5 Ways Nearshore IT Can Help the Healthcare Industry Respond to COVID-19

As the world has acted in response to the fast-spreading novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, no industry has been more heavily hit with demand--and new funds--than healthcare.

In the US alone, the government has already invested over $4 billion in companies seeking a vaccine to stem the pandemic spread. Congress has even approved another $6 billion for after the vaccine exists --to ensure the potential life-saving measure is produced, manufactured, and distributed to those who will take it.

And this is not to speak of the billions being invested across the 350 million-person nation in new hospitals, PPE, advanced care, teladoc infrastructure and more--from federal, state, and private sources.

But money alone is not a problem-solver. Rather, it merely enables people to collect the resources required to solve the problems. Without a significant infusion of staffing, a dedicated investment in technological solutions, and a trained workforce, no amount of cash will catalyze the healthcare industry in the US to be positioned to serve the nation at this time of crisis. In this video from McKinsey & Co, experts talk about how healthcare is becoming digital and evolving.

This is where nearshore IT can play an important helping role. Here are 5 ways how.

1. Create and Maintain Patient Healthcare Apps

In the last decade, new technology has already revolutionized healthcare. Today, an app inside your phone can tell you more in minutes than a visit to the doctor’s office ever could in hours of time.

It’s no surprise that such apps have been essential in the fight to ramp up COVID-19 testing around the country. As we now know, the longer the wait for results, the less effective testing as a preventative measure can be. And without trained developers ready to scale up the building of such apps, it will be impossible for the industry to keep up with demand.

Enter nearshore IT: thousands of developers are available through nearshore staffing firms (like Jobsity) to aid in the creation, maintenance, and improvement of the technology needed to keep people safe -- like these apps. And they’re even in your time zone.

2. Aggregation and Dissemination of National Health Data

Since the onset of the pandemic early in 2020, the world has learned how important data is. Every day, journalists, politicians, and healthcare professionals rely on data from private groups like the Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering, Healtmap, and TheBaseLab, governmental bodies like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Singapore Ministry of Health, and the World Health Organization, and journalistic outlets like the BBC, the New York Times, and the Guardian to keep track of an ongoing public health emergency.

Behind each data set, data display, and interactive data map: an IT team working around the clock to update, maintain, and ensure efficient technology supports the project.

With so many interests working to support work of such vital importance, nearshore IT is available to help internationally and in any capacity required. That’s the beauty of highly trained, multi-lingual, remote support.

3. Develop and Improve Hand-Held Medical Tech

If you visit a hospital today, you’ll notice one thing absent from the hands of doctors and nurses: pens and paper. Rather, most medical professionals across the US enter patient vital signs and pertinent information straight into handheld computers, and these computers not only ensure patient information is stored safely, up-to-date, and shared with a broad team of healthcare workers and patient advocates, but helps these medical professionals ensure that the care provided in response to that information is cutting edge, effective, and precise.

With the introduction of new medical demands, novel viruses, and strained hospital capacity, it makes sense that the IT staff tasked with using, running, and improving such tech would also require expansion.

Luckily, nearshore IT teams are trained in building, updating, and improving this kind of healthcare technology, regardless of where they’re located.

4. Wearables and Sensors

In the last decade, wearable technology has become an important trend in the field of preventative healthcare. But today, with an international healthcare emergency currently unfolding, such tech has the potential to stem the tide of suffering for millions.

Inside hospitals, in testing centers, in people’s homes--technology once imagined to be a “nice have” are becoming “must have” pieces. For example, Fingertip Pulse Oximeters, once the purview of doctor’s offices, and now being purchased for home use, since they are seen as a strong indicator of if a patient with COVID-19 needs hospitalization or not.

Behind this upsurge in demand for wearable and at-home healthcare tech, is a demand for developers and IT professionals to support the development, improvement, and effective use of such devices. Rather than training thousands of US-based workers to do this work--a slow, taxing, and expensive process--nearshore IT is an immediate and ready solution.

5. General Staffing Capacity

One thing technology does well is increase the effectiveness of each worker in the field. If it once took 100 people to build a car, technology means it can be done today with 7. Likewise, in health, and especially during a serious healthcare emergency, more can be done with fewer feet on the ground.

Yet those working in healthcare and even healthcare tech are not immune to the challenges posed by a novel virus. With tens of thousands across the US falling sick every day, the staff tasked with the important IT support required to keep a technologically-enhanced healthcare system running are also going to get sick.

By investing in an adept and skilled nearshore IT team, healthcare technology can maintain strong staffing solutions throughout a pandemic event--especially since such teams will be geographically dispersed, and thus not likely to be hit by a virus outbreak at the same time.

Nearshore IT: One Part of the Healthcare Tech Solution

Money alone won’t stop the spread of a new virus, and technology alone won’t either. Rather, skilled developers, nimble IT teams, and a strategic deployment of both nearshore and onsite teams will make the difference between getting the world back onto steady footing sooner, or later, and improving outcomes for those struck with COVID-19 now, and before it’s too late.

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