I had a wonderful opportunity to attend and participate in the annual American Case Management Association (ACMA) conference in Seattle together with the AIDA team in mid-April.
The association’s purpose is to improve resource coordination in healthcare systems between patients, nurses, social workers, physicians, other practitioners, caregivers, and the community. For more than 20 years, the ACMA conference has been a perfect occasion to discover new ideas and meet experienced professionals from the industry.
The event was a great platform to discuss the challenges the social work industry is facing today. The approaching “gray tsunami” of the growing elderly population, the escalating shortage of care workers, and the lack of systematic technological improvements have attracted the attention of most participants.
In my personal experience working with health care providers, digitalization needs to be a priority. I say this because a worrying number of facilities still rely on pen and paper. By some estimates, about 75% of all medical communication in the U.S. is still done by fax. Not only is it inefficient but also very insecure.
This is also an excellent opportunity to help transform the industry for the better. By introducing and implementing modern technological solutions, we can drastically improve resource allocation for all health care entities and patients alike.
Cloud-based data management systems can provide healthcare professionals with real-time access to patient-related data. With an application, doctors can access data securely from any internet-connected device approved by their facility. Any new test result, diagnosis, or treatment can be added to patient history seamlessly and become instantly accessible to other involved medical professionals.
Digital systems not only improve the quality and accessibility of information but allow us to generate a colossal amount of previously inaccessible data. With the right Business Intelligence (BI) system, multiple data sets can be used to answer specific questions. Furthermore, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to autonomously clean up data, find patterns that have gone unnoticed, and provide valuable insights.
The current challenge is not just to store and access information, but to make data understandable and useful. With modern solutions, we can stop unnecessarily wasting resources and start allocating them where they really matter.
In my 5 short years in the healthcare industry, I have learned that technology is not a panacea. I have done my best to create and develop solutions that have vastly improved the quality of service for many health care providers and their patients. To find out more, please do not hesitate to contact us or arrange a meeting with me.