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Data privacy will continue to be a serious concern. If you are a healthcare app development company or start-up, it is essential to follow the HIPAA compliant app development process. The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act is a protection layer for sensitive information & data centers in the health sector. 

According to research, data breaches have increased at a capacity of 140% from 2020- 2021. Health and health systems have been immensely impacted by the high rise in data breaches, especially with the rapid implementation of virtual and digital services. Entrusting healthcare apps with HIPAA compliant app development solutions enables the confidentiality of patient data and blocks unauthorized, fraudulent activities. Additionally, HIPAA compliance software protects the privacy of all sensitive information and gives rights to the user to control the incident of violation at any given time. 

This blog series is all about a step-by-step guide to the mobile app ideation and discovery phase. It explains the significance of planning your mobile app development journey right from clarifying the vision to coming up with a solution. Also, this post describes how the right product discovery strategy proves beneficial in the longer run. You’ll learn the basics of conducting product ideation, who should be involved in this step, and some of the best practices to implement that simplifies your mobile app development process. 

Healthcare design experience has bloomed into a requirement recently, especially, when overall health has become a common problem among people due to the pandemic. Right now, consumers know what they want and expect businesses to adapt to their requirements, instead of purchasing what businesses have to offer. 

To overcome the current concerns, the healthcare industry has introduced features such as Electronic Health Records (EHR) for patients to view their data virtually. However, a healthcare experience design feature such as this has created a pressing problem where patients are avoiding direct communication with their doctors. The updates for UX in EHR systems can help to eliminate these problems over time.

Scaling graph of the missed medical appointments due to the lack of suitable transportation channels exhibits the pressing need for NEMT. The aging population and invalid people irrespective of age are guaranteed customer base which assures strong chances of success in the NEMT industry. 

The consistent patterns and service requirements are stating the need for NEMT. The huge demand in the present would be soaring further in the future. It ensures that the present time is the most congenial to start NEMT business with proper planning, patience, and prompt action.

The primary prerequisite for commencing a business is just possessing a van. But the growth you may require in the future depends on being ready and prepared for the demand and competition which will be at the peak in the upcoming time. 

Initial Steps for Newcomers to Start NEMT Business:

The newcomers need to decide whether they want to have the sole proprietorship of the business, an LLC, or a joint venture. Along with this, the transportation licensing has to be done or validated. Beginners can get more information in this regard from the State Department of Health and Human Services.  The documentation, validation and license process could be time-consuming. So, have a buffer time before launching your business. Besides this, business and marketing plan, hiring of personnel, vehicles with necessary arrangements and NEMT software are the essentials to start the business.

For Existing NEMT Business Runners:

It is time for the existing NEMT business owners to revise the various strategies and ideas to expand the operation. With the help of technology and making the staff more tech-savvy can set you at a higher level in this industry by providing quality trips and optimizing the profit out of daily scheduled trips since the entire operational tasks can be managed and monitored with NEMT software.

Whether You Are a Newcomer or Existing Business Owner, There Are Certain Steps That Will Help You Grow:

Technology-based on-demand non-emergency medical transportation is the way out for driving disadvantaged patients.”

The thought of visiting a hospital can be stressful enough. But when the question of ‘how do we go to hospital’ pops up, it further stresses out millions of Americans who cannot drive themselves for various reasons. Whether they are ill, aged, differently abled or just non-drivers, many Americans rely on friends or family for the hospital trip.

Almost everyone needs to visit a hospital or health care center at some point of time in life and transport (or the lack thereof) to the medical facility turns out to be a big hurdle for them. Even cabs or public transportation like buses, metros, and trains may not be the best choice sometimes. Did you know over 3.6 million Americans miss or delay their healthcare appointments every year? Invariably, such delays or default on medical appointments tend to cost money.

This segment of people including healthcare seekers and accompanying individuals make for a potential business opportunity for the transport industry. There are multiple transport providers in the market, both large and small, that cater to the NEMT segment.

NEMT services are usually covered under Medicaid or by health insurance and are categorized under preventive care. The transport itself could include a multitude of modes such as wheelchairs, taxicabs, sedans, SUV, stretcher cars and even air travel if one is required. The NEMT transport arrangement is brokered by some people between the transporters, patients and the healthcare centers.

However, there are critical challenges confronted by the various players in this segment:

• Tedious Process:

  The transport is often originated and coordinated from the hospital premises by care managers. They call the NEMT transport service providers manually and also organize for suitable handling equipment such as wheelchairs. In case repeated calls have to be made due to non-availability or for time reasons, it just gets more tedious.

• Identifying Transport Providers:

  Identifying the transport providers out of a few dozen operators in a given region is another daunting task. The NEMT market is fragmented and does not provide regular business. So it is an ‘also ran’ business for most of them. In such cases choosing the availability and suitability can be another challenge.

• Comparison between Providers:

  It is not easy to strike comparisons for better quality, price and any other parameter among any selected transport providers. Availability becomes the prime factor which may override other advantageous factors in the absence of comparisons. Unsuitability of the features in a particular vehicle can be frustrating for the transporter as well as the patient.

• Frauds:

Millions of people all around the world, who somehow miss medical care due to lack of transportation services, they can experience a significant improvement in terms of medical transportation with the help of NEMT (Non-Emergency Medical Transportation) services. Digitally integrated NEMT services reduce barriers to healthcare transportation. 

The Current NEMT Industry: With Traditional Technology 

As being one of the vital components of the healthcare system in the USA, annually US$5 million is spent by Medicaid and other health plans to provide the NEMT benefits which include the transportation of patients to and from doctor’s appointments, dialysis centers, and other healthcare visits. Every year, the NEMT network covers nearly 104 million trips. The demand for the service is increasing with the rise in the elderly population and life expectancy rate. The surge in the total revenue of global healthcare transportation certainly indicates the expansion of the industry.

With the rising demands, to provide the top-notch service, healthcare centers, and insurers need to utilize new technology to manage the operations smoothly, maintaining transparency. The new aspects like ridesharing, autonomous vehicles, and more are being introduced to be used in the NEMT business for optimization and better customer experiences.

Result Of Lack Of Up-to-date Technology: Malpractice In The NEMT Industry

Being a lifesaving aspect of the Medicaid program, the volume and magnitude of the industry are enormous. So, inefficiencies and malpractice results in billions of lost revenue misused funds along with higher healthcare costs.

Factors Causing Misuse of Funds:

• Fraud:

   

• Use of traditional and conventional ways like phone and fax to track and monitor trips leaves the scope for fraud. Lack of updated technology like GPS  provides the chances to produce increased mileage on trips, unavailability to book an appropriate vehicle prevents fudge medical necessity to invoice more expensive vehicle trips, Billing for the trips which never took place increases the nations health-care cost.

   

• Some Instances of Fraud Practices:

  • The dialysis patients who didn’t need ambulance transportation were provided the service. Hence, to settle the claims, two ambulance programs in Connecticut paid almost US$600,000.
  • As reported by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), the practice of attributing the rides to ceased people landed Massachusetts NEMT provider in jail with a fine of approximately US$475,000.
  • The mother faced imprisonment of 30 days with a fine of worth US$21,500 for the trips which never took place. She had billed for child treatment trips to Medicaid.

• Missed Medical Appointments :

Read More: https://mobisoftinfotech.com/resources/blog/how-technology-is-changing-the-face-of-nemt-industry/

Millions of people all around the world, who somehow miss medical care due to lack of transportation services, they can experience a significant improvement in terms of medical transportation with the help of NEMT (Non-Emergency Medical Transportation) services. Digitally integrated NEMT services reduce barriers to healthcare transportation. 

The Current NEMT Industry: With Traditional Technology 

As being one of the vital components of the healthcare system in the USA, annually US$5 million is spent by Medicaid and other health plans to provide the NEMT benefits which include the transportation of patients to and from doctor’s appointments, dialysis centers, and other healthcare visits. Every year, the NEMT network covers nearly 104 million trips. The demand for the service is increasing with the rise in the elderly population and life expectancy rate. The surge in the total revenue of global healthcare transportation certainly indicates the expansion of the industry.

With the rising demands, to provide the top-notch service, healthcare centers, and insurers need to utilize new technology to manage the operations smoothly, maintaining transparency. The new aspects like ridesharing, autonomous vehicles, and more are being introduced to be used in the NEMT business for optimization and better customer experiences.

Result Of Lack Of Up-to-date Technology: Malpractice In The NEMT Industry

Read More: https://mobisoftinfotech.com/resources/blog/how-technology-is-changing-the-face-of-nemt-industry/

Technological advancements in the healthcare industry continue to provide new ways to improve the quality of care delivered to the patients while advancing the state of the global digital healthcare system. Information technology has significantly contributed to the healthcare industry with the increasing use of telehealth services, electronic medical records, and mobile technologies.

Additionally, the demand for electronic health information exchange is surging among healthcare professionals owing to the increasing demand for an efficient healthcare system. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association showed that the patient data transmitted through Health Information Exchange (HIE) doesn’t solely depend on the technical aspects but also depends on the policies facilitating data exchange. Hence, most of the countries are focusing on introducing new policies for data exchange through their HIE systems.

There are several benefits of health information exchange which we will deep dive in this blog article. But first, let’s understand the basics of health information exchange (HIE).

What is Health Information Exchange?

Health information exchange helps doctors, nurses, patients, pharmacists, and others to seamlessly exchange vital medical information electronically with better quality, speed, security, and cost. Various companies are building HIE software that enables health information exchange using various standards. For instance, some HIEs are run by private companies, while some are run by the state governments. Meanwhile, some states even have multiple HIEs within the state.

Read More: Health Information Exchange

The introduction of Uber and the on-demand model of business is transforming every industry. The trend has now even extended to spheres like healthcare with apps for making doctor appointments and accessing other medical services.

Now, you can order your medicines online through websites and apps which don’t require you to stand at long queues at the pharmacy stores. You can just upload a picture of your prescription using your smartphone camera and get all medicines delivered right to your home.

The new online medicine ordering apps are even offering attractive discounts to gather large customer bases. According to the medical data analyst firm Tracxn, over 60 online pharmacies are operating in India and engaged in the delivery of medicines through websites and apps.

People also love the fact that they don’t have to go to the local store and can get their medicines sitting on their couch. The online medicine apps also have other benefits which we will explore below.

Read More: Order Medicine Online in India

Protected Health Information (PHI) is basically the personally identifiable health information that is protected and regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was filed or rather written 20 years ago when smartphones were a distant reality.

Therefore, everything related to this act was penned down for mostly an analog world of physical X-rays and even paper files. And in today’s era of wearables, genetic sequencing, health apps, and much more, getting a proper and precise definition of PHI can be quite difficult to understand, especially for the developers who are trying to parse or figure out whether they need to be HIPAA compliant or not.

Through this post, we hope to provide a clearer picture of what exactly is PHI or Protected Health Information and what is not considered PHI. And hopefully, you as a healthcare software developer will be able to use the below-mentioned information as a reference while you are determining if all the information that you are collecting for your digital health solution fall under PHI or not.

Read More: What is PHI

Have you harbored a dream of starting your restaurant? If yes then you would probably have all the plans in place and a host of ideas for making the business work.

However, the excessive investments involved have ensured that your intentions are yet to be put into action, haven’t they? We can hear a collective sigh in answer to this question, and most heads were nodding despondently in the affirmative. After all, dishing out the rent for the dining hall, purchasing expensive crockery and cutlery, spending a fortune on the decor, managing the salaries of a large staff; they all combine to take a massive financial toll on you. Most restaurateurs struggle to set their dream into motion. Of the ones that do, 26% fail in their very first year; primarily due to unmanageable expenses. The number would more than double itself if you extend the period to 5 years.

Don’t feel dispirited just yet though! Like they always do, technology and the genius of the human brain have collectively created a solution for this problem too.

If the rent, furniture, decor, and salaries are proving to be too expensive, get rid of them!

A decade or two ago, this statement would have sounded delusional. Today, the existence of the ghost restaurant model provides a tangible form to this solution. If you haven’t heard of a ghost restaurant, this read is bound to excite a few nerves!

What Is a Ghost Restaurant?

A ghost restaurant, also known as a virtual restaurant or delivery-only restaurant, is a 21st-century concept that attempts to deal with the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in starting a restaurant business. A ghost restaurant is a restaurant that strictly offers a delivery-only dining experience. Such a restaurant does not have a storefront. Customers can neither visit the virtual restaurant for a dine-in nor can they pick up their orders. Orders are collected through a website or an app, and the restaurant delivers the food to the customers via a third party delivery service.

Protected Health Information (PHI) is basically the personally identifiable health information that is protected and regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPAA. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was filed or rather written 20 years ago when smartphones were a distant reality.

Therefore, everything related to this act was penned down for mostly an analog world of physical X-rays and even paper files. And in today’s era of wearables, genetic sequencing, health apps, and much more, getting a proper and precise definition of PHI can be quite difficult to understand, especially for the developers who are trying to parse or figure out whether they need to be HIPAA compliant or not.

Through this post, we hope to provide a clearer picture of what exactly is PHI or Protected Health Information and what is not considered PHI. And hopefully, you as a healthcare software developer will be able to use the below-mentioned information as a reference while you are determining if all the information that you are collecting for your digital health solution fall under PHI or not.

Covered Entities and Business Associates

Before we proceed further to talk about the definition of PHI, what information constitutes PHI and what doesn’t, let’s first understand two major definitions under HIPAA and those are – Business Associates and Covered Entities.

Covered Entities

A covered entity is basically a person who provides treatment, payment, as well as the operations in the healthcare sector. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses fall under the covered entities. The healthcare providers usually include doctors, clinics, dentists, psychologists, nursing homes, pharmacies, chiropractors, and last but not the least, the hospitals.

Health plans include the health insurance companies, company health plans, HMOs, Medicare & Medicaid. In fact, schools and employers that handle the PHI in order to enroll their employees and students in any sort of health plan also fall under the definition of a Health Plan.

The introduction of Uber and the on-demand model of business is transforming every industry. The trend has now even extended to spheres like healthcare with apps for making doctor appointments and accessing other medical services.

Now, you can order your medicines online through websites and apps which don’t require you to stand at long queues at the pharmacy stores. You can just upload a picture of your prescription using your smartphone camera and get all medicines delivered right to your home.

The new online medicine ordering apps are even offering attractive discounts to gather large customer bases. According to the medical data analyst firm Tracxn, over 60 online pharmacies are operating in India and engaged in the delivery of medicines through websites and apps.

People also love the fact that they don’t have to go to the local store and can get their medicines sitting on their couch. The online medicine apps also have other benefits which we will explore below.

Benefits of Medicine Ordering Apps

So, why should you look at creating your own medicine ordering apps? Here is a look at the benefits for both customers and businesses.

For Customers-

You can get your medicines while sitting on your couch

The apps offer great discounts and other incentives like free shipping

Get reminders about your medicine needs

Access a vast range of information on prescription drugs and medicines

For Pharmacies-

Pharmacies can have an online presence and increase their customer base

They can attract new customers and reach new geographical locations

Search medicines and look for generic alternatives

Stores can manage their inventory digitally and get helpful reminders and notifications on expiry dates

Offer different schemes and marketing campaigns to customers

Provide a superior level of customer service

Advantage or refill orders from repeat customers

Click on the above link for more details.

We offer HIPAA compliant mhealth app development solutions and services for everything from appointment bookings to medication tracking.

Accepting and managing appointments via phone calls or in-person is time-consuming and inefficient. Let us empower your clinics or hospital with a custom medical appointment scheduling software to make your appointment booking process online and seamless.

The mass adoption of the internet and the rise of an on-demand economy has increased the need for fast and affordable delivery services. We need things delivered to our doorstep whether it is online shopping, booking tickets, buying food, getting parcels or ordering groceries. Companies are investing heavily in innovation and technology to make the last mile delivery more efficient and cost-effective.

Technological advances have made it possible for drones to be an alternative for traditional delivery services. It can work without human intervention, cut down costs, and deliver products in a matter of hours.

Today we will explore the future of drones and logistics finding out how they can be used for every day delivery.

How Do Drones Help?

Drone is a small aircraft which can be flown without the need of a human pilot. Generally, drones have several fans similar to helicopters which enable it to fly. Drones can carry small objects and items such as cameras which can collect visual information. Currently, many companies are working on drones which can carry other objects with increased loads and higher speeds.

Drones are also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and can be controlled through remote control by a pilot on the ground or through autonomous ways. Drones have been used by the military for surveillance and carrying out operations. They also had some civil applications such as firefighting, policing and security work.

The market of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) stood at $609 million in 2014 and predicted to reach $4.8 billion by 2021. A huge number of applications for drones are on the horizon such as geographical and land mapping, monitoring of fuel and power lines, package delivery, agricultural uses and so on.

Current Players

Drones are being used and experimented by many companies, agencies and individuals. The drone market includes many players consisting of retailers, drone manufacturers and logistics companies. Let’s take a brief look at them-