Digital Health: Why You Need An Interoperable System

Digital health in Australia has a very specific definition. It’s about the clinically safe, secure and private way to share health care information of a client between health care practitioners. But taking that to a step higher, digital healthcare can be a centralized health record that all can have individually.

Health care practice is continuing to evolve and now we are on a digital stand point. And having the right technology is a must to keep up with the pace.

In reality, there is a disparity of supply and demand of health care, there’s patients out there desperate for services and there’s clinics that are quiet. A metadata analysis in terms of availability across the community shows that generally, there is availability of healthcare services. On the other hand, GP 87% of presentations to a GP that would otherwise be a referral opportunity for a physical therapist we’re not being referred.

That shows that there is a pent up demand out there that’s not finding its way through. But there are channels that are available to be able to direct those persons directly to a suitable healthcare practitioner effectively.

Digital Healthcare Interoperability

The right Management Software for digital healthcare must have secure messaging interoperability. With the interoperability of the digital healthcare, you are assured that you are essentially embedded directly into the GP’s workflows. It is a must-have for a modern health practice to be interconnected with other healthcare provider.

Here are some of the benefits of having interoperability in digital healthcare:

1. Data Privacy

Some patients might be skeptical about their health record’s privacy in a digital system. But contrary to that, with proper and responsible practices in minimizing risks of privacy breaches, a right management software can actually protect data privacy. The causes of privacy breaches are actually human error and malicious and criminal attacks.

By human error, it relates to using inappropriate technology for different processes. But with the right software, human error can also be lessen. Check out Yianni Serpanos’ insights and tips about digital data breaches.

2. Secure Direct Messaging

Private health practices have significantly lower adoption in regards to secure direct messaging compared to GPs. Having different but incompatible secure electronic system can be so much expensive especially for the Allied Health professionals.

Having a single management system with integrated secure messaging is the key for the private practices to pick up their pace in growth and development. Yianni concisely discusses how secure messaging adoption is a must. Read here.

3. Low-Cost Client Acquisition

Every private practice has to be thinking about how to acquire new clients and on the other side of it, how to look after their existing clients. So, you are spending on reception desk, inbound calls, digital marketing, websites and other advertising channels, and online bookings.

All these channels are good and should be maintained. But being interconnected and interoperable with other health care providers, you are presenting yourself to the world with the lowest cost channel. Read Yianni’s comprehensive comparisons of return of investment among different client acquisition channels here.

4. Improves Client Experience

And so the digital health supporting the whole client experience or the patient experience will come into its own. Not only that referrers don’t need to bend over backwards and stumble to Google looking up directories and keywords just to be able to refer a client. It also improves the client’s experience. Their information are readily available to whomever they’re referring the client to.

It simply means easy, smooth and fast referral process, building relationships between referrers, GPs, and specialists. The referrers can send the client’s health care information and the requisite referral information directly to each other right there and then. They can choose the best location as preferred by the clients.

Conclusion

In reality, clients come and go. So, there’s a constant need to make sure that you’re presenting yourself to the world in a way that it’s easier for them to find you.

All of the existing channels for client acquisition are important, but having an interoperable digital healthcare system with the right management software can takes your business top-notch in both returns and client-satisfaction.