Financial and regulatory model optimization for healthcare

Validate Health

An is a high-risk solution to a problem that’s usually ineffective. At first glance, these types of solutions appear appropriate and effective. However, any gains from these patterns tend to be short-term, with the consequences showing anti-patterns to be more trouble than they’re worth. anti-pattern When a developer adopts an anti-pattern, there is usually the intention to come back and down the road, unless other more pressing needs get in the way (and they always do). Deviating from best-practice design patterns creates , which, sooner or later, must be paid—either in time and effort for refactoring or money due to system unavailability. do it properly technical debt Anti-patterns exist in the Kubernetes world. Container orchestrator solutions, particularly Kubernetes, are used with cloud-native workloads in mind, working best when employing particular design patterns. In this article, we’ll cover some common Kubernetes anti-patterns, some design patterns to use instead, and options for implementing the recommended design patterns. Anti-pattern Examples Cloud-native workloads—particularly those running on Kubernetes—assume elasticity (for example, horizontal scaling), fault-tolerance, and highly heterogeneous environments for maintainability and debugging. Developing new distributed systems or migrating legacy systems to Kubernetes without care can lead to several anti-patterns. Here are some anti-patterns you should be aware of: 1. Lack of health checks A health check allows you to validate the status of a service. It helps assess key information like service availability, system metrics, or available database connections. A service can report its status through health endpoints like , , or . healthz livez readyz Kubernetes supports —namely , , and —that allow monitoring services and take actions when the probe is successful. Services without health monitoring cannot take advantage of a lot of functionality that orchestrator solutions can automatically provide. Container probes livenessProbe readinessProbe startupProbe 2. Not using blue/green or canary deployments models Most application owners prefer zero downtime for change deployments. This is a necessity for most mission-critical applications. Kubernetes allows you to define and deployment strategies. will kill all the Pods before creating new ones, while will update Pods in a rolling fashion and permit configuring and to control the process. Recreate RollingUpdate Recreate RollingUpdate maxUnavailable maxSurge While these can serve many use cases, they also have limitations. For example, causes downtime while can make rollback harder. None of these methods allows rapid experimentation and feedback on new versions of your services. deployment strategies Recreate RollingUpdate A blue/green deployment is a deployment model that creates copies of your service—the old version being and the new version being —with both services running in parallel. Once you’re confident the new version (green) is ready for release, you can route all production traffic to the new version while keeping the old version (blue) up and running. If there are issues, you can quickly route the traffic back to the previous version, preventing user dissatisfaction or downtime. After some time, with everything running as expected, you can remove the old version of your service. blue green Canary deployment is a technique that only routes the traffic to the new service for a subset of users. This pattern allows introducing a new version of your service in production while you closely monitor its behavior. If successful, you can expose the new version to more users, eventually migrating everyone to the new code version. Both techniques are essential in cloud-native environments since they increase service reliability and enable rapid experimentation and development. 3. Not using circuit breakers Services running on a Kubernetes cluster talk to one another by making remote calls. Because it’s not uncommon for these services to run on different machines, these remote calls are more prone to failures or unresponsiveness. This can lead to issues like cascading failures. In electronics, a circuit breaker is a switch designed to protect an electrical circuit from damage. An excess of electric current through the circuit breaker will cause the circuit to break, preventing an overload or short circuit. The goal of the circuit breaker is to prevent failure after identifying a fault. Similarly, in software, a circuit breaker monitors services for failures and, once identified, prevents further calls to it. This allows systems to deal with the failure and route requests to healthy instances of the same service. Without such mechanisms in place, a Kubernetes cluster running a distributed, service-based application will be prone to failures. 4. Not collecting enough metrics Observability is key to understanding system behavior, and effective observability depends on the proper collection of metrics. Metrics provide the pieces of information when you want to know: what your services are doing, how well they are performing, why something went wrong, and, possibly, how to debug the issue. In complex distributed systems, metrics coupled with other forms of observability (such as traces) allow you to understand your systems holistically through a single pane of glass. A lack of key metrics will severely limit your ability to understand how your services are performing and if they're performing at the desired level. As the complexity of your system increases, it’s necessary to collect more data points from more endpoints. Using an Ingress Controller to Implement Patterns One way to implement these patterns is by using an Ingress Controller such as the KIC is an implementation for Kubernetes. It enables configuration of routing, health checks, and load balancing, and it supports a variety of that provide advanced functionality. Kong Ingress Controller (KIC) Ingress plugins KIC can help address the anti-patterns we’ve discussed above. Health checks The KIC can be configured for and . Passive health checks will monitor your services on each request and, upon a certain number of failures, will short-circuit requests to the failing Pods. Active health checks will periodically monitor services at predefined intervals, marking failing Pods as unavailable. passive health checks active health checks Passive and active health checks will increase the reliability of your system by running regular health checks and taking proactive measures. KIC will use the information from the health checks to efficiently route requests to healthy replicas of the service. Blue/green or canary deployments Code reviews and testing can only give you confidence that your services will work correctly. However, you can’t test every use case or boundary condition. Furthermore, many bugs are only found when the code is in the wild, and your application starts accepting actual user traffic. Blue/green and canary deployments reduce deployment risk by enabling fast rollbacks and reducing the impact of undesired results. By deploying both the old and new versions of your service behind the KIC, you can easily route traffic to the new version and roll back to the previous version if necessary. Similarly, using the enables you to roll out new changes in a phased manner. Canary Release plugin Circuit Breakers You can configure KIC that will monitor service performance. Based on the results, it can mark unhealthy or unresponsive service replicas as unavailable, preventing any further requests from being routed to those service replicas. Instead, subsequent requests will be routed to healthy copies of the service. Once fixed, the original service replica can be brought back online. with checks Metrics The KIC with and —two industry-standard monitoring solutions—giving you visibility into how your services respond to traffic. Moreover, access to these metrics doesn't require any service instrumentation. can be exposed for service requests and configuration updates. easily integrates Prometheus Grafana Prometheus metrics Conclusion Re-architecting entire Kubernetes solutions is time-consuming and not always a viable option. But with a little diligence, you'll be able to undo the effects of previously-adopted anti-patterns by replacing them with an implementation that adheres to Kubernetes best-practice design patterns. Also Published Here

Avoid these 4 Kubernetes Anti-Patterns

I think you'll agree with me when I say: It is REALLY hard to make your business succeed. Well, it turns out, you can greatly increase your chances by asking yourself the right questions early. Answering them will help you focus on the right things to work on or even show you that your business idea has too many holes and you need to change your approach. To get you started, I have compiled a list with some of questions. the most important Now it is on you to go through that list and really answer the questions for your startup as honestly and objectively as possible. I promise, it will save you a bunch of troubles in the future. Let's dive right in. ❓ Problem You should make sure that you really understand the problem that you are solving. For this one, try to answer the questions from your customer's standpoint, not yours. What is the problem I am solving? Do the potential customers even know they have that problem? Are they actually interested in solving it? (Sometimes they complain about it all the time but not really willing to do anything about it.) Are they actively looking for a solution? Is the problem costing them money? How much money does it cost them? Are the costs of the problem direct (ex. workaround is super expensive) or indirect (ex. a not so nice design)? Is it a constantly recurring problem? (Necessary for making SaaS work.) How often does the problem occur to them (daily, weakly, yearly, ..)? What is their current workaround around the issue? How much does the current workaround cost them? What is the problem with the current workaround and how large it is? Will the customers have more of this problem in the next 5 years, will it stay the same or get smaller? Is the problem making them wake up during the night thinking about it? (If not, then maybe they don't have the energy to deal with it.) Where on their list of priorities does this problem fall: top 3, top 5, or top 10? (If not in top 3, they - HT Tom Tunguz) maybe don’t have time to talk to you How urgent it is for the customer to solve the problem? Is it a new problem or an old one? If the problem is old, ask yourself why nobody solved it yet? (If there is no new external factor that now makes it possible or worth solving it, ask yourself why it is not solved yet and why you specifically can make it work.) Do customers talk to each other about the problem or is it something that they don't want others to know? Do I need to pre-educate users and show them that they actually have the problem? (This makes it way harder compared to if they already know they have it.) When chatting to the people experiencing the problem, how emotional are they about it? (Search for strong emotions.) When talking to customers before I have a product, are they just helpfully chatting with me or are they willing to give me something valuable in advance, ex. money, a lot of time, reputation? 🤼 Audience You should understand the audience you are solving the problem for incredibly well. They will be your boss for the next couple of years. Questions to ask yourself: Do I know who my customers are? Who is my early adopter ie. your first sub-niche that the problem impacts the most? (Be very specific, single moms in 30s are too broad of a group) Are there more niches that I can later expand to? Is the total size of the market large enough that I can make the business of the size I want? Does my audience even have enough money to spend to make sense for me? (Don't charge too little if you are a bootstrapper, - Jason Cohen) pricing affects everything How well do I know the industry? (The answer should be very well, otherwise, you have some work to do.) How long are the sales cycles in the industry? Is the customer the one that pays? If not, who is the one that gives me the credit card and what does (s)he gain by paying to solve my customer's problem? Does the person paying understand the importance of the problem? Are the potential customers even interested in talking to me or are they hard to reach? Can I get 30 of them to talk to me about the topic? Did I already talk to some potential customers? (Go do it now! Make sure to go through The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick first) Considering my solution will have multiple pricing points. Who will be paying the highest price? (Identify what they have in common and focus completely on this type of persona. Forget the rest for now. Those people experience the problem most severely and you will learn the most from them.) 🎁 Solution If you have verified that the problem exists and is worth solving, you can dive into looking at what a good solution would look like. Does the solution plug into my user's existing habits? (Don't expect people to just drastically change their habits to use your new tool) How long does it take for the user to see results by using my solution? What are the switching costs to move to my solution? Is it a winner takes all market or is there space for multiple solutions to coexist? What is a single (not two or three) functionality that the potential customer would be willing to pay for and use? (Ignore the rest when you start.) Can the customer afford to pay the price I need to charge? Are there any solutions already solving this problem in some way? (Competition is healthy as it helps to validate the existence of the problem. Also, being first is not a competitive advantage) In what way am I greatly different than my competitors? Do my customers actually care enough about my differentiation to other competitors that it is worth for them to use my solution? If I can only have one single thing in which my solution is better from the competition, what should it be? Is this also the most important thing my customers care about? (If you care, it doesn't mean they care as well) How long will it take to build it? If the time to build will get 5x longer than anticipated, will the idea still be viable and will I still have the resources to pull it off? (This might actually happen) 🕬 Channels Even if the problem exists and your solution is the best on the market, it accounts for nothing if you can't reach enough customers in a continuous, repeatable and affordable way. Try to validate this before putting too much time into building your solution. Where are potential customers gathering? Where can I reach my early adopters / sub-niche? Over which acquisition channels can I reach the customers consistently over a long time period? If I can only choose one acquisition channel, what would it be? If I only used this one channel, will the business still be viable? What would be the cost of acquiring a customer over such channel? Does the cost of acquisition over such channel makes sense with the price point the customers are willing to pay? Can I get enough customers over such channel so that the business makes sense? Do a Fermi estimation of your business model. What did I find out? How many of the audience can I reach over my channels? (Where can I get to the others?) Did I test the distribution channel to my audience to see if it actually works in practice? Is there a barrier to entry to the market? (License, certification, other legal stuff, etc) Can I convince the customer to convert over the channels available to me? (Their exposure to your product is usually limited) Will this make a large enough margin for me to make enough profit? Who are people that influence my potential customers (who are the customers reading, listening to, following)? Can I reach those influential people and will they be willing to listen / help? Can I build longer-lasting relationships with them? How many of my customers can I reach over those people? How many of my customers need a solution now? How many of them are even accessible over the internet? How many of them are searching for a solution online monthly? How many of them wish exactly what I am offering? How many of them are willing to pay exactly the amount of money I am asking for? (You can make a very rough estimate, it should still help you.) 🧬 Your goals You should really ask yourself the questions below before you do anything else. The business if successful, will make or break your life in the next couple of years. Do I genuinely like the type of customers I will be solving the problem for? (They will be your new boss and you will be talking to them all the time) Does working on this problem align with my long term personal goals? Does working on this problem align with my long term career goals? How stressful will this business be? (if you sell shoes or do security products for banking, there might be a huge difference in the level of stress) Do you have an existing network in the industry? (Use it to get a head start! If you are too afraid to use it, then maybe the problem you try to solve is not important enough) How much money do I want to make? What do I want my work-life balance to look like? (Influenced by how slow or fast paced and changing is the market you are jumping into.) What really motivates me? Go through all of the questions and try to validate them. Notice which ones were the most uncomfortable for you to think about and which ones were hardest to validate. Answering those well might be a good place to start. Did I miss something? Which question made you the most uncomfortable? Let me know in the comments below. Good luck on your entrepreneurship journey, I am cheering for you! 🍻👍 to everyone that inspired me to think about building businesses differently. I am still early on in my journey where good advice can make all the difference. Shout-out to , , , and others. Big thanks @IndieHackers @asmartbear @robwalling @robfitz Previously published at https://www.bootstrappingforengineers.com/80-questions-to-answer-when-starting-a-new-business

Ask Yourself These 80 Questions Before Starting a New Business

Have you ever been scared that someone will copy your idea and take advantage of you? After all, what’s stopping others from not giving you credit, defacing your creation and billions on the back of your idea? making Every entrepreneur who feels this fear lives in a paradox. To make your project work you know you have to share it with as many people as possible. This will help you gather feedback and to get the promotion going. Right? But you can’t shake off the fear that if you share your idea before you are ready. someone will rip you off So you end up keeping your idea close to your chest. And the new paradox sets in. business If you share your idea and someone steals it, or even worse, no one likes what you offer, then you are out of ideas. And without ideas you are doomed for the rest of eternity. And if you don’t share your idea, you don’t gather feedback, and you don’t start promoting your project. In the meanwhile you invest months of your life and loads of money to build your creation. And you find out it’s not that high in people’s priority list. When that time comes, most of the time its way too late to correct course. So the paradox has you cornered. What can you do to get over it? I’ve on how to protect your idea while keeping it open. But let’s face it, this fear is not only about others stealing from you, but also about you running out of clever ideas to offer. already talked This paradox can be solved from the moment you learn how to find new ways to discover what people need and how to offer your skills, products and services. Since this blog is about building a collaborative business, hopefully once you know how to come up with profitable ideas, you’ll use these ideas to make your project open source, collaborative and make a bigger positive impact in the world. Ok, enough said about ideas. It’s time to kiss goodbye to this fear. Here are the six ways you will find profitable businesses right away: Finding Valuable Ideas I/ Ask your friends and family You don’t have to come up with all the ideas on your own. Other people’s feedback can be really helpful. Here’s an email you can send to at least one close person: Subject: Quick question Hi [Name], I’m looking for some new business ideas. You know me well so I was wanted to ask you what kind of business you think I’d be good at? Thanks! [Your Name] Your friends and family will come up with ideas you probably wouldn’t have thought of on your own, and they’ll feel flattered that you reached out to them. II/ Teach what you know Photo by Aaron Burden, Unsplash Now let’s see what you’re great at. Imagine you had to teach someone else how to do what you do best. What is that? That’s a good thing to consider doing as a business. In my case it could be: How to organize a Crowdfunding campaign How to find business ideas suited to your skills How to validate a business How to create healthy habits How to ride a unicycle downhill How to juggle … You see that everything here doesn’t have to have great potential for business. There is probably not that many people looking to learn how to unicycle downhill, but if you have some of these keep them in your list, it can spark further ideas down the line. III/ What products can you customize? Photo by Wesley Caribe, Unsplash What products or apps are selling like crazy? Arduinos, 3D Printers, Smartphones, Wordpress Templates, Game Consoles, Pokemon Go (god forbid), etc… How can you accessorize these or other popular products? It’s easier to sell to a large group of people who’ve already spent money on a product or service. Imagine selling a protective case to someone who just bought a smartphone. of customizations: Some examples -A guide for kids or for older people teaching how to create cool projects with an Arduino -Customizing an Arduino so you can plug bananas to the board and make music (that’s what does) MakeyMakey -Accessories to enhance Open Source projects like if you are in healthcare OpenPump if you are in car design OSVehicle if you are into agriculture OpenFarm Or anything on or Wevolver WikiFab -Wordpress Templates or Plug-ins -A local service to create modular Wikihouses -Tutorials to regrow a forest in your backyard with ’s method. Afforestt -Check what products are popular on Amazon, Etsy, Sparkfun or any other E-commerce with reviews and customize them: Check the reviews where people complain about any feature or lack of feature. Improve the feature Sell it : For further improvement you can make the product Open Source and/or . Bonus circular For example: In Amazon’s cutlery best-sellers, the bamboo cutting board sells really well. One of the main complaints about it is that it bends after washing, so if you can make one that doesn’t bend, you’ll have a ton of demand. Make it Open Source and you may be able to create a whole community around Open design for kitchen items, while selling them physically. This method is not for everyone, so if it’s taking too long to find a great idea with this method, don’t worry. Go to the next step. IV/ Go where people are spending money Photo by Juan Ignacio Tapia, Unsplash If you are stuck on finding an idea to turn into a business, a great way to find ideas is by going to people who already . want to spend money Most of the time beginning entrepreneurs try to instead of solving a problem people . get people to pay for their solution already have in their life In places like , or any other gig platform there are millions of people every day sharing the problems they want to see solved. And they already want to pay money for it. Craigslist Upwork If you are a developer you might go to a bounty board like , or looking for bugs in , , , and many more. Bountysource Github Mozilla Google Facebook Follow these steps: Go to the gigs sections of the platform of your choice Look for what people want solved If you can solve it, you are in business Too many times we are making it harder on ourselves. People all around us already want to pay for solutions to their problems. V/ Check what the crowd is asking for Photo by Desi Mendoza. Unsplash As we saw in the previous method, it’s much easier to sell something when people already want it, even if they haven’t paid for it yet. To do this, work backwards from a problem people want solved. Then create the solution they may be willing to pay for. Potential users are everywhere asking for solutions (products / services) on message boards, Facebook posts, tweets, forums, etc… , if you are thinking of making durable clothing, you can go to ’s Facebook board and see what people are asking for in the comments. In you can see there is interest in durable baby clothing that can still be sold once the baby has outgrown them. For example BuyMeOnce this thread Once you solve a problem you‘ve found, the good thing is that you know exactly where to go back and find your first customers. The steps here are: 1/ Go to a large message board online where people ask for solutions and actively saying they want things. This could be: Reddit’s Somebody Make this any large forum where people ask for help with something related to your topic or a Facebook group related to your topic like we mentioned before. 2/ Look for the first 2 things that interest you. If you are still not finding anything, move on. It’s supposed to get your idea creativity going. Let’s move on! VI/ List out 3 of your own ideas Photo by Tamarcus Brown, Unsplash You probably already had ideas of your own before reading this post. Now is the moment to list them. What are problems you have that you’d like to scratch for yourself? ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Now your list should be pretty full. If you still don’t like any of the ideas you came up with, you still have four choices: Go help 1 friend for free with anything they need help with. This is really effective to find ideas to work on. If you got responses from the friends you reached out to in method #1, you can go work on them. If you are already in business, but selling many lines of products without earning enough, what is your best selling product? Try selling more of that until you become sustainable and diversify into another line. If people are repeatedly asking you for something you do well, see if people find it valuable enough to pay for it. By now you should have a pretty big list of things to sell. So it’s time to narrow down your ideas to the one you will validate. But just one last note of caution before you narrow down to the one idea you want to try: . Make sure you have access to the people you want to help If you want to sell coats to go to the arctic circle, but only have access to people who live in tropical beaches, your project will probably never succeed because nobody will ever buy. Only sell ideas if you have access to the market, and preferably in an area where you are already experienced. That will make things much easier for you. Wrapping up Now you know how to have loads of products and services to offer, even if you go Open Source and collaborative. How does it feel? Still scared about sharing your ideas with others? If you want to validate that people want to buy your ideas, you can see how you can validate any idea in 48 hours. go to this post If you liked this post, and would like to get more articles on how open source can help your business or project you can . You’ll also get my guide to find a profitable idea, and the techniques to find customers for your project. sign up here

How entrepreneurs find profitable ideas

As the festive season approaches, many of us eagerly anticipate the joy and warmth that Christmas brings. However, for individuals navigating the complexities of mental health diagnoses, this time of year can be a mixed bag of emotions. In this article, we delve deeper into the intersection of Christmas and mental health, exploring the challenges faced by those with various diagnoses and offering strategies for a more mindful and supportive holiday experience. 1. Depression and the Holiday Blues: Christmas can exacerbate feelings of loneliness and sadness, particularly for individuals dealing with depression. The pressure to partake in cheerful festivities can be overwhelming, leading to a sense of isolation for those who struggle with their mental health. It's essential to acknowledge and validate these emotions, fostering an environment that allows for open conversations about mental health. Strategies: - Establish realistic expectations and set boundaries for social engagements. - Prioritize self-care practices, such as adequate sleep, regular exercise, and healthy nutrition. - Reach out for support from friends, family, or mental health professionals. 2. Anxiety and the Season of Overwhelm: For individuals with anxiety disorders, the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations can heighten stress levels. The demands of social gatherings, gift shopping, and event planning may trigger anxiety symptoms, ranging from restlessness to panic attacks. Strategies: - Plan and organize tasks well in advance to reduce last-minute stressors. - Practice mindfulness and relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing and meditation. - Communicate openly about your needs with loved ones and prioritize self-care during the holiday season. 3. Bipolar Disorder and the Highs and Lows: Christmas can be a challenging time for individuals with bipolar disorder, as the season's intensity may amplify mood swings. The pressure to be constantly festive may exacerbate manic episodes, while the contrast with the post-holiday period can lead to depressive feelings. Strategies: - Maintain a consistent daily routine, even during the holidays. - Monitor mood triggers and implement coping strategies as needed. - Collaborate with a mental health professional to adjust medication or therapy approaches for seasonal challenges. 4. Eating Disorders and the Festive Feast: The abundance of holiday feasts and social gatherings centered around food can be triggering for individuals with eating disorders. The emphasis on indulgence and celebration may exacerbate feelings of guilt and anxiety surrounding food. Strategies: - Plan ahead by establishing a supportive meal plan with the guidance of a healthcare professional. - Set boundaries around food-related events and communicate them to friends and family. - Seek encouragement and understanding from loved ones to create a nourishing, non-judgmental environment. As we celebrate the joy of Christmas, it's crucial to recognize and respect the diverse mental health challenges faced by individuals. By fostering open conversations, practicing empathy, and implementing supportive strategies, we can contribute to a more inclusive and mindful holiday season for everyone, regardless of their mental health diagnoses. Remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in compassion, understanding, and the gift of connection. Also published . here

How to Navigate the Holidays: A Closer Look at Christmas and Mental Health Diagnoses

Welcome to HackerNoon’s Writing Prompts! Would you like to take a stab at answering some of these questions? The link for the template is HERE. 1. What is your company in 2–5 words? Digital product agency disrupting healthcare. 2. Why is now the time for your company to exist? There is no denying that the pace of innovation and technology has accelerated in the last decade. However, the healthcare industry has not evolved as quickly as other industries. It faces unique challenges, like a lack of agility, strict regulations, antiquated processes, and slow innovation. Although there are many people in the sector working to improve quality and accessibility, systemic problems and financial interests limit what can be achieved. Our strategy is to bring agility to this setting by using our knowledge of technology, user-centric approach, and in-depth knowledge of the business to create software that is strategically planned, scalable, and cleverly constructed. 3. What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to solve this problem? When we first set out, we were quite excited about developing digital solutions that prioritized the needs and wants of users and delivered genuine value. By then, we collaborated with businesses in every sector of the economy, including real estate, retail, food, entertainment, agronomy, retail, and finance. Even though we've produced incredible products and gained a lot of knowledge from the process, we believed that focus and mission were still lacking. In 2020, during the pandemic, we made a strategic shift and decided to focus 100% on healthcare, allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in the industry, gain specialized knowledge, and, most importantly, have a shared, meaningful purpose. This change gave our entire team a compelling mission and a defined path. Who wouldn't find satisfaction in working on initiatives for a sector of the economy that ultimately saves lives? I guess that’s what I love most about the team and why we are the ones who solve problems. We’re a team of focused, knowledgeable, and creative people with a shared purpose: improving healthcare. 4. If you weren’t building your startup, what would you be doing? I would probably be building another startup. I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was a teenager, so I’m sure that if Light-it had not succeeded, I would be building something else. 5. At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your metrics? We work with OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), and they are measured quarterly. We have company-wide OKRs and OKRs per department. They help us stay aligned with the same goals quarter to quarter. 6. In a few sentences, what do you offer to whom? In broad terms, we partner with our clients to help them ideate, design, and develop healthcare digital products. The challenge we resolve is the lack of expertise in developing healthcare software with a product mindset and keeping strategy, budget, compliance, and user experience in mind.  There are hundreds of software development firms with no experience in healthcare, which can lead to short-term gains at the expense of long-term scalability and maintenance. We at Light-itadopt a unique strategy. We follow industry best practices, implementing scalable models across several platforms and providing end-to-end product development services with extensive user experience support and consulting. Since we have an agile approach, startups are our bread and butter. Nevertheless, our interactions with health systems have also been excellent. Our introduction of an agile vision and innovative mindset has been extremely effective in these circumstances, given their customary bureaucratic and slower ways. Finding a reliable partner is usually difficult for a healthcare organization, but finding someone who can offer both high-tech development and strategic advice is much more difficult. That's what makes us unique. 7. What’s most exciting about your traction to date? **Light-it'**s traction has been steadily growing year after year, an incredibly encouraging trend. Last year was particularly exciting for us as we forged partnerships with industry giants like ABInBev Foundation, the world's largest beer company, and Inviza, a groundbreaking RPM and DTX product for the US Air Force.  These collaborations are not only about business and transactions – they validate our position as leaders in our field and serve as a powerful encouragement to continue our hard work. 8. Where do you think your growth will be next year? We have been collaborating with startups, supporting them through the entire product development process, from launch to scaling. Now that we are collaborating with Health Systems, we plan to continue doing so because we have seen such a positive impact. We don't intend to expand the company too quickly because, as a team, we want to keep our boutique approach. We aim to keep our crew size between one hundred and two hundred. We always have new projects coming up. In my opinion, one of the biggest promises in health technology is generative AI. Puppeteeris a spinoff company we launched last year, and it is the result of the realization that 2024 was going to be the year of generative AI and that humanity will either have to accept it or perish. Our first round is presently being raised, and we have high hopes for it this year. Regarding our long-term future, Light-it's DNA will always embrace new technologies and pathways, so who knows what else might emerge! "You win, or you learn" strikes a chord with me. Every new endeavor, whether it succeeds or fails, adds to our development and resiliency. I'm committed to establishing a positive work environment that prioritizes curiosity, boldness, ownership, and dedication to ongoing development while also considering the well-being of our team. 9. Tell us about your first paying customer and revenue expectations over the next year. The first paying customers we had were family members and friends building e-commerces. Since then, we’ve worked with startups from pre-seed to Series D, with Fortune 500s and some of the biggest health systems in the world! In terms of revenue, we expect to keep growing at the rate of 50% per year. 10. What’s your biggest threat? We have all heard that AI will replace software engineers, so I guess that should be my biggest thread as a software development company owner. Still, I’m convinced that our team has minds that no AI can substitute: Empathy, strategy, and creativity are some of the skills needed in a product team that AI can't substitute. Would you like to take a stab at answering some of these questions? The link for the template is HERE. Welcome to HackerNoon’s Writing Prompts! Would you like to take a stab at answering some of these questions? The link for the template is HERE. Welcome to HackerNoon ’s Writing Prompts! Would you like to take a stab at answering some of these questions? The link for the template is HERE. HackerNoon The link for the template is HERE. 1. What is your company in 2–5 words? Digital product agency disrupting healthcare. 2. Why is now the time for your company to exist? There is no denying that the pace of innovation and technology has accelerated in the last decade. However, the healthcare industry has not evolved as quickly as other industries. It faces unique challenges, like a lack of agility, strict regulations, antiquated processes, and slow innovation. Although there are many people in the sector working to improve quality and accessibility, systemic problems and financial interests limit what can be achieved. Our strategy is to bring agility to this setting by using our knowledge of technology, user-centric approach, and in-depth knowledge of the business to create software that is strategically planned, scalable, and cleverly constructed. 3. What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to solve this problem? When we first set out, we were quite excited about developing digital solutions that prioritized the needs and wants of users and delivered genuine value. By then, we collaborated with businesses in every sector of the economy, including real estate, retail, food, entertainment, agronomy, retail, and finance. Even though we've produced incredible products and gained a lot of knowledge from the process, we believed that focus and mission were still lacking. In 2020, during the pandemic, we made a strategic shift and decided to focus 100% on healthcare, allowing us to fully immerse ourselves in the industry, gain specialized knowledge, and, most importantly, have a shared, meaningful purpose. This change gave our entire team a compelling mission and a defined path. Who wouldn't find satisfaction in working on initiatives for a sector of the economy that ultimately saves lives? I guess that’s what I love most about the team and why we are the ones who solve problems. We’re a team of focused, knowledgeable, and creative people with a shared purpose: improving healthcare. 4. If you weren’t building your startup, what would you be doing? I would probably be building another startup. I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was a teenager, so I’m sure that if Light-it had not succeeded, I would be building something else. Light-it Light-it 5. At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your metrics? We work with OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), and they are measured quarterly. We have company-wide OKRs and OKRs per department. They help us stay aligned with the same goals quarter to quarter. 6. In a few sentences, what do you offer to whom? In broad terms, we partner with our clients to help them ideate, design, and develop healthcare digital products. The challenge we resolve is the lack of expertise in developing healthcare software with a product mindset and keeping strategy, budget, compliance, and user experience in mind.  There are hundreds of software development firms with no experience in healthcare, which can lead to short-term gains at the expense of long-term scalability and maintenance. We at Light-it adopt a unique strategy. We follow industry best practices, implementing scalable models across several platforms and providing end-to-end product development services with extensive user experience support and consulting. Light-it Since we have an agile approach, startups are our bread and butter. Nevertheless, our interactions with health systems have also been excellent. Our introduction of an agile vision and innovative mindset has been extremely effective in these circumstances, given their customary bureaucratic and slower ways. Finding a reliable partner is usually difficult for a healthcare organization, but finding someone who can offer both high-tech development and strategic advice is much more difficult. That's what makes us unique. 7. What’s most exciting about your traction to date? **Light-it'**s traction has been steadily growing year after year, an incredibly encouraging trend. Last year was particularly exciting for us as we forged partnerships with industry giants like ABInBev Foundation, the world's largest beer company, and Inviza, a groundbreaking RPM and DTX product for the US Air Force.  These collaborations are not only about business and transactions – they validate our position as leaders in our field and serve as a powerful encouragement to continue our hard work. 8. Where do you think your growth will be next year? We have been collaborating with startups, supporting them through the entire product development process, from launch to scaling. Now that we are collaborating with Health Systems, we plan to continue doing so because we have seen such a positive impact. We don't intend to expand the company too quickly because, as a team, we want to keep our boutique approach. We aim to keep our crew size between one hundred and two hundred. We always have new projects coming up. In my opinion, one of the biggest promises in health technology is generative AI. Puppeteer is a spinoff company we launched last year, and it is the result of the realization that 2024 was going to be the year of generative AI and that humanity will either have to accept it or perish. Our first round is presently being raised, and we have high hopes for it this year. Puppeteer Regarding our long-term future, Light-it's DNA will always embrace new technologies and pathways, so who knows what else might emerge! "You win, or you learn" strikes a chord with me. Every new endeavor, whether it succeeds or fails, adds to our development and resiliency. I'm committed to establishing a positive work environment that prioritizes curiosity, boldness, ownership, and dedication to ongoing development while also considering the well-being of our team. 9. Tell us about your first paying customer and revenue expectations over the next year. The first paying customers we had were family members and friends building e-commerces. Since then, we’ve worked with startups from pre-seed to Series D, with Fortune 500s and some of the biggest health systems in the world! In terms of revenue, we expect to keep growing at the rate of 50% per year. 10. What’s your biggest threat? We have all heard that AI will replace software engineers, so I guess that should be my biggest thread as a software development company owner. Still, I’m convinced that our team has minds that no AI can substitute: Empathy, strategy, and creativity are some of the skills needed in a product team that AI can't substitute. Would you like to take a stab at answering some of these questions? The link for the template is HERE. Would you like to take a stab at answering some of these questions? The link for the template is HERE. The link for the template is HERE.

Light-it: Empowering Healthcare through Purpose-Driven Digital Solutions

According to the American Medical Association, physician burnout rate reached almost 63% in 2021, while professional fulfillment scores plummeted to 22%. This seems like the right time for the medical sector to look for a solution. Whether you already have experience with AI or not, implementing natural language processing in healthcare can take some of the load off your employees’ shoulders and streamline your operations. MarketsandMarkets reports that the global natural language processing in healthcare and life sciences market was valued at $2.2 billion in 2022 and is forecast to reach $7.2 billion by 2027. And this trend will continue as more medical organizations turn to to build custom solutions. NLP service companies So, how is NLP used in healthcare, and how to deploy this technology? Keep reading to find out. What is natural language processing in healthcare? Natural language processing (NLP) is a that uses algorithms to extract meaning from unstructured human language presented either in spoken or written format. NLP requires knowledge of computational linguistics and other machine learning skills. branch of AI Natural language processing is gaining popularity in healthcare as it can analyze large quantities of unstructured medical data, such as doctor notes, medical records, clinical trial reports, and even service reviews that patients post on social media. Research shows that about and not utilized to its full potential. NLP can change that by analyzing data and extracting insights to guide doctors and pharmacists to make more informed decisions. 80% of healthcare data is unstructured Here are some of the main NLP techniques that are useful in healthcare settings: . OCR converts printed and handwritten text to a machine-readable format. It can extract text from images and tables and pass it to other NLP algorithms for further processing. If you want to learn more about the topic, check out our recent . Optical character recognition (OCR) guide on optical character recognition . This approach involves assigning semantic labels based on predefined categories. For instance, it allows doctors to label a patient as “at risk of hospitalization” based on certain keywords in their medical notes. Text classification . This is an information extraction model that can pinpoint entities in text. Physicians can use this technique to extract entities, such as “treatment” and “symptoms,” from a heap of medical data. Named entity recognition . This technique can sort information based on common topics. For example, it can group together all doctors’ notes on patients suffering from a particular disorder. Topic modeling . This NLP method can establish semantic relationships between entities. For instance, it can point out that a particular patient was treated at that hospital under the supervision of that doctor. Relationship extraction NLP use cases in healthcare After learning about what healthcare NLP is and how it works, let’s see how it can contribute to the healthcare field. Clinical documentation management Research shows that physicians for every patient they see. This time could have been spent caring for patients. Instead, it’s wasted on the screen and contributes to doctor burnout. spend 16 minutes on EHRs on average Enhancing clinical documentation through speech recognition Natural language processing in healthcare can help physicians work with electronic health records (EHRs). Doctors can use speech-to-text conversion tools with built-in NLP capabilities to transcribe their notes and enter them into the corresponding patent’s EHR fields. Also, medical staff can query the NLP tools to extract relevant data from EHRs. For instance, Nuance’s solution is a cloud-based speech recognition tool that helps medical personnel document patients’ stories in their EHRs. The company claims that deploying their solution will cut time spent on clinical documentation by half. Concord Hospital deployed Dragon Medical One, and more accurate clinical documentation. Dragon Medical One 75% of employees reported Supporting doctors in decision making NLP solutions can also analyze clinical documents and support physicians in real-time decision making. For instance, after analyzing doctor notes, the system can predict hospital bed demands, which gives hospital staff time to prepare and accommodate incoming patients. Medical coding and billing Medical coding means deriving billable information from clinical notes and transferring it into standardized medical codes. Traditionally, a human coder would perform this task. But manual coding is slow and prone to error, meaning that the provider might not be able to claim and receive the full amount in compensations. NLP-powered computer-assisted coding (CAC) tools can derive information from doctor notes and patient EHRs about different therapies and procedures they encountered, and provide the corresponding insurance codes to solidify claims. One example of CAC natural language processing in healthcare is . The company employs over 150 coding experts and remains up to date with the newest regulations. This solution assists coders by aggregating and analyzing patient documentation, offering auto-suggested tags and comprehensive review and approval tools. 3M 360 Encompass System Clinical trial management Studies reveal that around because they can’t recruit enough participants. Medical NLP can speed up recruitment by scanning patients’ medical data in search of eligible trial candidates. The technology can also help people who want to participate in clinical trials. It can transform eligibility criteria into questions, allowing candidates to filter through many trials fast.Headquartered in Canada, Inspirata built a solution that employs natural language processing in healthcare to . Its NLP engine mines clinical documents and transferred unstructured data into structured insights on patient eligibility. 80% of clinical trials are delayed or terminated facilitate patient recruitment Another successful NLP platform, , can not only help recruit patients but also assist in trial design and site selection. It can parse a variety of sources, such as news feeds, patents, medical literature, and similar trial descriptions. Linguamatics NLP Refer to our to discover how other subdisciplines of AI contribute to this field. article on AI in clinical trials Patient sentiment analysis Applying NLP in healthcare helps medical staff aggregate and analyze customer reviews and opinions from different social media platforms. Natural language processing tools can process thousands of reviews to gauge patients’ attitude towards the care they received. Such tools can identify aspects that frustrate patients, segment them based on frequency, and start implementing improvements for the most recurring negative feedback. For instance, a comment such as “ ” indicates a negative experience with the administrative staff. I waited for 30 minutes on the phone to talk to the receptionist Another way of benefiting from healthcare NLP in sentiment analysis is processing survey results. Instead of relying on social media, healthcare facilities can compose targeted surveys, distribute them among patients, and use NLP solutions to automatically review every response. In a recent study, a team of researchers that can scan survey results to determine how patients feel about their healthcare provider. The team designed a survey with open-ended questions, distributed it on vestibular schwannoma patients, and received 534 responses. The algorithm classified the responses into two groups — positive and negative sentiments. This classification had a 90% overlap with the manual classification produced by human experts. built an NLP solution Check out our blog article if you want to learn more about . how sentiment analysis can boost your customer service Drug discovery To find effective candidate drugs, scientists need to identify the biological origins and understand the disease first. This includes reviewing large amounts of medical literature, patient data, and more. Natural language processing in healthcare can quickly sift through all this information, extract what is relevant, and present it to researchers in a compelling format so that they can learn about similar diseases and how they were treated. For instance, Texas-based offers an AI-powered software that can assist in drug discovery by applying NLP to analyze unstructured data from multiple sources, such as gene cards, PubMed publications, proprietary global research data repositories, clinical trial documentation, and more. After absorbing the available disease-related knowledge, the tool builds an ontology of existing drugs that highlights promising research areas to discover new effective drugs. Lymba Additionally, NLP can analyze social media feeds and patients’ medical records to gauge adverse effects of different drugs. Some tools can even correlate a drug’s side effects to the dosage consumed and the frequency of use. For more exciting applications of you can refer to our blog. AI in drug discovery Challenges of NLP implementation in healthcare Applying natural language processing in healthcare has many benefits. But if you decide to enhance your practice with this technology, here are the challenges that you are likely to encounter. Specific language requirements of the healthcare field Doctors have their specific way of writing clinical notes and other medical documents. This style is typically heavy with jargon, acronyms, and abbreviations, and has limited context. To add to the confusion, a third of the clinical abbreviations present in the Unified Medical Language System Metathesaurus . have several meanings each Even words that are spelled out in full can be confusing. For instance, “discharge” can either mean release from a hospital or bodily fluids, depending on the context. And if you want to extend the application of NLP in healthcare beyond your clinic and use it to analyze patient’s feedback on social media, then you need to familiarize it with the specific abbreviations and emoticons that people use to express their emotions instead of words. If you acquire ready-made general-purpose NLP algorithms, you will need to retrain them to operate in healthcare settings. And even better, familiarize them with the vocabulary used by your doctors. Issues related to human language complexity It’s relatively easy to deploy NLP algorithms to spot terms that are explicitly mentioned and unambiguous. But human language is not always that straightforward. Sometimes, algorithms will need to deal with the following: . Natural language processing models in healthcare have to be able to infer information from the input text. For example, if you want to know whether a patient has social support, there might not be a clear mention of this in their medical notes. However, there might be something like “relative at bedside,” that implies the patient has a form of support. Inferences . A basic keyword-driven NLP will perceive the two statements “wife helps patient with medication” and “patient helps wife with medication” as identical, while in reality the semantics in both cases are very different. Semantics beyond keywords . Clinicians often use negation to indicate absence of medical conditions. For example, a doctor might write “a brain malignancy was ruled out” to document the fact that a malignant brain tumor wasn’t found. Medical NLP algorithms can’t mistake this with the presence of the disease. Negation Decide on how advanced your algorithms need to be based on the target business cases. And if you opt for more basic solutions, be aware of their limitations. Bias and explainability Like any other AI technology, NLP in the medical field can acquire during training on unbalanced datasets or when it continues to learn on the job. Gender bias is one of the most prominent types in natural language processing-based tools. For example, with jobs that require high-level education, such as a doctor, while females are connected to less knowledge-intensive occupations, like a nurse. different types of bias GPT-3 tends to associate males Unfortunately, AI bias is not uncommon in healthcare. For example, an algorithm that was supposed to determine the severity of patients’ illness required for black patients just because, historically, more money was spent on white patients’ needs. significantly downplayed the level of care It can be hard to spot bias when the algorithms are “black box” models that don’t explain how they arrive at their conclusions. One solution to this issue is to deploy . With this technology, healthcare natural language processing tools justify their recommendations, allowing you to verify whether they are biased or not. explainable AI Another way to spot bias is using a curated dataset that scientists designed to detect specific types of bias. This solution is not scalable to large applications but works well with limited usage. In addition to the three NLP-specific challenges presented above, you might encounter general obstacles associated with implementing any AI-powered technology, such as: . Many healthcare organizations still rely on outdated legacy systems that aren’t built to work with AI-driven technology and deal with large amounts of data. Integration with legacy systems . Medical facilities struggle to provide sufficient, high-quality data that faithfully represents the target population. Insufficient training data . Hospitals struggle with the responsibility that comes with using AI, such as who has the final say on selecting the right treatment, and who is responsible if the treatment didn’t work. Ethical considerations and moral hazards For a more detailed explanation, check our article on . top AI implementation challenges Step-by-step implementation of natural language processing in healthcare If you want to use NLP in healthcare, you can follow these steps: . Determine which problems you want to solve with NLP and whether you need advanced language processing capabilities, such as negation and inference. Identify potential use cases . Decide if you want to acquire a ready-made NLP tool or build your own customized product. Off-the-shelf solutions are suited for companies with limited funds and flexible internal processes that can be adapted to accommodate an external product. Consider a custom-built solution if you have rigid workflows, are looking for something scalable, and need to integrate the new tool with legacy systems. In the latter case, you will need to look for a trusted to collaborate with. Build/buy an NLP solution AI healthcare solutions company . Even if you opted for a ready-made solution in the previous step, you will still need to retrain it for optimal performance, as mainstream NLP models are not designed to handle the specifics of the healthcare sector. You will need to that is bias-free and representative of your target population. Prepare the training dataset prepare a training dataset . Test the tool for bias, usability, and how it integrates with the rest of the workflow. Train and validate the model . If you want to build and/or adopt AI models in the medical sector, compliance is of utmost importance. Your tools need to comply with the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), and any other regulatory bodies in the countries of your operations. You can find more about the topic in our recent article on . Make sure your algorithms are compliant healthcare IT standards . If you and hired a tech vendor, they will design and build the NLP tool with the specifics of your system in mind. They will also help you integrate the solution with your legacy systems. Integrate with your existing systems opted for a custom healthcare solution . The effort doesn’t end at deploying natural language processing in healthcare. You need to audit the NLP models to make sure they are still producing the desired results and update them to reflect any changes in the target use cases. Monitor and adjust the algorithms constantly Concluding thoughts NLP has many applications in healthcare. It can help save time on medical coding, facilitate recruiting participants for clinical trials, keep patients happy through sentiment analysis, and much more. To successfully deploy natural language processing in healthcare, dedicate time to finding a trusted who has experience in the medical field. A tech partner will help you with: machine learning vendor Creating and training custom NLP models that: Are free from bias Fit seamlessly with the rest of your system Tailor to your practice’s vocabulary and have the desired degree of complexity Complying with the privacy requirements of the healthcare sector Supporting you in auditing and updating the algorithms when needed Looking to enhance your medical practice with NLP? ! We will help you build a compliant solution tailored to your internal systems and vocabulary. Drop us a line Also published . here

Natural Language Processing in Healthcare: A Path to Adoption

Procesamiento del lenguaje natural en el cuidado de la salud: un camino hacia la adopción

Traitement du langage naturel dans les soins de santé : une voie vers l'adoption

हेल्थकेयर में नेचुरल लैंग्वेज प्रोसेसिंग: ए पाथ टू एडॉप्शन

医療における自然言語処理: 導入への道

Processamento de linguagem natural na área da saúde: um caminho para a adoção

Xử lý ngôn ngữ tự nhiên trong chăm sóc sức khỏe: Con đường dẫn đến việc áp dụng

医疗保健中的自然语言处理：采用的途径

Healthcare providers deal with a lot of data. This data is often stored across a variety of legacy systems that don't communicate with one another that well. Not only do data discrepancies eat up medics' time (think: ), but they also influence the quality of care. You know it better than anyone: drawing a complete picture of what a patient has and is experiencing health-wise is the first step toward correct diagnosing and effective treatment. To fend off healthcare data disparities, medical organizations have long been turning to and . The aim? Bring siloed data together into single, consolidated storage — a healthcare data warehouse — and use it to draw insights. This blog post covers vital aspects of adopting a data warehouse in healthcare, zooming in on its technical characteristics, highlighting the value a centralized data storage can drive for medical organizations, and providing a high-level data warehouse implementation roadmap. nine hours per week data management data analytics providers What is a healthcare data warehouse? A healthcare data warehouse serves as a centralized repository for all the healthcare information retrieved from multiple sources like electronic health records (EHR), electronic medical records (EMR), enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), radiology and lab databases, or wearables. The data in the warehouse is transformed to fit unified formatting, so it can be used for analysis with no additional preparation. The healthcare warehousing market: highlights The global healthcare data storage market is predicted to grow from $3.08 billion in 2020 to $6.12 billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 10.7%, a . The increased interest in data warehousing solutions among healthcare industry players can be primarily traced back to: study by BlueWave Consulting reports The surge in the volumes of digital data generated by healthcare organizations The broader use of EMR, EHR, and CPOE The more extensive adoption of connected medical devices generating streaming data The call for enhanced operating efficiency brought about by COVID-19 Healthcare organizations around the globe are thus increasingly investing in data warehousing solutions. They seek to alleviate the difficulties related to managing the ever-growing amounts of clinical data and reach higher operational efficiency by , prescriptive analytics, and clinical process automation. tapping in predictive analytics A healthcare data warehouse: value proposition The value a healthcare data warehouse drives for a medical organization comes from three principal directions: Digitization and automation. With fast access to all kinds of healthcare data, from insurance claims to admission forms to lab test results, healthcare providers optimize and even . automate stakeholder journeys Innovation. Drawing on the capabilities of centralized data storage, healthcare organizations can implement new use cases in the fields of predictive analytics, prescriptive analytics, and . the Internet of Medical Things Achieving strategic objectives. Saving up medics' time, speeding up healthcare operations, and putting the insights gained with analytics to use, healthcare facilities can improve the quality of healthcare services, , and expand the range of care delivery options. reach out to more patients Here's are a few examples of how medical institutions may draw on the capabilities of a clinical data warehouse and accompanying analytics tools to realize the opportunities above: Clinicians may analyze the data gained from multiple doctors to identify best practices in diagnosing and treating illnesses and chronic conditions. Spotting those doctors whose patients have better outcomes and drilling down to the patient level can help develop more effective treatment protocols. Having all the patient data accessible from one place, doctors may develop more personalized care plans. The transparency of anonymized clinical outcomes may foster collegial collaboration and competition, thus motivating the healthcare staff to deliver high-quality care. Tapping into continuous patient feedback loops can help respond to patients' needs faster. Clinicians may test the effectiveness of screening methods to enable the shift toward preventive care. Doctors may monitor the population's health over time to predict epidemics and exacerbations of chronic conditions. Administration may gain insight into how well a healthcare institution performs, develop benchmarks against which the performance can be measured, optimize financial management, and facilitate other administrative operations. Hospitals and other medical institutions can benefit from enhanced reporting opportunities for internal management and external audits, including regulatory compliance checks. The architecture of a healthcare data warehouse The architecture of a healthcare data warehouse comprises the following layers: Data source layer that consists of clinical, admin, research, precision, patient-generated, and other data from internal and external sources Staging layer that stands for temporary storage, where the data from multiple sources undergoes an extract, transform, load (ETL) or an extract, load, transform (ELT) process and gets combined into a single, consistent body of data. Data storage layer that acts as centralized storage for integrated data. The layer may encompass data related to multiple subject areas or consist of subsets designated to specific areas or departments, known as data marts. Data analytics & reporting layer that comprises data analytics and business intelligence systems for descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics, as well as reporting, , and dashboarding tools. visualization The features of a healthcare data warehouse to prioritize Sensitive by nature, healthcare data requires proper handling. A healthcare data warehouse should meet specific requirements to guarantee patient safety and secure healthcare providers from potential liabilities. The features we recommend paying particular attention to span: Data security and compliance US federal laws, such as HIPAA, and state laws require organizations managing healthcare data to implement security safeguards for protecting personally identifiable information from disclosures and unauthorized use. Trusted ways to ensure data security include: Designing a and setting up data governance procedures to secure sensitive information from being accessed by unauthorized people. Data governance can be implemented by creating read-only replicas, setting up custom user groups with pre-defined access rights, or encrypting personally identifiable information. data management strategy Setting up raw-level permissions to restrict users from viewing specific data entries. Setting up raw-level permissions by account or patient ownership, for example, would give a particular doctor access to their patients' records, still preventing every doctor from accessing every patient's personal health information. Setting up permissions at the data analytics and BI level to ensure sensitive data won't be inappropriately shared through a dashboard or report. In addition, we recommend performing systematic vulnerability assessments to prevent and timely close any security loopholes. Data integrity The data in a warehouse only creates value when it is clear, unambiguous, correct, and transformed to fit an established data model. Data integrity is accomplished through ETL or ELT processes. The critical difference between the two is that with ETL, the data is transformed before reaching the target system, usually at the staging server, while with ELT, the data undergoes transformation once it's loaded into the warehouse. Depending on the types of an organization runs on top of a data warehouse, it makes sense to prioritize either ETL or ELT. healthcare solutions is easier to implement, and it's a good fit for use cases with moderate data volumes. However, the process is time-intensive, and the processing time grows together with the data volumes. An ETL engine , in turn, is a good option for use cases dealing with vast amounts of data. Since raw data is loaded into the target system once, the transformation process is faster, and the processing speed does not depend on the volume of incoming data. An ELT engine Data warehouse performance When it comes to manipulating health-related information, particularly streaming data generated by connected medical devices, glitch-free performance is vital. A healthcare data warehouse can be amplified with the following features to ensure fast and consistent transmission, querying, and retrieval of data: Bitmap indexing that reduces response times of ad hoc queries and boosts data warehouse performance Parallel task execution that allows breaking down complex querying operations into multiple smaller, hence, faster processes Elastic scaling of cloud resources that allows growing or shrinking cloud storage and computing power dynamically in response to workload demands Automated data backups that foster disaster recoveries in case of potential incidents. Vital integrations to implement A healthcare data warehouse drives the most value when it serves as a part of a broader ecosystem comprised of the following interoperating components: A repository for unstructured and semi-structured data, a data lake may serve as a source of raw data for training machine learning models. A data lake. may run on the cleansed and structured data stored in the data warehouse, enabling descriptive analytics and supporting decision-making. Business intelligence. BI solutions may help realize predictive and prescriptive analytics, fostering diagnosing and treatment and optimizing hospital operations. Machine learning. Bringing ML to healthcare A healthcare data warehouse implementation roadmap Implementing a healthcare data warehouse is, without a doubt, a complex undertaking. We've put together a healthcare data warehouse implementation roadmap to alleviate the struggles medical organizations stumble upon when rolling out healthcare warehousing solutions. The entire data warehouse implementation process can be broken down into four steps. The crucial step in the whole data warehouse development process defining all the future efforts, the planning stage deals with assessing the context and thinking over the strategic aspects of adopting a clinical data warehouse. The tasks to carry out include: 1. Planning Define the needs of individuals involved in the data management process and uncover data management bottlenecks or areas of improvement Analyze the available IT infrastructure Formulate the strategic objectives you aim to achieve by implementing a data warehouse and map those to what you’ve learned Put together a vision of a future data warehouse and draft an adoption strategy, outlining critical functional and non-functional aspects, including regulatory compliance, security, and performance requirements to a future healthcare data warehousing solution Plan infrastructure and human resources needed to realize the vision. At the design stage, craft the architecture of a future data warehouse, define data integration procedures, think over the healthcare data warehouse model, and plan for the necessary integrations. More specifically, 2. Design Decide upon a data integration strategy and design the ETL or ELT processes. Define the data model: The enterprise-wide data model incorporates the data from multiple subject areas and gives additional opportunities to match up data sets from all organization's departments The data mart model includes subsets dedicated to specific areas or departments The late-binding data model does not sort data into discrete categories but keeps it freely flowing, allowing data scientists to develop new querying capabilities on the go Design data validation procedures Design the necessary integrations The development stage involves rolling out the necessary infrastructure components and coding and implementing data warehousing software and end-user applications. Along with ongoing accompanying development activities, additional validation is needed post-migration. A set of checks are run to validate the migrated data for duplicates, errors, contradictions, or inaccuracies. 3. Development & deployment 4. Ongoing and post-migration testing testing activities On a final note Data warehousing is becoming vital to providing value-based, personalized care, improving overall patient experience and optimizing clinical processes. The pandemic has only accelerated the need for change and sparked the transition toward a more integrated and thoughtful approach to managing healthcare data. As more medical organizations initiate data warehousing projects, it is vital to remember that a data warehouse on its own is not a cure-all. To discover the full value of a clinical data warehouse, it is necessary to develop a thought-out data management strategy aligned with the organization's strategic objectives and treat a data warehouse as a part of a broader, interoperating analytics ecosystem. If you have questions or are looking to transform your clinical data management, don't hesitate to . They will help you uncover the full value of a healthcare data warehouse. contact ITRex experts Also published . here

Effective Adoption of Data Warehouses in Healthcare: A Complete Guide

The healthcare sector faces numerous issues when it comes to data storage, sharing, and verification. Patient data exists in isolated silos and doctors cannot access it when needed, while hackers seem to be able to take advantage with relative ease. Patients don’t feel like they own their health information. Counterfeit drugs are flooding the market as no one can verify their origins. Are traditional data management practices becoming obsolete? Even though blockchain technology has emerged in the financial sector, blockchain use cases in healthcare are gaining traction, too. The global medical blockchain market is , rising at a CAGR of 35% from 2021. Hospitals and other medical facilities are tapping into to enhance their data-related practices. expected to reach $55.83 billion by 2026 blockchain development services So, how blockchain works in healthcare? And which challenges could you expect while implementing the technology in the medical sector? What is Blockchain, and How Does it Benefit Healthcare? Blockchain is a decentralized distributed system that generates and stores data. When one device on a blockchain performs a transaction, all other devices generate identical blocks reflecting this action. Similarly, when blockchain data is manipulated in any way, a block is created to record this information so that any change can be easily verified and tracked back to its source. You can learn more about on our blog. blockchain and its applications in a dedicated article How can blockchain be used in healthcare? This technology incorporates advanced cryptography mechanisms to enhance data security. With blockchain’s permission system, it gives data ownership back to the individuals, and with its transparency, it facilitates clinical trials by documenting and time stamping all the details. Furthermore, it offers unique contract management and payment capabilities. Advantages of Blockchain in Healthcare Here are the main benefits blockchain technology brings to different healthcare actors: Blockchain for healthcare organizations: Improves decision-making as blockchain allows several doctors from different locations to view the same data in real-time. Transforms patient medical records to a decentralized system that can’t be tampered with Speeds up medical credentialing Blockchain for Patients: Empowers patients to assume ownership of their medical data Supports consent mechanisms prohibiting healthcare providers from accessing information without patient permission Enables patients to participate in research and otherwise monetize their data without intermediaries Collects and stores data from wearable devices in a secure manner Blockchain for Pharmaceutics: Helps to recruit participants for clinical trials Supports reliable and auditable documentation of clinical trials with its immutable records Allows spotting counterfeit drugs Blockchain for Insurance: Speeds up confirmation obtaining process Unlocks the opportunity for insurers to draft and manage agreements using smart contracts Cuts down costs by eliminating intermediaries Disadvantages of Blockchain in Healthcare: There are several disadvantages to adopting blockchain in healthcare stemming from the nature of this technology: As the number of blocks grows, the transaction time increases, causing delays. Inability to permanently delete records. The network simply creates more blocks that reflect the invalidation of existing records. For this technology to function, every involved organization needs to be on board with it. Potential problems with large patient files, such as MRI scans. High planning, developing, and maintenance costs Blockchain in Healthcare: Use Cases Here are seven of the most prominent blockchain technology applications in healthcare: Transparent supply chain Faster medical credentialing Patient-centered EHRs Manageable medical trials Enhanced security Commitments enforced via smart contracts Genomic research Blockchain Increases Healthcare Supply Chain Transparency Counterfeit drugs are a persistent problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in developed countries are not legitimate. This number increases in the developing countries to reach almost 10%. Proving this point, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) . The agency reports this number is higher than it was in two previous years combined. up to 1% of all medications available for purchase captured over 9.5 million fake medications in the US in 2021 One of blockchain’s use cases in healthcare is that it allows customers to track the products at every stage, including manufacturing, wholesale, and shipping to make sure the items are legitimate. This is crucial for both drugs and medical devices. Once a ledger is created for a drug, it records the point of origin, a laboratory for example. Since then, every manipulation on this drug is documented. Blockchain can incorporate rather extensive information, such as labor costs and how much waste was emitted during manufacturing and transportation. is an example of a blockchain protocol that healthcare organizations can use to verify information on prescription drugs’ supply chain. This includes expiration dates, manufacturers, etc. MediLedger also allows different parties to exchange secure peer-to-peer messages. Many prominent healthcare providers, such as Bayer, Pfizer, and Cardinal Health use this network. MediLedger In another example, Paris-based Blockpharma built a solution that scans medications’ supply chain and verifies it across all points of shipment. The company’s app allows patients to verify the legitimacy of their purchase. Blockpharma worldwide. is believed to intercept 15% of counterfeit drugs Blockchain Speeds up Medical Credentialing Verifying credentials – training, skills, medical licenses, and education – is a tedious process that is typically performed via phone and email and can take up to four and even six months to complete. The Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare reports that payers to maintain a comprehensive healthcare provider database. Blockchain technology can offer a faster and more reliable substitute that doesn’t rely on direct human references. spend almost $2 billion per year Blockchain allows healthcare organizations to log and monitor the credentials of their staff. This arrangement streamlines the hiring process and improves transparency and trust between subcontractors, hospitals, and patients. Additionally, blockchain records allow incremental updates when professionals need to add qualifications. is a healthcare credentialing startup founded by two physicians. It uses blockchain to verify primary source credentialing documents with the aim to reduce time on new hires’ background check. Carilion Clinic tested ArchiveCore software against their typical hiring process for 17 staff members and was amazed to discover that . ArchiveCore they could have saved $1.2 million in lost revenue Blockchain Enables Patient-Centric EHRs Sharing medical data is a sensitive and highly-regulated task. A survey conducted among physicians and nurses in the US that patients’ safety is at risk when exchanging their health information among different departments. reveals that 74% of the respondents believe One of the most popular blockchain use cases in healthcare is to offer a comprehensive overview of patients’ records and manage data sharing consent. Such systems give patients full control over their records – they are notified when their data is updated, and they can share full or partial records with doctors, researchers, and other parties. Patients can even set a time limit on how long their records are visible to a particular third party. Insurers can use this system to validate confirmations with patients directly, without intermediaries. One application of the technology comes from . This company helps healthcare providers integrate their electronic medical records with a blockchain-powered platform. MedicalChain software can be used to develop other healthcare solutions, such as virtual consultations and marketplaces that enable patients to monetize their anonymized medical data. MedicalChain Blockchain Facilitates Clinical Trials ClinicalTrials.gov reveals that drug development . Clinical trials produce large amounts of data and involve many people, such as sponsors, study subjects, doctors, researchers, drug manufacturers, etc. Hence, mistakes can occur easily and there is room for intentional falsification. Finding and recruiting participants is another issue. A recent report shows that participated in clinical trials. Also, trails’ information is typically stored in centralized databases, making it challenging to share among all stakeholders. costs around $350 billion globally per year only 8% of cancer patients Another blockchain use case in healthcare is to make clinical trials more transparent, allowing researchers to identify studies with questionable protocols and prevent their publication. With this technology, all clinical trial documents can be time-stamped and securely stored. Blockchain records include project proposals, surveys, research design, blood tests, patient consent forms, etc. Moreover, this technology allows participants in dispersed geographical locations to view the data simultaneously in real-time, which is crucial for trial decision-making. Additionally, blockchain can help manage clinical trials’ finances. For example, the German pharma company Boehringer Ingelheim teamed up with IBM to implement a blockchain-based bookkeeping system for its trials. Delayed payment of trials’ participants is another issue. It typically takes several months for those people to receive income. Bloqcube specializes in blockchain-powered clinical trial software and it believes that working with central bank digital currencies can significantly speed up the payment process, allowing doctors and patients to receive compensation a few minutes after performing a task. Blockchain Enhances Security Health data is mostly stored on centralized databases which cannot offer adequate protection against theft and breaches. According to HIPAA Journal, a total of across 686 healthcare data breaches. 44,993,618 medical records were compromised in 2021 Blockchain can facilitate secure health data storage and sharing. For example, , headquartered in California, operates as network-as-a-service and uses blockchain to offer a set of policies, configure data layers, and verify health data source and destination in real time. Akiri Blockchain also supports encryption. If healthcare providers want to access patient information, they will need the corresponding public key. Research shows that the protected health information (PHI) residing on their workstations. , a major US-based test and vaccine verification platform resorts to blockchain to encrypt its data and further anonymizes it. 63% of healthcare organizations fail to encrypt Testd Another security-related use case of blockchain in healthcare is supporting wearable medical devices. This technology facilitates recording and safe transmission of IoT data from devices to healthcare providers. It can protect the data from unauthorized tampering, block access to certain devices, and shut down compromised nodes. Blockchain Enforces Commitments VIA Smart Contracts Contract-related disputes and failure to honor contract terms is a problem in every industry. Research shows that in the medical sector, while due to reasons such as incomplete information, duplicate claims, improper registration, etc. 10% of insurance claims are disputed 17% of claims are being denied Smart contracts can offer a solution to these daunting problems. A smart contract is a piece of code deployed on a blockchain. It is set to be executed automatically when predefined conditions are met. Smart contracts help the medical sector to cut down on costs by eliminating intermediaries. This technology enables different healthcare actors, such as providers, patients, insurers, and medical device manufacturers. to authenticate themselves on the network and document contract clauses, which will be carried out automatically and will remain visible to all parties involved. For example, when a patient visits a doctor, this event will be reflected in the blockchain ledger, and the insurer will be notified. Stakeholders can turn to smart contracts to verify facts and speed up dispute resolutions. Curisium, , developed a blockchain-powered platform that supports contract management and negotiation in the healthcare sector. It allows providers and payers to participate in innovative secure contracting arrangements and find common grounds in case of a dispute. recently acquired by Philadelphia-based HealthVerity Blockchain Enables Genomic Research The costs of genomic sequencing sharply decreased nowadays, with some companies . This encourages scientists to engage in genome-related research. But where to find willing participants? And how to provide secure storage for such massive datasets? from $10,000 a few years ago to $1,000 claiming to perform this task for solely $100 Here is another blockchain use case in healthcare. This technology allows participants to store billions of genome data points, exchange them securely between interested parties, and establish ownership. The technology also supports individuals in legally monetizing their genomic information without involving intermediaries. For example, offers a blockchain-enabled DNA marketplace where participants can upload, share, search, and sell genetic data using traceable DNA tokens. EncrypGen In another instance, the Israeli biotech company demploys blockchain to facilitate genomic data exchange between data owners and researchers by using DNAtix tokens as means of payment. The company takes pride in fully anonymizing payments and contracts. DNAtix Here is what the company’s CEO, , “We are bringing a new possibility of participating in research, testing your DNA, storing your DNA, and staying anonymous. It’s the safest genetics on the planet that will be available.” Ofer Lidsky says Challenges of Blockchain in Healthcare : blockchain stores and maintains highly sensitive and regulated patient data on a network that is designed to be transparent. Healthcare organizations need to make sure they are compliant, and the risk of data exposure is minimized. Compliance with HIPAA and other data privacy regulations : medical facilities will need to evaluate the possibilities of storing enormous amounts of data without compromising heavily on the performance. Large volumes of healthcare data : we can’t maximize blockchain security, scalability, and decentralization simultaneously. One of those parameters is improved at the expense of the others. For example, if blockchain is scaled in a way that its payment system is adopted globally, the security of handling those transactions is likely to be compromised. Researchers are looking for solutions, but at the moment, this remains a relevant concern. Finding the right balance : another challenge of blockchain in healthcare is that data access is based on permissions. But what to do if a patient physically can’t give explicit consent in case of emergency? Organizations will have to come up with protocols on how to operate in this and similar situations. Access authorization : blockchain uses cryptography to secure its data. Hence, there is an issue of key management. Using the same public key for all blocks implies that all the data would be exposed if the key is compromised. On the other hand, using a different key for each block will drastically increase the costs of storing and accessing data. Private and public keys How to Proceed With Implementing Blockchain in Healthcare? As Stuart Hanson, CEO of Avaneer Health, pointed out during his interview with Healthcare IT News, blockchain is not a standalone technology that medical facilities can just plug in and solve all their issues. It is not a platform that can be added to an existing tech stack. If your organization wants to be effective in its blockchain adoption, you might need to adapt your internal processes, expand tech stacks, and help your employees and partners to shift their mindset towards a new operating mode. Moreover, organizations that want to benefit from blockchain use cases in healthcare to their full extent, will need to work together and team up with their competitors. For example, IBM and banking institutions that naturally compete against each other, such as Sentara Healthcare, Cleveland Clinic, and Aetna among others. The goal of this cooperation was to establish a governance framework that will monitor a blockchain-powered healthcare network. collaborated with healthcare organizations If you are interested in starting with blockchain implementation in the healthcare sector, it is best to consult professional . Even though deploying this technology seems complicated, with the right support, your medical facility will be able to reduce costs, improve patient care, and increase data security and transparency. healthcare software development companies Do you want to enhance your data and contract management practices with blockchain technology? ! Our healthcare experts will set you up with an existing blockchain platform and assist you with customized smart contract development. Drop ITRex a line Co-published . here

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