Challenges of Digital Transformation in Healthcare: Interoperability, Security, Connectivity

So what are the three major challenges of digital transformation in healthcare? 

• How does lack of interoperability put digital transformation on hold?
• HIPAA and FHIR or why is everyone under the data security gun?
• Why does connected health raise so many security concerns?

The anticipated digital transformation in healthcare is gaining momentum: roughly 60% of healthcare organizations are launching development of digital products while at least 42% are planning to accelerate their digital transformation in 2022. A large share of healthcare service providers view healthcare digital transformation as useful means for generating more value to their members as well as for streamlining their internal business processes but many of them remain on the first step of the healthcare digital transformation journey. Learn why the lack of interoperability, data security requirements, and rigidness of HMSs impact the digital transformation in healthcare and how businesses avoid challenges of digital transformation in healthcare.

Relevant statistics on digital transformation in healthcare

Covid-19 has launched a new wave of digital transformation in healthcare. Healthcare service providers realized the importance and potential of digitalization in the healthcare industry like never before which resulted in the following changes:

• More than 50% of the adults in the US expect fundamental changes in the healthcare system (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation).
• The global spending on digital transformation is expected to reach $1.8 trillion in 2022 and grow up to $2.8 trillion in 2025.
• In 2020, the global digital health market was worth $96,794 million and is projected to reach $325,730 million by 2028 (Verified Market Research).
• Healthcare service providers are among the first adopters (92%) of digital business strategy (IDC, 2018).
• About 60% of health organizations in the US are planning to invest in virtual health.
• For 52% of American healthcare organizations, building an enterprise-wide virtual strategy was a number one priority for 2021 (Deloitte’s 2021).
• Around 60% of healthcare organizations are launching development of digital products while at least 42% are planning to accelerate their spending on the digitalization of the healthcare industry solutions in 2022 (2021 Healthcare Digital Transformation Survey by BDO).

1. How does lack of interoperability put digital transformation in healthcare on hold?

Software interoperability defines how easily you can integrate your healthcare solution with another system without compromising safety, losing, or duplicating valuable member data. Healthcare service providers are well aware of common issues that occur while integrating two and more systems: during a manual input of member information, data gets duplicated throughout all systems or, what’s worse, lost. 

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Another issue is that there are a few ready-to-use healthcare solutions for small, middle, and rapidly growing healthcare service providers. The ones on the market are either uncustomizable or too rigid to meet the needs of dynamically growing healthcare providers. In plain words, they lack functionality for a seamless system integration which results in limited scalability.

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And even if the solution can be customized to a certain degree, healthcare service providers don’t own the source code of the solution. So when a code owner updates the platform by adding or closing some features, healthcare service providers risk to endure income loss. These challenges have ensured a rapid growth of custom healthcare solutions. Such healthcare service companies as MedVisit, use customly developed solutions including web and mobile healthcare applications, and web platforms for patient monitoring and management.

What are the benefits of custom development of healthcare solutions?

1. Custom solutions for healthcare service providers developed by ISO certified tech companies adhere to FHIR and HIPAA that ensure data security.
2. Healthcare businesses can build a system that can integrate with an innumerate number of systems and, in such a way, streamline all internal and external business processes.
3. The healthcare company owns the code and can update and expand it when the necessity arises.
4. Companies save time and money they would have spent paying for incorrect data inputs and unnecessary hours spent on manual data entry. 

2. HIPAA and FHIR or why is everyone under the data security gun?

In healthcare, data security plays a paramount role. In fact, e-PHI (Electronic Protected Health Information) makes healthcare solutions a tempting target for hackers. According to Gartner’s estimates, about 30% of critical infrastructure organizations will undergo security breaches by 2025.

One healthcare data record, according to a Trustwave report, costs around $250 on the dark web, while a payment card data will cost around $5.40 per unit. According to Health IT Security, in 2021, about 550 organizations have reported cyber attacks and data breaches which impacted more than 40 million members. A 2021 cyber attack on Professional Business Systems has affected 1,210,688 individuals and resulted in deployment of ransomware and stealing patient information.

The healthcare service providers are expected to meet the minimum data requirement of HIPAA and ensure privacy, security, and breach notification. This has given momentum to the rise of blockchain technology. And the reason for the growing popularity of blockchain technology lies within its inherent characteristics. 

Blockchain consists of digital blocks with records of transactions. Each block is connected to an entire chain of blocks located before and after it. In order to change information in one block and avoid detection, hackers need to temper with all blocks in the chain which would require a massive computing power. Another important thing to mention is that each block is distributed throughout the network of computers which means that there’s no centralized data storage to attack.

So by using blockchain technology in healthcare, businesses meet the HIPAA requirements:

• they make sure that data is accessed securely
• that it’s not being tampered with
• that the system detects attempts of unauthorized logs
• and immediately signals the responsible workers. 
  

And while CTOs of healthcare service providing businesses are pondering about the feasibility of adoption of blockchain-based healthcare platforms, here are some useful statistics on implementing blockchain in the healthcare market.

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And even if it’s feasible to implement a healthcare blockchain solution, which one will suit the needs of an SME or a dynamically developing company? At the moment, the market offers a wide variety of blockchain solutions from simple ones to the IBM blockchain solution that can satisfy the needs of large healthcare service providers.

One of the essential questions concerning the adoption of such solutions is whether the business is ready and whether there are enough skilled programmers to launch the transformation. Luckily, there are tech companies that provide services of custom blockchain-based healthcare solutions that meet the individual requirements of businesses.  

3. Why does connected health raise so many security concerns?

Connected healthcare is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of healthcare solutions including but not limited to:

• Telemedicine
• Decentralized clinical trials (DCTs)
• Remote patient monitoring (RPM)
• Mobile personal emergency response systems (mPERS)
• Secure messaging apps.

Traditionally, a connected healthcare solution consists of the following building blocks: providers, patients, devices, platforms, and connectivity. And each building block is represented in a wide variety of solutions. For instance, the connected devices may range from wireless implantable devices, blood pressure monitors, insulin pumps, pulse oximeters, glucose monitors, personal ECG monitors to more basic consumer wearables.

And while the deployment of wearables has shown immediate benefits for patients, the healthcare providers are advised to estimate the pitfalls and prevent issues from the very beginning. The connected health is so new that it still poses questions regarding:

• Hardware supply chain
• Medical malware
• Regulatory compliance
• Privacy, authentication, and access to data
• Security measures of connectivity
• Vendor selection
• Hardware sourcing

Hackers can attack each link of the connected health solution. Hence, every connected health solution should guarantee protection of both software and hardware on each level. The thing is that components of medical wearables are supplied by different providers and when healthcare providers implement uncertified software or hardware in their connected health solutions, they allow hackers to target specific parts of a device or system.

Another aspect that requires special attention is the way devices gather, send, and analyze the data. To ensure a safe way of operating with data, connected health solutions implement adequate authentication and authorization.

Development of connected health solutions requires an engagement of software developers who build IoT solutions for healthcare and can implement all cyber security requirements. Binariks offers software development services for clients that want to join the wave of digital transformation in the healthcare industry.

Final thoughts about the healthcare digital transformation trends in 2022

Despite the fact that digital technologies have been harder to integrate into core architecture than considered, healthcare service companies are approaching the day when they will provide a seamless omnichannel experience for members, clinic staff, and subcontractors. As of now, however, they are given scarce options: either to adopt solutions that don’t match their business needs or develop their own solutions. The healthcare service providers chose custom software development as a way to become more flexible, scalable, and security-oriented.