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From Option to Necessity: The Paradigm Shift in Digital Health is Coming

Posted: December 7th, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Basics, In the News, Telehealth | Tags: , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

Digital health is no longer a futuristic idea, it’s happening in the here and now. As the healthcare industry quickly moves toward full digitization, previously tech-averse clinicians are slowly—but gradually—getting on board with new and innovative technologies. A report recently published by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) highlights a telling shift in clinicians’ attitudes toward digital technology, especially when connecting with patients is concerned. And it appears this shift is for the better.

In an extensive survey of over 1,000 clinicians—physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants included—PwC aimed to gain a sense of how these health professionals perceive digital health as it stands today. The takeaways? In most health spheres, clinicians are supportive. Check out some key findings below:

  • When it comes to patient engagement tools, clinicians and patients seem to agree that putting diagnostic tools into the hands of the patient is both powerful and reliable. Roughly 42% of physicians are comfortable relying on at-home test results to prescribe medication.
  • A large body of physicians also said they believe digital health tools can boost the patient-doctor interaction, with 50% saying telehealth visits could eventually replace more than 10% of in-office patient visits.
  • Clinicians view consumer health apps to manage chronic disease and wellness as a good thing, with about 65% saying they would prescribe an app to help patients manage specific conditions. Furthermore, the percent of consumers who say they have a healthcare or wellness app downloaded onto a mobile device has increased significantly from last year and is up to 28% (versus last year’s 16%).
  • An overwhelming 79% of clinicians support mobile health applications, stating that mobile devices can better help clinicians coordinate care with their patients.

With these findings in place, what do clinicians have to look forward to in the digital health space? According to PwC’s health information technology practice leader, Daniel Garrett, “digitally-enabled care is no longer nice-to-have; it’s fundamental for delivering high quality care.” The adoption and integration of digital technology within existing healthcare practices has not reached its full potential to transform patient care. Many health experts hypothesize that the next five years will be absolutely crucial.

SOURCES: Healthcare IT News and PricewaterhouseCoopers

To view PwC’s full digital health report, check out the link to their website here!

About DoseSpot 
DoseSpot is a Surescripts certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot is certified to e-Prescribe controlled substances and has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.



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