Electronic Health Reporter

The demand for healthcare is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years. This trend is caused by several factors, including the growth in the elderly population in developed nations and the growing medical expectations in developing ones. Simply put, medical professionals are tasked with treating more and more patients, meanwhile, the number of hours in the day remains unchanged.

Thankfully, technology is on hand to help. In terms of treating more patients without compromising the quality of care, the following are helping doctors and their staff:

Improved documentation

Much of what goes on behind the scenes at a doctor’s office has to do with documenting patient visits. The main reason we’re waiting in the exam room for what feels like an eternity (on top of the purgatory of the waiting room) is that doctors, nurses, and other staff are doing data entry. Medical professionals are increasingly giving up the traditional and time-consuming means of documentation in favor of transcription for medical businesses, which essentially outsources this time-consuming task. Other than recording their verbal notes and saving them as audio files, medical professionals simply have to forward the digital files to a transcription service. These services function with complete HIPAA compliance and quick turnaround, sending back transcribed documents in a matter of days or even hours with 99 percent accuracy. This enables doctors and their staff to quicken the process in between patients, which allows for more visits without cutting back on quality of care.

Telehealth systems

While many doctors visits are best done in-person, the vast majority are cases which can be handled remotely. In years past, you still had to go to the doctor because nobody felt comfortable “visiting” the doctor over the phone. But these days, being examined and treated by a physician without being at their office is possible thanks to mobile technology. Tablets and smartphones equipped with cameras can serve as a means for medical professionals to properly visit patients over the internet. Known as telehealth medicine, this gives doctors and their staff the ability to treat patients faster and prioritize certain cases for in-person visits, which ultimately means more patients seen without a reduced level of care.

Mobile apps

Another way medical professionals are using mobile tech to treat more patients is through mobile apps for their office. Patients can install the app on their device to schedule appointments, be updated on their results, send in questions, and receive answers. It’s a way to further streamline the patient visit process and remove elements which waste time.

Remote observation

Yet another way mobile tech can assist doctors is via remote observation. With fitness trackers and other digital means of monitoring biometrics, doctors can be sent data they’d otherwise have to get from the patient visiting them in person. This enables medical professionals to hit the ground running when patients do come in for the visit, rather than spend time accumulating this information at the time of visit.

The demands on medical professionals have never been greater, and it’s only going to increase as time goes on. Fortunately for doctors and their staff, technology is there to provide essential assistance. This, too, will only increase as time marches forward.