Why connected healthcare needs continuous testing
The pandemic has driven many organizations to accelerate the pace of digital transformation. In healthcare, telemedicine is becoming the norm rather than an exception. A recent study found that 46% of U.S. consumers will rely on telemedicine, according to McKinsey. The connected hospital is the new norm with patients and healthcare workers relying on an array of connected devices, systems and applications.
This reliance on digital healthcare puts a renewed focus on the quality and security of software and connected devices. It’s imperative that providers create a connected ecosystem where both hardware and software are reliable and deliver a secure, quality experience that meets the healthcare community’s needs. With medical decisions hinging on the performance and reliability of digital healthcare systems, there is no margin for error. Testing and monitoring of digital products are critical components in the pursuit of being able to provide quality patient care.
With telemedicine looking to be the primary medium for interactions between patients and doctors in the US throughout 2020, this has put pressure on providers to be able to deliver a personalized service digitally. New technology and software are being developed and deployed to help try and bridge the gap so that doctors can provide an accurate diagnosis along with medical advice for each patient.
In order for the connected hospital and telemedicine to flourish and support the healthcare industry’s needs, software must work seamlessly with medical equipment and digital health records to improve patient care and increase operational efficiency. Any reliability or performance issues can drive not only inefficiencies, but also negatively impact patient care decisions that could have a life or death impact. This puts testing front and center.
The testing prescription
The answer to enabling healthcare providers to deliver a robust and seamless experience across the connected ecosystem is intelligent testing. There is no tolerance for functionality, usability issues or downtime in the healthcare sector; continuous testing is critical. By integrating intelligent testing and monitoring performance, healthcare organizations can spot and address issues before a problem occurs. This helps optimize operations and deliver improved patient outcomes.
Continuous testing is the only way to ensure that hospital systems are running effectively. For telemedicine, testing must verify that systems are — at a minimum — meeting patient expectations. With AI, testing is automated and can rapidly identify and predict where problems are likely to occur, enabling organizations to act before an issue arises. As a result, the data can drive operational improvements.
With the continued shift towards connected healthcare and telemedicine, organizations need to pivot and ensure that technology will perform as expected. By integrating continuous intelligent testing and performance monitoring, healthcare providers can optimize software and devices to support better patient care. Only then will the promise of digital healthcare be realized.
All IoT Agenda network contributors are responsible for the content and accuracy of their posts. Opinions are of the writers and do not necessarily convey the thoughts of IoT Agenda.