Covid19 Crisis: Inspiring Innovations

Category: Business, HealthCare, IT staffing and consulting, Management

“Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable”. – William Pollard

The Covid Pandemic has dented the spirit of the world leaving it in a state of weltschmerz. In the unprecedented crisis, all the countries are coming up with their ideas and innovations to collaborate among themselves and combat the deadly pandemic. Let’s look at some of the ways by which low and middle income countries are working together towards effective remediation of this Pandemic. 

The effective usage of mobile phone communication has resulted in improved data collection, reporting and better communication between healthcare staff, frontline workers, clinicians to take proactive steps in controlling the widespread transmission of covid against low and middle income countries. Use of ticketing apps for harnessing passenger data in public transport in Kenya has helped in contact tracing and forecasting future clusters. This has also helped in sending a deterrent to passengers and limiting the number of commuters to prevent community spread. These approaches are not only simple but also sensitive to social and cultural ethos of the people and have been successful despite resource crunch. 

The first line of defence consists of people who are involved in detection, prevention and controlling the infection. Vietnam has come up with an innovative idea of making use of robots for cleaning the hospitals and formation of special groups for distribution for food and help items to the vulnerable sections of the society. These measures have not only controlled the infection at large but also helped in reducing the impact of lockdown and restrictions. The routine health monitoring systems developed in South Africa are being reinvented to monitor pandemic response and track vaccination distribution in different countries. 

Re-engineering existing resources in the intensive care unit of Saudi Arabia has helped in workforce optimization and reducing workflows resulting in better efficiency and turn around time. Tasks which require specific skill sets have been earmarked and resources deployed based on current demand. Specialists have been identified to carry out the tasks cut out for them which helps in unlocking human potential. Despite an increase in patient frequency clinicians could provide adequate care and respond to their medical requirements seamlessly thanks to the proactive steps taken towards restructuring. 

User centric approach is giving way to driven methodologies resulting in better business outcomes and value generation. Any crisis presents itself with hidden opportunities that need to be unearthed for deriving the benefits for society and building a competitive edge. The need for personal protective equipment was identified by a network of enterprises in Mumbai who collaborated with others in the market and delivered more than one million safety masks within a short span of time to meet the demands of healthcare providers and end users. This is a good example of bottom of the pyramid innovation through creation of prototype and service delivery. 

New age techniques like data modelling have played a significant role in prognosis of the pandemic and developing strategies for accelerating the responses for control and resilience. Countries like Rwanda which is strapped with resource constraints have come up with new data driven pool testing methods which has helped in reduction of the number of tests required to narrow down on the infection count. Analytics and data comparison have also been effective in India for control of spread in large states with the help of low-cost paper based tests carried out in mobile labs. 

Conclusion

We at Newlineinfo Corp are committed to our fight against Covid and support the geographies in which we operate through social inclusivity and innovative management practices. 

How Healthcare can be inspired Digitally from Automotive and Banking sector

Category: Automotive, Banking, HealthCare

“Technology can be a great equalizer when it comes to health care, education – to the point where rich, poor, middle class can all get the same benefits”. – Jeff Greene

Digital transformation has revolutionized the modus operandi of industries like Automotive and Banking. But surprisingly Healthcare has remained sluggish to keep pace with the Digital revolution that is making waves across the business world. Here are some of the key takeaways that can help healthcare to make giant strides and create a positive impact by actively fostering a culture of digitization.

The changing dynamics of economic and demographic footprint impacts the requirements of patients worldwide. Healthcare needs to have strategic goals in order to achieve the desired objectives  and commercialize their products across the value chain. Healthcare needs to leverage on its deep domain expertise and knowledge for positioning themselves for change by adding muscle to their digital capabilities. Analysing market trends through competitive intelligence and research will provide key insights for identifying major opportunities that remain unexplored for maximizing growth and revenues. Healthcare needs to overcome its challenges with the help of a well defined digital health strategy with collaborative approach and concerted efforts.

It’s a known fact that healthcare is not up to speed with the latest technologies in the digital world. In order to grow in the digital space, healthcare needs to build a winning team that can remain focused on the digital agenda and optimise their workforce through continuous engagement and integrating them with the mainstream. The key remains in hiring the right digital talent that fits the bill over vintage and tenure. Having realistic goals with digital programs coupled with strategic leadership will go a long way in achieving the desired objectives. Creation of focus groups and incentivising performance through rewards and recognition would create a conducive environment for nurturing new ideas and developing a talent pipeline for the future. Digital initiatives needing adequate financial assistance and aid needs to be identified for budgetary allocation and spending.

Healthcare needs to work shoulder to shoulder with the regulators in their markets to operate freely and outsmart the competitors. This would help them create a niche for themselves and provide support in the development and sustenance of public healthcare and reduce health risks. Healthcare can also collaborate with regulators to create awareness through wellness programs that would result in achieving good public health. Healthcare needs to adhere to the administrative standards laid out by the regulators to ensure satisfactory compliance in terms of competence, skill and practice. Regulatory support and guidance presents unique opportunities for healthcare to make a lasting impact in achieving it’s long term digital objectives.

Healthcare does not demonstrate a sense of urgency and purpose to break away from the shackles of the past. The C level team in healthcare needs to drive the digital wave with a strong sense of direction and maintain the enthusiasm amongst the workforce to deliver change in an agile manner. The new age workforce in healthcare needs the support of the leadership team to develop new digital therapies and deliver commercially viable products to remain competitive in the digital landscape. Digital innovation in healthcare would not only provide the fillip for protecting people’s health with better accessibility but also focus on the needs of the vulnerable sections of the society through universal healthcare coverage, social inclusion and health equity.

Conclusion

We at Newlineinfo Corp have a dedicated team committed to offering superior service delivery to our clientele and stakeholders through scalable business solutions.

Digital Transformation in Healthcare: Did the pandemic accelerate it?

Category: Business, HealthCare, Others

“Technology is not to be feared; it is only to be understood.” – Carolina Varela Rodríguez

Covid 19 continues to pose multiple challenges in the field of healthcare and the medical fraternity is struggling with the emerging trends in transforming healthcare through the digital revolution. Healthcare experts have come up with innovative ways of treating patients with the help of well-defined strategies that would deliver the much-needed succour and reinstate the confidence in people by allaying their fears. Let’s look at some of the state-of-the-art technologies that have pioneered a paradigm shift in the areas of healthcare and medicine.

Telehealth

Telehealth is a game changer, that enables active monitoring of patients by monitoring their medical condition remotely and prescribing medicines based on the evaluation carried out. Remote diagnosis & monitoring of health conditions of patients helps in improving clinical workflows & medical practice efficiency through effective patient engagement with easier accessibility. Examples of Telehealth include monitoring of vitals, blood pressure, ECG of patients and treating them remotely with the help of medicines. Continuous monitoring of health conditions with the help of digital monitoring through mobiles, computers helps in identifying any changes in critical health parameters and provides the necessary treatment and clinical support through digital imaging and telecare. Digital enablement has made healthcare more accessible and patients can get the required medical advice at ease with enhanced healthcare experience through synchronous care and otherwise.

Digital Clinical Workspaces

Digital Clinical Workspaces have made pathbreaking changes in the delivery of healthcare. This technology in healthcare helps in providing advanced and personalised care with better efficiency and turn around time. Digital workspace helps in creating a robust electronic health record about patient medical history along with their personal information. The mobility solution helps in streamlining the longer clinical workflows and helps in spending quality time with the patients that reduces the risk of readmission. Anytime, anywhere access to patients track record and medical history helps in providing seamless healthcare solutions with clinical precision. This also provides the impetus to embrace new digital technologies in the healthcare space.

Medical Chatbots

In order to sensitise and expedite healthcare processes during pandemic, Medical Chatbots have been introduced. Medical Chatbots are powered by Artificial intelligence that helps the patients in connecting with the insurance companies and healthcare providers. It also helps in resolution of queries and concerns raised by the patients by making the relevant healthcare information available to all the stakeholders concerned. Such health bots also provide real time assistance on diagnosis of symptoms and recommended treatments with therapeutic information. This also helps in quicker information sharing and accelerates the pace of decision making during a pandemic.

Data Analytical Capability

Healthcare companies need to upscale their data analytical capability in order to be future ready, in the event of any unforeseen, pandemic. Analysis of large volumes of medical data could provide pathbreaking details into identifying any patterns relating to pandemics and endemics that can offer predictive insights about tracing of contacts, medical readiness and outcomes. Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning techniques need to be imbibed for faster and accurate diagnosis of diseases and providing immediate assistance in the areas of pharmaceutical initiation, medical research and development of medicinal treatments for the control of outbreak.

Conclusion

We at Newlineinfo are committed to the wellbeing of our staff and continuously strive to provide the health care support and medical assistance required for tiding over this crisis situation with minimal impact to all our stakeholders.

Digital Accessibility Impacting HealthCare

Category: ADA Compliance, HealthCare

“XYZ Health is an online health management portal offered to its subscribers by XYZ Health Insurance Company. A subscriber must register in the portal in order to avail various programs and benefits.

Scenario 1: A subscriber with low vision tried to register using the registration screen of the portal. The registration screen has a white background with light gray fonts making it difficult for the subscriber to read the text. The screen does not allow the text to be zoomed to a larger size thereby making it difficult for the subscriber to read the text and enter their personal information for registration.

Scenario 2: Upon logging in to the portal, there are helpful videos on a variety of wellness topics. A subscriber with hearing impairment wants to watch these wellness videos. However, the videos do not offer closed captioning or transcription thereby making the subscriber not benefiting from the wellness videos on the portal.”

The two scenarios listed above are among many real-world scenarios that individuals with disabilities can encounter when dealing with healthcare. From scheduling doctor visits, filling out medical history details, reading statement of benefits, accessing wellness content, etc., healthcare companies and providers needs to understand the importance of accessibility and how it impacts the population of individuals with disabilities.

Section 508 of The Rehabilitation Act requires federal government agencies to make all of its electronic information and technology fully usable by individuals with disabilities. This means that websites, software, multimedia files, documents, etc. must meet specific accessibility requirements to comply with the law. However, there are no regulations for non-federal entities such as hospitals, doctors, healthcare facilities, insurance companies to adhere to Section 508 standards. Not having a digital accessibility plan and non-adherence to these accessibility standards may open the door for penalties due to discrimination, loss of government funding, lawsuits, loss of customer base, etc.

In addition to Section 508, there is another law pertaining to digital accessibility. Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act prohibits health programs or facilities that receive federal funds from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. In doing so, it incorporates existing federal civil rights laws, such as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and applies them to federally funded health care and health insurance programs.

Digital accessibility makes huge sense from a business perspective. If a business cannot offer accessible products and services, the business may lose those customers to their competitors who are more accessible friendly entities. People with disabilities usually have higher healthcare needs than the average person. These individuals must have fair and equal access to your website, portals, mobile application and other digital services, just like everyone else.

Are your products and services Section 508 ready? Come talk to us and learn how Newlineinfo Corp can help assess your organization for Section 508 and Section 1557 compliance.