Can you think of an industry that hasn’t improved because of advanced technology? It’s hard to come up with one; much easier to think about where technology has made our lives better. A good example would be the medical world, where everything from robotic surgeries to electronic health records (EHR) -- plus these five integrated healthcare technologies -- are leading to more patient-friendly futures.

Computer technology firm Symantec is warning consumers that an infamous trojan virus still targets healthcare data across the United States and around the world. This infamous piece of malware hides among image files downloaded with pirated software.

In this day and age, evolving technologies surround and influence people and businesses the world over. Technology has advanced by massive leaps and bounds in recent years, ushering in convenient developments like autonomous self-driving cars. However, in terms of industries for which artificial intelligence (AI) can do the most good, healthcare is at the top of the list.

For hospitals, readmission rates are a key performance indicator (KPI). They indicate the quality of care your practice provides and what sort of resources you need in reserve to avoid overcrowding. Some legislation even reduces government payouts to hospitals with high readmission rates.

If your organization hosts data regulated by the US government, you're familiar with the scare tactics used to sell hosting services. But what lurks behind those vague threats of expensive lawsuits and unfair liability burdens? HIPAA is nearly 100 pages long and few providers actually know what it requires.

Computers have changed the world in so many obviously amazing ways that cataloguing them is hardly necessary. But what about the more mundane areas of business where technology has changed things, such as with assembly lines or recordkeeping systems? Digital technology has in fact totally transformed the latter, especially in the healthcare industry with something called EHR.

EHR stands for “Electronic Health Record” and a lot can go into getting your practice ready for one of these data-sharing, network-connected, enterprise-wide information systems.

The mere mention of the word “technology” elicits a certain expectation. Namely, that we’re dealing with something that’s modern, and new, and has the potential to change our lives. The word “disruptive” is also indicative of change, so a term like “disruptive technology” may seem redundant.

Medical records are generally inaccessible and hard to understand. In fact, if you were to try reading your own medical data, you might find that it’s almost as if it’s in a different language. A medical record can be riddled with cryptic phrases, acronyms and complex terms that mean nothing in the eyes of someone that didn’t study medicine for eight years.

ESPN recently reported that a laptop containing the medical records of thousands of NFL players was stolen from the car of a Washington Redskins’ trainer. And while the team released a statement saying no health information protected under HIPAA guidelines was at risk, the incident shows that EMRs are vulnerable no matter the size of your company.

“We are living in a digital world, and healthcare practices need a URL”. If Madonna could change the lyrics of her 1984 classic to speak to the healthcare industry, she may have sang something like this. A URL is just one facet of the digital strategy that hospitals and private practices alike will need to adapt if they wish to remain competitive in today’s world.