The healthcare sector is currently experiencing unprecedented growth. The global healthcare market reached a value of $8,452 billion in the year 2018 and is expected to grow to nearly $11,908 billion by the end of the year 2022 at a compound annual growth rate of 8.9%. The increase in population, rising health needs, and the growing penetration of cloud-based services in healthcare are all boosting the global market growth.
The advancement of digital communication plays a vital role in healthcare management. With the increasing demand for quality healthcare services, telehealth solutions are becoming more critical. Today, the healthcare sector is focusing on faster and more reliable communication platforms to deliver unified healthcare solutions while bringing down overhead expenses and providing patients with dedicated support, even in emergency times. The patients of the current era are also more comfortable using digital services for complex issues such as medicine and health care.
Modern healthcare is increasingly being delivered remotely via telehealth services, with several benefits to both providers and patients: It is cost-effective, provides value in managing long-term conditions, and is fast and easy for patients to access.
WhatsApp Business API for the healthcare sector
The idea of using WhatsApp Business API for healthcare has been around only for a few months, as the healthcare sector has been relatively slow to embrace new technologies and incorporate them into their everyday operations. However, there is no other better way of improving this sector and satisfying the clients than to combine the benefits of healthcare services with the reach and power of the world’s most powerful instant messaging app.
Appointment reminders
According to the Health Management Technology report, healthcare systems lose nearly $150 billion every year due to missed appointments. Therefore, having a system that can automatically call or message patients with a set-interval reminder is critical. With WhatsApp Business API, healthcare organizations can send automated reminders with relatively little effort.
Quick resolutions
Healthcare professionals can provide quick resolutions to the queries of each patient, regardless of the time of the day and the geographical location of the patient. Medical advice and other essential health reports can be shared with patients at a moment’s notice with WhatsApp.
Easy access to patient health record
Healthcare specialists may not be able to effectively determine a patient’s condition if they do not have access to their medical files. WhatsApp Business allows doctors and caregivers to access all relevant information related to their patients. By integrating WhatsApp Business API with third-party tools, healthcare organizations can store patients’ medical data. This enables doctors to provide the right care to their patients in a timely manner.
Collaborative research
There will be times when health specialists from different organizations need to study several similar cases to recognize the pattern or prescribe an apt treatment to patients based on the existing data. In such cases, creating a WhatsApp group can bring together all the healthcare professionals in a single platform and can allow them to share some trials that can aid in recognizing patterns and possible treatment processes.