Curbing costs, adapting to worker shortages, and improving outcomes are some of the immense pressures businesses cope with every day. The healthcare industry is no exception. Many experts, in fact, say the critical need for precision and reliability makes managing its tech infrastructure uniquely challenging compared to other industries. 

Managed IT services offer innovative solutions that address these and other pressing concerns for healthcare providers across industry sectors. By filling critical gaps in technical staffing, they ensure healthcare providers can prioritize patient care over IT management. The expertise and cutting-edge technologies a managed service provider (MSP) brings to the table can lead to better healthcare outcomes, enhancing patient care and operational efficiency. 

This trio of benefits—staffing solutions, cost reduction, and improved outcomes—makes an MSP your true partner in taking on today’s multifaceted healthcare demands. Choice Solutions provides hospitals, clinics, research labs, and other healthcare providers with reliable and efficient IT systems that help them better manage their IT needs across networks and the cloud. We can help you do the same, using advanced technologies like AI and machine learning to improve the quality and efficiency of care for patients.

The Healthcare Industry’s Top Technology Challenges in 2024 

There’s no question that investing in digital transformation is helping health providers optimize their decision-making processes. But change doesn’t happen overnight, and navigating the transition can be overwhelming for providers already coping with the enormous pressures of daily operations. 

Current challenges of digital transformation in the healthcare industry include everything from remote patient monitoring services to outdated legacy services and increasingly complex compliance regulations. Added to this are demographic factors, with an aging population putting even more of a strain on existing infrastructures. For instance, nearly 56 million people in the US are aged 65 and older. The number is projected to reach 90 million by 2050, resulting in substantial cost increases due to age-related preventative healthcare and medical treatments. 

AI, patient portals, and digital health apps are a few of the cost and labor-effective technologies that are helping reduce optimal healthcare delivery. However, there are still multiple challenges that must be overcome if the full potential of these and other solutions are to be fully realized. 

• Staffing shortages. Healthcare is grappling with severe post-pandemic clinical and tech staffing issues. There’s a dearth of skilled professionals who understand healthcare IT, resulting in a gap between technological advancements and their practical implementation in healthcare settings. 
• Implementing automation. It might be an incredible timesaver once in place, but automating administrative tasks and patient care procedures calls for sophisticated technologies that meet healthcare’s complex needs. There’s also the hurdle of ensuring automating systems enhance, not impede, patient-caregiver interactions. 
• Compliance regulations. In the US, HIPAA compliance is increasingly challenging as healthcare data proliferates and privacy rules grow stricter. Ensuring sensitive information is secure while still being able to access and use it for patient care and operational efficiency is a delicate balancing act that providers must achieve. 
• Cybersecurity. Unfortunately, healthcare providers are attractive targets for cybercriminals. As digital health records and telemedicine services become more common, protecting data and preventing breaches are paramount concerns. 
• Outdated legacy systems. Many healthcare providers still rely on legacy systems that are increasingly difficult to maintain, with some no longer able to be patched or updated. It’s estimated that up to 60% of these are in their end-of-life stage, posing significant security and integration risks. 
• Data management and integration. Managing vast amounts of data is an arduous task. Tech staff must make sure it easily integrates across various platforms while maintaining privacy, ensuring accuracy and reliability in every process layer. 

There’s no sugarcoating the concerted effort it will take for providers to tackle these and other challenges. It will require advanced tech solutions, strategic planning, and continuous training and education, all of which require significant financial and human resource investment— something many providers are just not equipped to handle on their own. An MSP can be an indispensable ally by helping providers address these complex issues head-on, using innovative solutions to transform them into opportunities for growth and advancement. 

How Managed IT Services Can Empower the Healthcare Sector 

MSPs have taken the lead in helping healthcare providers meet emerging technological challenges. From addressing workforce shortages to enhancing cybersecurity and ensuring compliance, they offer a range of solutions vital to modern healthcare operations. 

1. Bridging the staffing gap. An MSP can significantly reduce healthcare staff burdens by taking over complex IT operations like managing healthcare systems, ensuring uptime, and providing 24/7 support so healthcare professionals are free to focus on patient care.
2. Implementing automation. An MSP has the expertise and human resources to integrate automation technologies like AI and machine learning in a way that complements existing organizational practices, enhancing the patient experience rather than complicating it.
3. Timely compliance. An MSP stays abreast of the latest regulations to ensure digital operations comply with laws like HIPAA, routinely updating processes to safeguard against potential legal and financial repercussions.
4. Bolstered cybersecurity. By implementing robust security protocols against data breaches and cyber threats, an MSP ensures sensitive patient data remains secure, maintaining trust in the provider’s services.
5. Optimized data management. MPSs facilitate efficient data management and integration, providing storage, backup, and recovery solutions that ensure data is accessible yet secure. They also assist in analyzing data to identify potential strategies that help improve patient care and operational efficiency. 

Benefits of Managed IT Services 

From an operational perspective, managed IT services help health providers optimize financial resources while enhancing service quality by: 

• Reducing operating costs. When you outsource IT management, you can significantly reduce the costs associated with an extensive in-house team, including salaries, onboarding and training, and benefits expenses. 
• Minimizing downtime. Tech-related outages can be costly for healthcare institutions. Proactive maintenance and monitoring from an MSP ensure fewer disruptions and reduced operational losses. 
• Scaling services. An MSP offers incredible flexibility, scaling services up or down based on your current needs. This can be especially beneficial for providers experiencing fluctuating patient loads or that are just starting out.  
• Providing predictable IT spending. Being able to strategically budget and allocate resources makes long-term financial planning more manageable, allowing you to allocate more funds toward patient care and innovation. 

Partnering with an MSP delivers far more than immediate solutions. It’s also a visionary move toward more efficient and financially sound healthcare operations, positioning your organization for future technological advancements. 

Embracing Innovation: How Managed IT Services Drive Healthcare Technology Forward 

Managed IT services are at the forefront of integrating and managing groundbreaking technologies, supporting an environment ripe for patient care innovation and advancement. They’re facilitating the seamless implementation and management of telemedicine platforms, ensuring reliable, secure, and user-friendly systems. They’re also instrumental in deploying and integrating IoT devices in healthcare settings, ensuring devices like wearable health monitors provide real-time data that’s crucial for health provider decision-making. 

Personalized treatment powered by data analytics is another frontier where MSPs are making their mark, managing complex databases and applying sophisticated data analysis tools to help providers deliver tailored health solutions that enhance treatment effectiveness. They’re also discovering ways to use blockchain technology for securing medical records and addressing major concerns about patient data privacy and integrity. 

Other prominent healthcare trends MSPs are expected to capitalize on include: 

• Generative AI. AI is still in its infancy, but its impact will only grow over the coming months and years. Experts predict it will make it easier for providers to interpret results and create personalized treatment plans. It will also be used to create data that trains medical AI algorithms without compromising patient privacy. The applications are limitless, with many yet to be imagined. 
• Virtual healthcare assistants. Chatbots and virtual assistants will give providers more comprehensive information, including real-time results, on diagnoses, treatments, and medications. They’ll also be used to book and schedule appointments as well as respond to patient questions, connecting them with the proper information or people needed to make more informed decisions about their care. Patients could use virtual assistants to remind them to take their medications or exercise. 
• Preventative healthcare. Research shows that preventive approaches to healthcare create long-term benefits for patients and reduce the costs associated with treating preventable conditions. Tech advances like AI and wearables will play a significant role in enabling early medical intervention. 

From advancing telemedicine to enabling proactive preventative care, MSPs are helping healthcare providers adapt to and embrace new technologies to achieve a more robust and responsive healthcare system. 

Shaping Tomorrow’s IT Landscape With Choice Solutions 

Choice Solutions provides innovative IT services to the healthcare industry, acting as a vital lifesaver for providers who find themselves lost in the non-stop waves of digital advancements and technology changes. Each of our solutions is tailored to meet your organization’s specific needs, helping you reduce costs, boost operational efficiency, and, most importantly, improve patient care. Already have an in-house team? We can help there, too, taking the helm for day-to-day tasks while your staff focuses on creating new value and solving ongoing organizational issues. 

If you’re interested in working with an MSP for your organization’s healthcare IT solutions but aren’t sure where to start, connect with us today to learn more.