Recent technological developments have sent some serious ripples through the medical world. Augmented reality, for example, is one development that is paving the way for the future of medical education. Using AR, healthcare providers can see real diagnoses and procedures from a first-person perspective, providing a powerful way to learn medical practices in more detail.

AR also allows for larger aggregates of learners to participate in the process. You can only fit so many people into an operating room, but you can have an almost unlimited number of people participate in an AR procedure remotely. This technology is quickly proving to be a way to help increase the number of well-trained medical technicians, and give more training to doctors with small practices who may not have the funds to attend large conferences or travel to get specialized guidance.

Big data is also proving to be a crucial part of the medical profession. According to a study by JPMorgan Chase, most clinics operate on 2 to 4% margins. These margins can be greatly improved by recognizing process-improvement opportunities presented by Big Data.

The Chase study mentions, for example, an analysis of all elements of total knee replacement surgeries to determine the average cost per case per physician. The results of this analysis revealed huge expense variations at each step of the procedure.

Clearly, data can reveal serious systemic inefficiencies, but a lot of clinics have yet to embrace big data as part of their day to day business.

Improving a system, however, is only one part of a total healthcare experience. Increasingly, more patients are seeking technology alternatives to the traditional health experience. Telehealth is playing a big role in this trend and will continue to grow in the coming years. Many private practices are embracing telehealth as a way to expand their patient base and improve availability without increasing overhead.

Finally, it’s important to note the importance of cybersecurity in this modern health world. According to David Finkelstein, Chief Information Security Officer at St. Luke’s University Health Network, small vendors struggle to invest in cybersecurity.

“About 80 percent of healthcare vendors are only focused on a niche area of healthcare, such as scheduling or lab results,” he says. This means the companies are small and often don’t have the budget for cybersecurity measures.

Leke Adesida, Chief Compliance Officer at Ciox Health, recommends that healthcare organizations be proactive with their vendors. “I would advise defining some baseline requirements that you want your vendors to abide by,” he said. “If a vendor is not going to agree to meet a security baseline, the likelihood of you being able to rely on them is probably suspect.”

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