5 Disruptive Digital Trends in the US Healthcare Insurance Industry in 2021

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05-Feb-2021

The costs of US healthcare continue to increase while life expectancy is declining, this is directing to emerging digital trends to bring changes in healthcare delivery and its payments.

For many people, healthcare insurance is a riddle that is full of rules and acronyms that are difficult to decipher. The industry sits at the critical point with policies, actuarial maths, and technologies. The picture of the healthcare industry is definite to change owing to 2020’s unprecedented pandemic that has set the bar for the usage of technology in care. It will also impact the insurance industry as people are getting more aware and concerned about their health.

The costs of US healthcare are accelerating whereas life expectancy is declining and that’s why the insurance sector is looking for the shoulder of digital transformation to bring changes in the current scenario. Blockchain technology,customized healthcare solutions, telehealth, electronic health records (EHR system), the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence are becoming some digital savior for the healthcare insurance industry. 

In a report, it was studied that between 2010 and 2030, the US population is expected to grow by around 40 million that will have over 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 each day. But the United States, for now, lacks the infrastructure to care for this population in traditional methodology. Therefore healthcare is more likely to shift to new systems like the home and make insurance more understandable & convenient for people. Many tech giants like Apple, Google, and Amazon are entering into the insurance space, and many companies are rapidly exploring health insurance solutions with burgeoning technologies like blockchain, AI chatbots, etc.

In this blog, you will learn five of the most significant digital trends that will disrupt the healthcare insurance industry in 2021.

1.   Big Data Analytics 

With the continuous increase of mobile and internet usage, the service providers are flooded with all kinds of data and information. Technology like Big Data & Analytics is becoming handy to understand & optimize these data to understand customers and deliver better experiences with their exact requirements. With real-time data analytics, insurers use these patients’ clinical data to patients’ behavior analytics, their wellness, and susceptibility to other various health issues. Insurers use this information to design strategic communication tactics with individual patients, to improve interactions, provide personalized advice, and increase health insurance awareness among them.

2. Blockchain

Blockchain is one such technology that is becoming favorite in almost all sectors. It entered with the peer-to-peer transaction facility for digital money and now industries are integrating it into their software to improve their data security protocol, decentralize their data, bring control in their information and deliver transparency for users. In the healthcare insurance sector, the potential application for blockchain is tracking medications. According to the Drug Supply Chain Security Act, drugs will need to become trackable in all the stages of its pharmaceutical supply chain, right from the manufacturer to the end-user. Blockchain technology has the strength to become useful in future drug tracking solutions.

Advanced healthcare software development companies are bringing blockchain into the industry to ensure secure patients’ data exchange, and decentralize patients’ information so that it can be easily viewed by care providers yet it is saved and patients will have all the control over their data. The goal for the companies is to establish live directories of in-network providers on the blockchain platform, with the aim of allowing insurers to update their networks in real-time for members to access. This addresses the pain point for patients, who had difficulty keeping track of when providers join or leave their networks.

3.Mobile Application & Gamification

As portrayed before mobile applications have become indispensable tools for physicians, care providers, patients, and insurers. It is a key driver to exchange information, bring personalized experience. Healthcare apps make patients’ interaction efficient and convenient as the apps help them to easily communicate with doctors, insurers, keep the tap on their medical history and manage drug administration. 

Among other digital tools, gamification rose as an effective tool to influence and motivate patients via prizes, awards, coupons, or points. Health insurers use gamification for brand awareness, customer service, education and bring better customer communication. 

4.Billing via Healthcare Software

One of the biggest challenges that insurance providers, patients, and healthcare providers face is insurance claims. Sometimes patients don’t get information if they are eligible for certain insurance claims; insurers don’t get information if certain patients are interested in an insurance plan; providers face insurance fraud and it becomes tiring to apply for reimbursement for all the right claims patients have taken. To resolve this issue healthcare software providers offer the feature of Billing in which all the stakeholders are connected via a single platform, patients get alert whenever they are eligible for it; it becomes easier for providers to get paid from insurance companies with less paperwork whatsoever.

5. Cloud

Everything is in the cloud nowadays. The cloud-first mentality is taking rapid adoption among industries. For insurers, it enables digital transformation in their ecosystem, allows them to bring streamline processes, cost-saving, efficiency, and productivity improvements.

Software as a service and infrastructure as a service is a scalable solution that helps their growth and it doesn’t require any on-premise infrastructure investment in data storage, data management, documentation, stationery, etc.

It gives them a flexible working environment and provider value-based solution by breaking down the silos in the organization. It also increases customer satisfaction and a better understanding of internal and external operations.

Conclusion

The year 2020 showed us the importance of technology in health. It is prevalent that with increasing awareness and expectation among US citizens, it is becoming the utmost priority for healthcare providers and insurance companies to adopt these digital trends and become digitally forward to deliver the best care in the future.  As the healthcare sector continues to digital transformation and value-based care, digital trends in insurance will mature to the point where they will become highly comfortable for entire patient populations.