One size does not fit all in any industry, despite what the clothing industry would like you to believe. This is especially true when it comes to the healthcare industry and the myriad of healthcare provider types targeting specific patient care journeys from brain surgery and cancer treatment to chronic care and general wellness. More often than not, there is also a large overlap of need on the part of the patient to cross these categories and healthcare service providers.

Let’s face it, usually no one wants to be the first to try something new when it comes to healthcare. Certainly, there are a tremendous number of controls in place to protect us from untested medicines and medical procedures but now that technology is stepping to the forefront a few new questions come to light.  Why should I look at these new Digital Medicine solutions and when is the right time to begin the adoption and implementation of a solution for my practice?

From historical dramas and documentaries to science fiction fantasy, we have been bombarded with the images of healthcare through the ages. Whether you are an administrator, clinician or patient you have at some point appreciated the advances of modern medical science over its historic atrocities (does anyone remember leaching?).  Edmund Burke is credited with saying “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it” and no truer words can be said for the history of healthcare from apothecary to science to technology and the rise of digital medicine.

Anyone old enough to remember the original Star Trek saw the potential for what technology could eventually do for healthcare the first time the tricorder was used by Dr. McCoy to assess and treat a wounded person. With the dawn of the technology age, the promise of digital healthcare grew but the timing of the reality of that digital healthcare promise is still slow in coming.

All too often we are faced with a crisis of expectation when it comes to how fast and how effective digital automation can have an impact on an industry. The reality of existing technology innovations, resource availability, and government regulations usually falls well short of the desire and promise of an ideal state. This is especially true when it comes to the state of healthcare today.