The future of independent medical practices
The future of independent medical practices
Medical practice is the term that refers to today's medical facilities that house experienced doctors and medical staff, cutting-edge testing and medical equipment, and more. These practices, contrary to the earlier hospitals and medical facilities, are powerful, integrated, and serve online. All of these are reasons enough to note that the medical practices of today, ensure complete patient satisfaction and hold the patients as a priority.
Independent physician practices and medical practices are built to provide the optimum care and support to the patients today, which, along with empowering the healthcare industry, also helps them increase their revenues and grow. Going by the growth of the medical practices and the support that it lent to the patients and to the healthcare system in general amidst the Covid-19 pandemic period, it is safe to conclude that they have won the hearts of the patients and are up for a long run. However, numerous challenges are coming in the way of the foreseen growth of the medical practices, which the practices themselves need to battle out in order to ensure a dominant run ahead.
Major Challenges the Medical Practices Need to Overrun!
Some of the most common challenges that are coming in the way of the operation of the medical practices today are:
Challenges in integration
Today's medical care depends on the machines and their operation. Digital healthcare is always on the rise, which is enabling the patients to get the optimum access to what they want, and ensuring quality care. Statistics say that more than 80% of the patients are now wanting to have digital communications with their providers. Around 60% of the younger patients, mostly belonging to the Gen Y group, today want to switch their providers to gain better digital access.
Whether it is for communication purposes or to access the healthcare data and medical records, the patients simply want their digital access amplified. However, proper integration of these software is a real headache.
Reputed medical service providers like GrowPractice are aiming to extend the best medical office system and software for the practices and their patients and ensure proper integration between them.
Abandoning physicians and medical staff
Reports reveal that the medical staff has drastically left their jobs starting from the pandemic outbreak. Over 18% of the medical workers have quit their jobs since the Covid broke out globally. This has revealed that 1 out of 5 such staff has left their practices. Moreover, many physicians have also left private medical practices, the percentage of which declined from 60.1% that worked with practices in 2012 to become 55.8% in 2016 and 56.8% in 2018. Abandoning medical staff and physicians is surely a huge challenge for medical practices.
The burden of administration
The administrative burden has increased significantly since Covid-19 broke out. Since the deadly virus was out on the loose, patients started getting admitted at a rapid rate, which consequently piled up on the burden of the medical practices.
Security risks
With the rise of digital software and systems, independent physician practices, independent medical practices, and general practices are wary of being breached out of their security. Reports reveal that 17% of the cyberattacks in the healthcare industry proved to be seriously injurious or harmful to the patients in 2020. These risks to security need to be reduced at any cost. Moreover, the patient's data is ought to be HIPAA-compliant and completely secure to help practices maintain their credibility and grow. Such risks are a growing challenge still, which needs to be curbed down. However, with the advent of the medical office solution providers like GrowPractice, which is bringing powerful data encryption, multi-level security, and HIPAA compliance, these security risks are vanishing fast.
Some other challenges that are ensnaring the healthcare industry and its medical practices now are:
• Rising competition
• Problems in patient retention
• Increasing patient no-shows
• Increasing fraudulent providers
• Patient engagement issues
With the knowledge of the prominent problems that the healthcare industry and the practices operating in there need to deal with, it is evident that whether it is an independent medical practice or an independent physician practice, they need to be alert and informed about the latest trends. With such information in their arsenal, they also need to perform consistently in order to give the patients what they want.
Now, if you are wondering about the future and what it is about to bring the medical practices that are operating in the healthcare industry, then here are some insights into the same in the upcoming section.
What's ahead in the future for the medical practices and the independent medical practice professionals?
Wondering what new trends are setting in the healthcare practices and are aiming to revolutionize the healthcare for the patients, independent medical practices, and others? Then, dive down the predictions for the future of the medical practice and medical practice professionals ahead:
Dominating telehealth
The Covid-19 came in just to give a greater push to the already advanced telehealth practices. The future of the healthcare industry will further depend on telehealthcare, now when the patients and the doctors are aware of how they can benefit them both. The future period of telehealth will not only improve the patient appointments and feedback but will help the whole process be conducted while the patients are resting or working in the comfort of their homes.
A greater reliance on smartphones
Smartphones are convenient and powerful today and are readily trusted by marketers and providers around the world for the improved facilities that are packed in these devices. The future of the healthcare industry is also considerably reliant on cellphones for helping doctors and patients monitor their health conditions, communicating with them, reminding them, helping them with the feedback process, and more. Moreover, remote healthcare is one of the emerging healthcare trends that is largely backed by mobile devices.
Embracing the data
Data, as we now can relate, is the new oil for all. This data can now be secured, conveniently shared, edited, customized, and preserved for decades on end. This data is helping both the patients and practices today to know about their health conditions, record them and treat them better.
Around 1/3rd of the patient portal users downloaded their medical records in 2020, which is double the percentage of them who did the same in 2017. EHR and PM software has thus, been proving to be a great help for the patients and the medical practices as well. This is because where on one side the patients can readily access their data and share them easily, it is also helping the practice enjoy the same and work on the patient's care in a much more effective way.
Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
We all have heard about the IoT. The Internet of Things is a growing concept, ground-breaking in its approach, which is changing the way things work globally. The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is nothing but an extension of the same in the healthcare domain. According to the IoMT, there should be a network that needs to exist of medical devices and individuals that work on wireless technology, to ensure easy exchange of healthcare data. Such a thing would help the medical data much more accessible in the medical communities, along with easing the exchange of information research and data.
Remote care
Though remote care has been there for a long time now, the importance of the same has been registered lately after the outbreak of the Covid-19 disease. Such a system allows the patients to enjoy many a list of mandatory healthcare services from the home. Blood sugar tracking, monitoring of their vitals, dialysis, and many more services can now be availed by the patients from home, fuelled by the remote care technology.
Real-time insights for doctors and patients
The rising popularity of wearable technology and patient monitoring software is making the availability of real-time insights possible for both doctors and patients. The patients today are really informed and updated today. The patients who are equipped with fitness trackers are always ready to embrace a practicing doctor who asks for the same. Yes, reports say that 92% of the patients are more likely to choose one such provider.
Improved medical office software and technology
Medical office software and systems are always advancing and the providers are largely being equipped to deliver the best possible healthcare to the patients in this faster, digital era that we are living in. The medical office software and the advanced technology that is fuelling it are helping the patients get the best possible care so that they can rest assured, while the doctors and the medical practices consistently improve the quality of the healthcare provided.
How GrowPractice can help make independent medical practice professionals and physician practices stay future-ready!
GrowPractice is one of the leading medical office, patient management, and practice management solutions providers that offers the best and the most secure medical office software and systems that the medical practices and the independent physician practices can want. Here's how the improved medical office software and technology from GrowPractice are set to make the healthcare industry future-ready:
• It extends digital patient appointments, check-ins, and intake facilities
• It offers instant digital payment facilities
• It brings paperless procedures to the medical practices
• GrowPractice improves patient engagement
• It brings advanced security and HIPAA compliance
• It helps customize the patient workflow
• It dissolves integration issues with wide support of 65+ EHR/PM software
