The healthcare trade is thought for its reliance on antiquated legacy infrastructure, reluctance to undertake newer digital transformation expertise that’s frequent in different sectors, and skepticism towards innovation. Whereas many healthcare organizations lag the applied sciences which are commonplace throughout different industries, this hasn’t prevented startups over the previous decade promising new and massively impactful options to the area.
Actually, we witnessed firsthand how the COVID-19 pandemic prompted an unusually fast adoption of digital instruments, resembling video appointments, e-messaging, and distant affected person monitoring. On the identical time, we’re additionally seeing a pointy rise in funding amongst digital well being startups because it’s grown from simply $1.1 billion throughout 93 funding offers in 2011 to greater than $21.3 billion and 541 funding offers in 2021, with no indicators of slowing down sooner or later.
Nonetheless, as extra gamers emerge providing shiny SaaS merchandise that declare to revolutionize the healthcare expertise, too many enterprise capital corporations and software program firms are merely throwing expertise on the wall to see what sticks. For SaaS merchandise to really transfer the needle, there are 4 key parts.
The correct healthcare SaaS resolution will:
Table of Contents
1) Resolve the Hardest Issues
There’s little doubt that healthcare CIOs and company advantages executives, the primary prospects for these software program companies, are enthusiastic about new expertise promising to cut back the entire price of care, create a greater affected person and supplier expertise, and enhance well being outcomes.
On the identical time, the historic increase in merchandise has created a lot of firms pitching redundant and overpriced companies, inflicting many shoppers to really feel inundated and fatigued by the 1000’s of options now obtainable. Within the healthcare area notably, adopting new expertise requires a variety of stakeholders to be aligned. Realistically, solely these with the potential to deal with their most pressing challenges, in addition to ship the most effective return on funding, might be thought of. Briefly, the answer has to supply a singular and/or notably efficient resolution to an issue far past, say, stock administration.
2) Be Straightforward to Deploy and Preserve
Well being IT faces a constant staffing scarcity for 2 basic causes. First, well being methods have adopted an “if it isn’t damaged, don’t repair it” angle that has created an undue reliance on legacy infrastructure. Because of this, those self same well being methods have most popular to not rent IT professionals who don’t have in depth well being expertise engaged on an identical infrastructure.
Software program suppliers who’re trying to promote these prospects a brand new product should supply one that’s light-weight. The product should omit the time and legwork typically required to implement new expertise and practice workers in its use, whereas additionally guaranteeing minimal IT involvement for ongoing upkeep, updates, or assist following its deployment.
3) Obtain Knowledge at Scale Utilizing Clear Protocols
Healthcare organizations are sometimes recognized for having “messy” information as a consequence of quite a lot of components. These embrace info being unfold throughout a number of locations (i.e., digital well being information, non-interoperable platforms, and so on.), a mixture of structured and unstructured information, the complexity of scientific and affected person information, and altering regulatory necessities.
Whereas navigating these nuances could current extra challenges for healthcare organizations, it’s essential that the info be collected the appropriate method the primary time fairly than what could seem the best methodology. The identical is true for software program suppliers. They should be clear about what particular information is required for the product, whereas additionally designing a SaaS platform that may leverage the info at scale and in a safe, dependable method.
4) Be Each Cloud-Primarily based and HIPAA-Compliant
Whereas cloud-based applied sciences have grow to be more and more frequent for healthcare organizations, not all expertise leaders haven’t needed to beforehand navigate the strict necessities to make sure their SaaS platforms adjust to Well being Insurance coverage Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) laws when utilizing cloud computing.
Software program suppliers ought to familiarize themselves with the Division of Well being and Human Providers Workplace of Civil Rights’ most up-to-date steerage on HIPAA and cloud computing, which presents extra detailed path about how firms ought to strategy the intersection of cloud computing, enterprise affiliate agreements, and the way it ties again to HIPAA laws.
Whereas healthcare is likely to be slower than different industries in adopting new expertise, there’s an urge for food for innovation that’s driving SaaS firms to introduce a various vary of latest options, from digital care supply to illness administration instruments and utilizing synthetic intelligence to handle affected person scheduling.
Concerning the Creator:
Chandra Kalle is Vice President of Engineering at LeanTaaS
