Multiple platforms are now offering dedicated solutions, so the no-code revolution in healthcare is well and truly alive and kicking. In this article we will investigate the different ways in which no-code in healthcare is making a difference, looking at the advantages they bring and specific examples, like healthcare app development and other initiatives.
Helping Time Poor Professionals
Healthcare workers are some of the most stretched and time-poor in any industry. They have the added pressure of unpredictable jobs where emergencies can occur at any point. So when you read a statistic that says 28% of employees are being held back by a lack of technical resources, it's worrying to read.
No-code is supporting change by removing IT from being the bottleneck it currently is. By introducing no-code platforms, several things are happening to improve efficiency and free up these critical workers.
- Critical healthcare app development takes a fraction of the time it does with traditional development, meaning teams get access faster and less time is wasted
- More members of the team, outside of IT, are becoming empowered to create some of these vital tools
So rather than waiting for months on IT to give them a solution that will save critical time in an already stretched role, they are able to clear those barriers themselves or find no-code experts who can very quickly solve problems for them.
Digital First Experiences
Patients' expectations from healthcare have changed dramatically in the last five years and the pandemic has only intensified that. They assume a streamlined data outlook, systems that work seamlessly together and a digital-first approach to interacting with the healthcare providers, meaning smaller wait times.
Much of this happens by improving internal processes. Tools and apps are being introduced to remove so much of the previously manual process and enabling those working within the organisations to focus on customer support and care, with less manual, repetitive processes.
Traditionally, providing a practice with these little tools was slow and definitely not an efficient process. It required either long development cycles for the simplest tools or expensive and protracted procurement processes that then had equally bloated on-boarding periods. With no-code this can all be bypassed.
By empowering teams to make quick apps using the intuitive tools that exist exactly for these functions, they are able to massively reduce delays. No-code platforms come packed with templates that contain most of the answers you need (having been used by other healthcare businesses) and then allow small customizations to make them fit your business.
One perfect example of improving the customer experience through technology is speeding up patient onboarding. Gathering information automatically, connecting with other healthcare providers and allowing simple practices like digital signatures. These are all modern patient requirements that can be facilitated faster by the use of no-code in healthcare.
Improved Invoicing For Everyone
One extra element of improving the customer experience is simplifying and automating the invoicing and payment process. This is achieved by using no-code tools that have specific templates and tools in place that cover these exact needs.
Joining up each of these key elements in an automated and completely online process is changing the experience for both businesses and the patients - invoice generation; online payments; automated receipts.
These tools enable the healthcare practices to be efficient and improve profitability, whilst patients will have time saved and get a better overall user experience.
Patient Referrals
Patient referrals are one of the most important administrative tasks in healthcare. They ensure a patient is onboarded with all the relevant records available and then they are referred to the appropriate part of the organisation.
It is also one of the most labour intensive and manual processes across the entire sector, so was in need of a fresh approach, which no-code healthcare app development has been able to provide.
A great example of this in action was reported by ProjectManagement.com, which highlighted the case of Royal Berkshire NHS in the UK. They were getting 125,000 patient referrals a year and processing them was very manual and syncing them with the right provider was proving to be an expensive exercise.
By turning to the no-code platform Toco, they were able to automate the process. This made referrals six times faster than before, saving 15,000 hours a year for the organisation.
Rounding Tools That Increase Quality
Patient rounding is the practice of regularly checking on patients and taking a note of key information. The generation of the notes from rounding is very manual and opens up the risk of mistakes or lost data.
This made it prime for the use of no-code tools that could be made quickly, simply and without the need for expensive IT input. These rounding tools enable staff to use any device they have on rounds to go through a checklist to ensure nothing is missing, as well as quickly record the information.
This information is then automatically collected centrally without relying on staff to return to an office and write up notes. The tools can also alert staff when different rounds are needed or if certain checklists have not been completed.
By all staff using these tools and data being captured and stored in identical ways, then it’s possible for central teams to easily monitor performance, look for trends and make improvements.
Expensive Management Systems Made Easy
One of the single biggest tasks for all healthcare providers is the gathering and maintenance of information about patients. It’s vital to ensure the care of patients and the efficient running of the organisation but it’s a very difficult and time-consuming job.
Healthcare providers recognised that improvements in technology meant that implementing a management system would better organise this critical process. They soon realised how long and expensive these projects were going to be, traditionally they could expect to wait up to five years to get them implemented.
Of course, this is where no-code comes to the fore. One of its great benefits is the speed of development and deployment. As a result, organisations have been utilising no-code platforms to get new management systems in place in a fraction of the time and for significantly reduced costs.
One example of this was the Kuwait based healthcare provider, ATC, which had legacy systems in place that were causing inefficient communication between departments thanks to siloed data and overly complex solutions.
By working with OutSystems, they were able to implement a new system in a fraction of the time that decreased the waiting time fivefold; saved on licensing costs; produced a 60% reduction in errors and ultimately led to twice as many patients being seen.
Predicting Patient Diagnosis
No-code has spearheaded the drive towards electronic health records and one report shows this has now reached 96% adoption. Not only are these leading to more efficient hospitals but the data being collected can now be put towards predictive data models.
These models are able to deliver more accurate patient diagnosis and ultimately end with better health outcomes for all patients.
So, by providing more streamlined and efficient ways of collecting, storing and retrieving data, no-code can actually help improve the prospects of patients and save lives!
