As the years go by and the body begins to enter its old age, it’s only natural for aches and pains to begin to appear. Many older people will begin to notice issues with their joints, in particular, and the hip is one of the most commonly affected areas, requiring treatment.
More than 175,000 people undergo hip replacement surgery every year for a variety of reasons, and this surgery can be life-changing, helping to alleviate pain and suffering, help with movement, and prevent further damage being done to the hip joint itself.
With a hip replacement or implant, damaged or diseased parts of the joint are removed or smoothed out, replaced or covered over with pieces of metal, plastic, or ceramic that mimic the way the joint functions. Studies show that this surgery can help people live longer and massively improve their quality of life.
As with other areas of medicine, we’ve seen big advancements in how hip replacements work as time goes by, leading to more successful surgeries and better results for patients. Some risks still exist and the process isn’t perfect, by any means, but great strides have been made, as shown below.
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Guest post by Ivan Orekhov, CEO, ISS Art.
Modern Healthcare is stuck in two worlds: the digital and the paperwork one. Due to the advent of particularly strict measures, and thanks to the huge development of the last years in technology as well, OCR is being used more in Healthcare organizations world-wide. Advanced, powerful OCR solution will allow you to save time and be more efficient when creating, processing, and digitizing various documents; you can scan paper documents, especially medical records, for further editing and archiving or sharing with colleagues.
OCR: how does it work?
OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition, created in 1977 by Jonathan Bush and Todd Park. It is a useful and powerful technology that allows the recognition of texts inside images, scanned documents, and photos, and to convert them into machine-readable text. It is important to note that the recognized documents look just like the original, with the same layout and organization.
By helping healthcare organizations to achieve their paperless stage we noticed several benefits in regards to reduced time and cost, errors, easier availability and management of medical records; in addition, since document privacy and security is a huge concern, with electronic documents access becomes strictly controlled.
Let us have a brief look on how an OCR works. Typically, after a first analysis of the text, the software has a pre-processing phase in which it attempts to make the chosen document more clear and easier to be read. After this second operation, based on the use of an algorithm, the OCR solution will perform text recognition by choosing every single character and comparing it with a set of pattern images. The accuracy of the process may be increased if a lexicon – a list of words that may occur in the document – is added into the software as well.
OCR in Healthcare
Even if OCR in the medical field is not different from OCR used in other types of business, the workflow, clinical content varies widely among physicians, so the conversion process from paper to digital records remains slow. Recent advances in hardware and OCR technology, as we present in our product DocRecognizer, eliminated all other logistic problems, such as copying and editing.
It is important to note that some OCR solutions, not all of them still, are compliant with FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) Standards Apps in exchanging Healthcare information digitally. As the data are collected, it must be done in a structured and standardized way; FHIR aims to simplify this using a rigorous mechanism for exchanging data.
There are very real benefits from using OCR in Healthcare organizations, as it could help digitalize clinical trial documents, patient reports, prescription slips or receipts, and lab notebook from clinical trials. A major focus on efficiency, cost and time reduction is the main benefit, as it allows physicians to reduce paperwork and increase care and productivity. By combining electronic data with the already existing patient’s information, records, lab results, health providers noticed an increased accuracy and velocity in the process, not to mention the cost savings that hospitals favour. For example, scanning and recognizing documents with the help of our tool DocRecognizer will lead to decreasing manager’s time up to 75%.
Powerful tools can process up to 250,000 documents everyday with an average length of 2 or 3 pages, thus enabling a broader range of data, ensuring that important patient’s information reaches doctors faster and efficiently. Also, the fact that they will be stored in a centralized cloud, allows the organization to have a precise digital archive storage, making it easier to find a given file; differently from scanned images, OCR documents allow a quicker keyword research, that would be otherwise not possible by having a simple, plain image.
Also, medical professionals can work remotely and send data online to a centralized OCR software, as the format allows a quick transmission of the documents from clinics to clinics. These upgrades have been shown to be essential, during our experience this year in COVID-19 Epidemia.
Usage of electronic health record and OCR software has been achieved in a certain number of countries, during recent years. For example, WHO lists Malaysia, where two hospitals have already gone paperless, Korea as 11 hospitals implemented fully Electronic Medical Records use, and China where several hospitals have successfully introduced some new technologies. Other countries are also developing electronic health records in one form or another with successful implementation. The USA is one of the most invested countries in digitalization, and for sure this puts it in an advantageous position.
In the last years, several studies on OCR systems in Healthcare organizations have been performed, to prove and demonstrate its accuracy. A study has been conducted in Wishard memorial Hospital’s Pediatric Outpatient Clinic, located in Indianapolis. One hundred and fifty typed paper forms were sent by the clinic staff, as result the OCR software was able to recognize the characters present more than 95% confidence 58% of the time.
Another interesting study has been performed on OCR and classification of pathology reports. The system was found to recognise scanned pathology reports up to 99.12%-character accuracy and 98.95% word accuracy.
Both studies show that OCR can be useful in regard to single patient’s records; but the great advantage is to create clinical registries, that can be unique and useful tools for national epidemiological and health services research. For example, the National Cancer Institute provides an excellent source of information of cancer epidemiology in the United States; genomic association projects rely on clinical registries to have detailed phenotypic information on many patients.
Conclusions
New technologies such as OCR solutions are currently in use by various organizations, but it’s becoming more and more relevant in the Medical field. Widespread use of electronic medical records could bring benefits to the Healthcare system in a variety of ways, since having patient’s data stored in a standardized form could help physicians in better care management and treatment of diseases. Based on all the above analysis, and our profound understanding of the medical domain, DocRecognizer is the preferred solution by delivering high quality values for healthcare organizations.
References:
Biondich PG, Overhage JM, Dexter PR, Downs SM, Lemmon L, McDonald CJ. A modern optical character recognition system in a real world clinical setting: some accuracy and feasibility observations. Proc AMIA Symp. 2002;56-60.
Zuccon G, Nguyen AN, Bergheim A, Wickman S, Grayson N. The impact of OCR accuracy on automated cancer classification of pathology reports. Stud Health Technol Inform. 2012;178:250-6. PMID: 22797049.
Note: Please, if you decide to publish this article, let us know about it by sending an e-mail to our marketing specialist Anna (avassenko@issart.com) as our CEO can miss a letter from your side. Any feedback from you is also valuable for us.
By Adrian Johansen, freelance writer; @AdrianJohanse18.
In the age of COVID-19, the role of technology in supporting senior care has perhaps never been more important or apparent. Telemedicine is increasingly proving its power to ensure continuity and quality of care from the safety and security of the patients’ home.
But today’s technology is about far more than just protecting seniors and the vulnerable from potential exposure to the virus. Now, more than ever, technologies are being developed to optimize patient care and to support seniors who wish to age in place, living out their golden years independently at home.
As promising as these technologies may be, however, it’s not all roses and champagne. The reality is technology is developing so quickly that it can be hard to keep up, particularly from a moral and ethical perspective. We’re only just beginning to understand the implications of this tech invasion. It might prove to be a tremendous help but also a tremendous harm for some seniors.
Before we jump too quickly on the technology bandwagon when it comes to senior care, there are some ethical considerations we need to keep in mind.
Why It Matters
The simple fact is that today’s technologies are making it easier than ever for seniors to remain in their own homes without putting their health and safety at risk. Thanks to an array of new smart technologies, caregivers can remotely monitor their loved ones from secure portals that can be accessed on most any mobile device.
The devices allow caregivers to monitor the physical activity in the home through motion detectors, including the ability to identify potentially significant changes in activity patterns. Wearables can even remotely track users’ vital data, such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose, or sleep quality. Best of all, caregivers are able to receive immediate alerts when monitors detect an emergency, such as a fall or a medical issue.
Not only that, but caregivers can also use smart systems to emulate the kind of continuous care seniors would traditionally receive at an assisted living facility. They can monitor and remotely control the home’s temperatures, for example.
And, for seniors who are experiencing cognitive decline, caregivers can set up medication reminders — with the medication’s name and proper dosage — on their loved one’s smartphone, tablet, or PC. Since memory-related medication non-compliance is a particularly common, and particularly dangerous, health challenge for seniors, this may well be the key to your loved one’s health and longevity.
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Effective management of medical claims is an extremely complex task. What make it difficult for insurers to improve the claims operations are the numerous steps and variations involved in each process. As insurance payouts also form a significant part of an insurer’s costs, medical insurers need to discover a better way to reduce claims processing expenses.
However, it’s essential to note that the insurance policy holders’ right to receive fair and equitable settlement and their service needs must never be compromised just for cost-efficiency measures. Medical insurance companies should give more importance to high-quality experience since the satisfaction and loyalty of policy holders is largely dependent on their experience when processing their claims.
Below are best practices for improving efficiency of medical claims processing:
- Use Automation Tools
The key to improving accuracy and efficiency of healthcare claims processing is automation. Insurance companies must take advantage of advancements in optical character recognition and other technologies that may alleviate the struggle that their staff had to endure in the past because of having to utilize different templates for different forms.
Using the right tools, insurers can be confident that no data is missed. That’s because machine learning and artificial intelligence ensure that errors are caught in the early stages of the process. Essentially, the use of automation tools takes accuracy to the highest level to improve the overall efficiency of healthcare claims processing.
- Outsource Medical Claims Processing
When it comes to healthcare claims processing, one beneficial step that insurance companies can opt to take is outsourcing the majority of the process to a BPO agency like Smart Data Solutions. When choosing a service provider to outsource your healthcare claims management, look for one with the right tools and experience required to streamline workflows, both on paper and electronically.
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For years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, laboratories all around the world had been dealing with severe staffing shortages and major budgetary constraints. Those factors combined to push many facilities to the brink of closure and kept the rest from operating at full capacity for long stretches of time. Then, when the pandemic struck, those issues exploded into a full-blown crisis.
But it wasn’t all bad news. That’s because the sudden flood of work coupled with the need to reduce person-to-person transmission of the virus has prompted many facilities to speed up their plans to adopt additional automation solutions into their workflows. And it’s also giving researchers a reason to push the boundaries of current laboratory automation technologies to see what’s possible.
Here’s an overview of the forces behind automation’s growth in laboratories, as well as how the available technology is coming together to create the laboratory facilities of the future.
Automation Adoption Rising
Even as the pandemic continues to rage, there’s growing evidence that automation is going to emerge as the cornerstone of the post-COVID-19 laboratory. Already, industry analysts are beginning to include the pandemic’s effects on the market. One such analysis predicts that the pandemic is behind an accelerating growth rate expected to top a 6% CAGR between now and 2024. That outlook points to a huge uptick in both interest and investment in automation technologies, at a pace that far outstrips pre-pandemic levels.
Outside Investment Increasing, Boosting Upgrades
It’s also important to note that the surge in interest (and need) for laboratory automation isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s happening at a time when laboratories are receiving a burst of both public and private funding streams intended to help them scale up to meet current and future challenges. In the US, the Department of Health and Human Services recently announced over $6.4 million of additional funding going to two major US labs to help them purchase new equipment to increase their capacity in the near term.
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Stress and anxiety are a big part of everyone’s lives these days. The uncertainty that has taken over the world, since the start of the coronavirus crisis at the beginning of the year, has yet lo leave. People are looking for ways to manage their stress and anxiety, so that they can cope better with the new realities. Today, they can turn to a connected object called Spire to do so.
A Start-Up to Answer Every Need
It would seem like there are new start-ups popping-up everyday, ready to tackle on a need still unsolved by another corporation. That is the case with Spire who saw a niche and decided to launch itself into the void that existed. But before connected objects came on the market, there was already online help to relieve stress and anxiety. It is the case with Intermittent Breathing, where professionals are teaching breathing techniques for anxiety, which can help people going through this difficult time in history.
Nothing is more important than recovering normal breathing, when suffering through stress and anxiety. Otherwise, more ailments will come such as headaches, digestive problems and cardiovascular troubles. It is the one solution studies recommend, when going through rough patches, as it was proven to work best against other strategies in various research.
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Many people who suffer from depression rely on medication to help relieve their mental health disorder symptoms. However, antidepressants and similar drugs are not the only options to help you cope with your symptoms.
Many methods can help you counter the symptoms of major depressive disorder that do not require the use of prescribed medicines and can help avoid the associated side effects and costs of some of the medicines currently prescribed for depression. Read on to find out which natural methods can help tackle the symptoms of depression.
- Improve your sleep
Your emotional well-being and quality of sleep go hand in hand. Neglect your sleep and it will have a negative impact on your mood, regardless of whether you have symptoms of depression or not. Good sleep hygiene means going to bed and waking up at around the same hour consistently. Your bedroom should be ready when you go to sleep: dark, uncluttered, and quiet. Improving your sleep hygiene can have a hugely positive effect on your mood, that will impact your whole day.
- Limit your caffeine intake
Soda, tea, coffee, and often chocolate will contain masses of caffeine, which is ok to have in the morning in reasonable quantities. If you have a caffeine dose in the morning, you should avoid it in the afternoon to ensure it doesn’t impact your sleep later. If this does happen, it can negatively affect your overall mood.
If you feel a reliance on caffeine, you could try gradually reducing your intake to skip the effects associated with caffeine withdrawal. Try taking a short walk when you crave caffeine, a soda or cup of tea to try and reduce your need for caffeine.
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Get answers to your concerns about face masks, consisting of how to use them appropriately. Can face masks help slow the spread of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19?
Yes, masks combined with other preventive measures, such as frequent hand-washing and social distancing, help slow the spread of the infection.
In fact if you’re a dentist, we recommend that you market your dental practice by highlighting how safe your practice is now.
Masks can be made from common products, such as sheets made of tightly woven cotton. Directions are easy to find online. Cloth masks should consist of numerous layers of fabric. The CDC site even consists of instructions for no-sew masks made from bandannas and T-shirts.
The CDC suggests that you wear a fabric face mask when you’re around people who don’t deal with you and in public settings when social distancing is challenging. They also suggest you wear them in health related spaces such as when you go in for your first dental visit. This also applies to kids. Which means they have to even wear them even after getting braces. It’s just the new norm.
Some suggest that certain fabric, such as dishcloth material, deal exceptional filtering of infection particles than others. DIY strategies likewise call for incorporating HEPA filter products from vacuum cleaner bags into mask styles. However, without an airtight seal, none of those products will provide considerable security against the contraction of the infection for the wearer. Convenience, not product, needs to be king when developing a mask. An uncomfortable mask that requires constant modification indicates more face touching and removal, he stated, causing more, not less, danger of contamination.
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