How One Company’s Efforts Are Easing The Challenges Of Healthcare Software Development

Historically, the healthcare industry has been among the slowest adopters when it comes to technology but that is rapidly changing. Healthcare organizations across the globe are racing towards adopting cutting edge technologies while aiming for a superlative patient experience. 

The field of healthcare software development is rife with challenges that are unique to the sector. Here are the top four challenges that healthcare software developers need to overcome. 

1. Data privacy, security and regulatory compliance

With the rapid digital transformation, the threat to healthcare data looms larger than ever. According to the healthcare cybersecurity report, 93% of healthcare organizations have suffered a data breach in the last 3 years. 

Ensuring security of protected health information (PHI) and ensuring compliance to the various regulatory and compliance requirements to laws such as HIPAA and HITECH act is one of the biggest challenges that healthcare organizations face when getting into healthcare software development. 

2. Scalability, Cost Effectiveness and User Centricity

37% of software deployed in the healthcare industry goes unused because of ineffective utilization, poor user experience and scalability issues. With software development costs steeply rising as the industry moves towards an accelerated digital revolution, scalability and cost effectiveness are major challenges to healthcare software development. 

3. Interoperability 

Healthcare software solutions seldom function in silos. A typical healthcare organization uses anywhere from 3-12 different solutions based on their needs. The need to reduce data redundancy is critical. Interoperability in healthcare is a must to enable seamless integration of systems resulting in quick and secure access of data to providers, payers and patients. 

4. Data analytics

The healthcare sector generates 19 terabytes of clinical data every year. This is excluding other forms of data like that collected by healthcare wearables. It is estimated that 30% of the world’s data volume is generated by the healthcare industry. However, there is a significant disconnect between the amount of data generated and utilized. 

Keeping up with the rapidly changing tech landscape and advancements in the industry is a challenge that a number of healthcare organizations grapple with when getting healthcare software developed. 

How Arkenea’s Software Development Services Are Proving To Be A Game Changer

The unique challenges that come with the premise of healthcare software development need specialized expertise. 

Here is how Arkenea is changing the healthtech landscape with its unique offering. 

1. Unparalleled expertise in regulatory compliance

Arkenea’s unique development process ensures that data security and regulatory compliance is an ongoing effort, rather than an afterthought. 

Unlike other software development firms that dabble in software development across multiple industries, the healthcare sector has been Arkenea’s area of specialization for more than 12 years. This makes them the experts when it comes to ensuring security and regulatory compliance of the software developed. 

In compliance with HIPAA’s privacy and security rule, all the ePHI stored is completely encrypted and de-identified. 

With all the HIPAA mandated technical safeguards built into the software for managing collection, storage and transmission of sensitive data, privacy, security and regulatory compliance is a challenge that Arkenea’s software development process has successfully mitigated. 

2. MVP-first approach following Agile methodology

Arkenea takes an MVP-first approach while following Agile SCRUM methodology. Software development takes place in bi-weekly sprints. 

The focus is on the must-have features of the software in the first iteration to result in a core minimum viable product (MVP). The nice-to-have features are added in future iterations of the product keeping the costs in check while allowing for a faster time to market. 

The MVP-first approach allows for easy pivoting based on user feedback, but also results in scalable, cost effective software solutions that become an integral part of existing software systems.

3. Specialized user experience design

With the experience of working solely on healthcare projects over the last 12 years, the firm has developed a thorough understanding of what end users, both patients and healthcare practitioners, want from medical software. 

The end result is a feature rich software that isn’t bloated and provides an exemplary user experience.

4. Focus on software integrations in healthcare 

Arkenea has an in-depth understanding of how the software being developed needs to work alongside other medical software in the tech arsenal. 

With their focus on healthcare models to promote efficiency and eliminate redundancies, their healthcare software developers are well versed in integrating healthcare APIs, HL7 and FHIR with the software being developed. 

5. Pioneering the shift in the healthtech landscape

Being in touch with the latest technology advancements, Arkenea is using its experience in developing software with cutting edge technology like AI/ML and big data to help develop innovative healthcare software solutions. 

Data analytics is a crucial part of patient experience and healthcare providers need access to the right tools to make most of the data available. By combining artificial intelligence with deep industry expertise and analytics prowess, Arkenea is helping healthcare startups and hospitals stay ahead of the competition.  

Wrapping up

The software development firm that you choose to partner with has a major role to play in helping mitigate the challenges. Thinking of getting started in healthcare software development? Get in touch for a project consultation and quote.