offer a healthcare professional to form his own database of loyal patients. Most of the healthcare portals offer required atmospheres and tools for uploading latest and most relevant health content that attracts the patients and turn a random visitor into a regular reader of your blogs or other healthcare contents. You can engage patients by offering most relevant information supported by facts and figures and free of jargons. It also builds your reputation in your field and can win the trust of your existing patients while encouraging new visitors to turn into regular readers and finally into your regular patients. On the one hand, it offers patients or audience an easy access to the latest medical information and on the other; it allows you to gain the trust of the patients.

You can upload content using diverse media and presentation styles. Apart from the text, you can also use images and videos as content. You can also opt for conducting timely webinars to offer free support for patients that would let them understand your expertise and treatment method.