3 Trends in Digital Healthcare

Finally live again: after the corona-related cancellations of the past years, the digital health fair DMEA in Berlin in April 2022 was a real highlight. Many exhibitors have used the past years intensively to drive innovations around digital health management. Three trends that were very visible are presented today by Burhan Gündüz, Vice President Secure Printing EMEA & Japan—precisely because they offer interesting perspectives in connection with authentication.

A trade fair report by Burhan Gündüz, Vice President Secure Printing EMEA & Japan. 

Trend 1: EHR - the electronic health record

Patient files are often still managed in analog form. Findings, reports, X-rays and more are filed away in folders. This not only takes up space, it also makes integrated care and the exchange of information between treating physicians more difficult. As of 2023, the German legislature has now required practices and clinics to store all patient-relevant reports, documents, etc., digitally. Of course, only authorized personnel may have access to the EHR in the future. Other countries, including the US, are considering or have already passed similar legislation. This is where suitable authentication solutions from ELATEC come into play, e.g., RFID-based cards and readers. Those who opt for a single sign-on solution are on the safe side in any case and enable employees to access required patient data quickly and easily—without having to re-enter the password every time.

Trend 2: electronic insurance card in the app

Many health insurance companies are already using apps to communicate with their policyholders. Applications can be made there, invoices submitted, and X-ray or CT images uploaded, for example. In the future, the physical insurance card will also be replaced by an electronic counterpart that is managed in the app. For patients, this means that they will no longer need to present a physical card from their health insurer when visiting the doctor, but simply hold their smartphone with the health insurance app in front of the electronic reader. Of course, such a technical migration will not happen overnight. For a long time, the readers will operate in "mixed mode" because some patients still check in at the doctor's office or hospital with their card, while others already use the app on their smartphone. Here, ELATEC readers have the invaluable advantage that they work universally and can process both RFID-based cards and NFC- or BLE-based smartphone credentials.

Trend 3: mobile workstations (medical carts)

In hospitals, clinics or larger medical practice facilities, PCs and/or medical equipment are often moved from room to room on a cart to perform examinations on patients or discuss results. To ensure that only medical professionals operate the device or PC, reliable machine authentication is required. In this context, too, RFID-based card solutions with a single sign-on principle are the gold standard: they are easy for clinicians to handle because all they have to do is hold the card in front of the reader, and they can immediately attend to the patient—without having to type in passwords, which are prone to errors.

In addition, the patient must sometimes give his "OK" at the workstation so that his data may be used. Universal readers such as those from ELATEC are able to process both the patient cards and the cards of the specialist staff in parallel operation.

Conclusion by Burhan Gündüz: ELATEC readers facilitate the digital transformation in healthcare

These were just three examples that make one thing clear: Digital processes are becoming increasingly important in the healthcare sector. This means that secure authentication and authorization solutions are also coming to the attention of practices and clinics. Personal and company data must be securely protected at all times and yet easily accessible to authorized persons. Here, ELATEC is a trustworthy, technologically innovative partner that inspires with comprehensive solutions that are precisely tailored to the respective needs.