Many businesses rely on Software as a Service (SaaS) to enhance their processes, establish a secure intranet, boost their efficiency, and more. Still, it’s not only businesses that can benefit from using SaaS.
SaaS adoption rate in the healthcare industry is growing at a rate of 20% per year, with predictions that the cloud computing market in healthcare will have reached $51.9 billion by 2024.
This begs the question of why these services are suddenly becoming a top priority in many medical institutions.
The answer might not be as straightforward as many believe, as it’s not just a matter of simple convenience.
Today, SaaS providers offer many services and benefits in the healthcare industry. They facilitate easier collaboration, allow for the use of learning management systems for healthcare training, improve patient care outcomes, and much more.
So, let’s take a closer look at some of the most important reasons why using SaaS is the smartest thing for those in the healthcare industry.
Telemedicine Is on the Rise
The U.S. telemedicine market is expected to worth over $64 billion by 2025. The market is undergoing exponential growth and shows no signs of slowing down.
The rise of telemedicine enables patients from all over the world to receive equal care and treatment. For example, those living in rural areas can be connected with their doctors more efficiently.
Bedridden patients don’t have to go through the struggle of leaving their homes to receive treatment, and medical professionals can offer their services wherever they are.
Of course, telemedicine wouldn’t be possible without such solutions as SaaS.
The technology behind SaaS allows both medical institutions and patients to leverage the advanced telemedicine software and hardware.
Easier Collaboration Between Medical Professionals
Medical institutions with the right systems in place can enhance the collaboration between different departments and streamline most processes.
The medical staff doesn’t have to go from department to department, collecting lab results, tests, asking for a second opinion, among their regular work.
Through hospital management systems, all doctors, nurses, and medical technicians working within an institution can get in touch with each other more quickly.
Not to mention that doctors and nurses can communicate and collaborate with experts from all over the world.
Getting a second opinion and collaborating with the leading experts with years of experience treating certain diseases and disabilities is invaluable to doctors and patients, and can often prove to be lifesaving.
Collaboration with global medical professionals is critical in countries such as Nigeria, where there are less than four medical doctors per 10,000 people.
Transparency of Medical Information Is Important
If we are to improve patient care outcomes and ensure a better quality of healthcare, a focus on transparency is essential.
Doctors and medical professionals need to have a clear insight into each patient’s full medical history to provide better treatments.
This is especially important in cases where a patient is not in a condition to answer important medical questions by themselves.
Fortunately, with the rise of SaaS and electronic medical records, we’ve seen clear improvements in the transparency of medical information.
Over 64% of physicians have electronic health records that they can access for more information on their patients. This trend is on the rise, and we can expect to see more medical institutions that offer e-records to their patients.
None of this would be possible without the development of new technological solutions and the rise of SaaS in the healthcare industry.
Healthcare LMS Software Enables Ongoing Training
Medical staff in any medical facility is expected to continue learning and improving throughout their career. That is why medical licenses need to be renewed every few years and why doctors and nurses often join training courses and seminars.
The busy schedules of medical professionals can hinder their learning, and so new solutions are needed that can simplify this process.
One of those solutions is learning management systems for healthcare training. LMS is a software solution that enables users to study, take tests, and enhance their knowledge in innovative ways.
Instead of attending out-of-state seminars or taking classes, doctors and nurses can enhance their knowledge and have continuous training via their PCs or mobile devices.
The healthcare industry is one of the top users of LMS software solutions, and this kind of e-learning is possible only through the use of SaaS.
Enhanced Data Security
Since medical institutions today store more information on their patients and staff than ever before, it’s crucial to keep this information secure.
Anyone with access to such sensitive personal data is in charge of securing it and ensuring that there are no data leaks or breaches.
It requires an experienced IT team that will keep all systems up and running while eliminating all vulnerabilities and security loopholes.
Having an in-house IT department is often impossible for a medical institution on a budget, so using SaaS is a must.
With a reliable SaaS platform, medical institutions get access to the latest technological solutions that aim to improve data security without putting a dent in their budget.
The Bottom Line
Using SaaS in the healthcare industry is critical if we are to improve patient care outcomes and enhance most of the day-to-day processes. Some of the main reasons why medical facilities need SaaS to include:
- Enabling the use of telemedicine
- Ensuring easier collaboration between medical professionals
- Getting access to invaluable medical information
- Allowing the use of LMS for ongoing healthcare training
- Improving data security
The use of SaaS enables patients to receive better and more efficient treatments while allowing doctors and other medical staff to take advantage of new technology solutions at a fraction of their actual cost.
