8 SEPTEMBER 2024IN MY OPINIONHAVE A PLAN, AND HEALTHTECH WILL PAY OFFBy Jaleel Rahiman, Director, IT & PRIME Digital, PRIME Healthcare Group LLCIt is said that numbers tell a story, and healthcare's evolution is a numbers-driven narrative. Treating disease and sickness is essentially a holistic concept. It combines the physical, cellular-level challenges of the body with mental fortitude and the power of faith to initiate recovery. Nevertheless, this physical-mental-spiritual integration is founded on the hard ground of data, the absence of which can skew healthcare outcomes.Since the dawn of medicine, data has been indispensable in devising cures and treatments. The modern era in healthcare, defined by the miracles of technology, has brought us a plethora of data-generating healthcare devices, transforming the scope and possibilities of precision and predictive medicine. Data is the building block from the micro-level of personal wearables to macro-level new-generation devices in diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation. IHowever, these gigantic volumes of data can often be unintegrated and unstandardised and here enters HealthTech as the pivotal data aggregator and data educator. It is seminal and indispensable because data without analysis is dead matter. And data lacking security and management is a loose cannon. HEALTHTECH SMARTLY ADDRESSES THESE URGENCIES.The primary role of HealthTech, therefore, is to create an enhanced patient experience which means treatment outcomes are improved. This is realised through patient data analysis, which helps convert the information into intelligible, actionable policies and processes. Enabling a patient-centric healthcare journey is an integrated process involving various touch points and inputs. Using HealthTech to make every step easy, seamless and result oriented is a non-negotiable best practice in modern medicine.AT PRIME, WE CALL THIS APPROACH THE CONNECTED JOURNEY.This journey begins with a smooth start by offering patients a choice of channels to set up their first interface with us, i.e., website, chatbot, mobile app, WhatsApp, and contact centre. We ensure patients connect to us quickly and seamlessly at every step. It is the value of first impressions, and PRIME believes in converting them into positive lasting impressions.Efficiency and quality are at the heart of healthcare, and HealthTech is a catalyst for both. At PRIME, we have single-patient records across the group and all systems, such as Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Lab Information System and PACS for radiology, for example, are interlinked, saving doctors' and patients' time as all the information is streamlined and one-point located. So, across our branches and entities (medical centre, hospital, diagnostic centre, pharmacy), access to patient data is a unified resource.We employ consumerised technology like WhatsApp, etc., to enhance Patient Experience (PX), and have data warehouse and analytics to improve processes efficiency and clinical outcomes. Currently we are evaluating AI in radiology to help radiologists improve their efficiency and accuracyPRIME was one of the first in the region to launch a mobile app for Jaleel Rahiman
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