DevOps in Healthcare: Benefits, Implementation Steps, and Expert Guide

The healthcare industry has grown rapidly in the last few decades due to the rapid acceptance of emerging technologies. Several innovations and modernizations, like mHealth apps, telemedicine, nanomedicine, and AI-driven diagnosis, have been used to improve patient care and delivery by lowering costs. 

Some are still using age-old systems, which are hampering the adoption of modern technologies. However, most now consider quickly adapting to this increasing pace of technology to transmute their operations. As per reports, over 70% of healthcare organizations have adopted DevOps to facilitate automation. 

DevOps principles provide the foundations for successfully adopting this change. They emphasize collaboration, communication, and integration between teams. An institute moving toward implementing DevOps requires upgrading its processes to catch up with its fundamental tenets. A team with experience in custom software development services can add value throughout the process. 

With accurate implementation, an institute can streamline its operations and leverage all the benefits of DevOps in healthcare. 

What is DevOps, and How Does it Work?

DevOps is a methodology that involves the strategic combination of teams working on developing products (Dev) with the team dealing with the backend and IT operations (Ops). This approach aids in improving the speed, efficiency, and security of solutions. 

Its practices can accelerate delivery through automation, quick feedback, and improvements. This methodology shortens the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)  by offering continuous delivery through automation services. 

DevOps combines two departments to provide quick, effective, and secure software solutions. But how does this work? What is the process behind it? It revolves around collaboration, automation, and integration. 

• It breaks down the silos between teams and allows for more improved collaboration between them.
• DevOps aids in automating the development process by reducing manual tasks and speeding up the delivery. 
• Enhanced communication and collaboration improve transparency among teams and allow them to focus on specific goals. 

Challenges in Traditional Healthcare Systems

Papers and spreadsheets have aroused various challenges in front of healthcare institutions. These challenges negatively impacted the operations, patient care, and the overall growth of healthcare institutions. Here are some of them:

• Traditional healthcare processes often rely on outdated tech and systems. This makes it quite difficult to implement new solutions more promptly. 
• Various healthcare providers often utilize disparate systems that do not promote communication with each other. This results in creating data silos.
• Data is sensitive, and a paper-based or legacy systems approach can create problems with security and compliance. 
• Outdated ways of working in healthcare organizations struggled to meet the growing needs, affecting performance. 

Role of DevOps in Healthcare 

The traditional mode of managing healthcare operations has indeed grasped innumerable challenges. These have slowed down healthcare processes. The introduction of technologies, healthcare applications like mhealth, telehealth, or telemedicine apps, and methodologies like DevOps have transcended and improved healthcare operations. Here is why DevOps for healthcare industry emerged as a solution to the problem:

• The continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) practices of DevOps automate the building, testing, and integration process. This allows healthcare organizations to quickly develop and release updates on healthcare solutions. 
• The automated alerts and feedback process that this methodology uses helps in improving healthcare software solutions. Automated alerts enable bug resolution from the software solution and improve its functioning. 
• DevOps strongly emphasizes enhancing the security of solutions throughout the SDLC. Automated security testing., vulnerability scanning, and various security practices align the software with HIPAA and GDPR compliance. 
• DevOps in healthcare automates various manual IT tasks, from software deployment to testing. When the majority of the manual tasks are automatically completed, resulting in not only reducing costs but also improving the efficiency of solutions. 

Benefits of DevOps in Healthcare IT

DevOps is not a brand-new approach; it has been on the market for over a decade. Every industry has used it, leveraging all its benefits and improving operations. This is one of the premier digital transformation in healthcare. 

Successful implementation brings countless benefits, from process automation to accelerated development cycles. Here are some of the eye-opening benefits:

• Process Automation 

DevOps automates manual tasks, like appointment scheduling, data entry, and inventory management, allowing healthcare professionals to focus on more patient care. However, opting for a DevOps automation service is wise to ensure automation works optimally. 

• Improved Patient Care

DevOps can greatly improve patient care by enabling quick software updates. This results in more efficient healthcare operations. How?

• Patients can quickly access all the information, from doctor’s info to their diagnosis. 
• New technologies, features, and applications like telehealth or mhealth can enhance patient care.

• Enhanced Data Analytics

The successful implementation of DevOps in healthcare ensures continuous monitoring and analysis of patient data. 

Healthcare providers will gain deeper insights into the data, enabling them to identify trends and make informed decisions based on data. 

• Increased System Reliability 

A healthcare organization’s systems must work optimally and flawlessly to improve patient reliability. Digital transformation in healthcare, including DevOps, has introduced several practices, from continuous monitoring to automated testing, reducing the possibility of mistakes. 

•  Optimum Security

Earlier, when paper-heavy work was highly influential among hospitals and clinics, chances of data loss were exponentially high. There were several issues like:

• Physical loss or damage in case files could be misplaced or damaged by any accident.
• Paper-heavy data was vulnerable to theft or unauthorized viewing.
• It was difficult to track who edited the module last. 

All these issues were highly prevalent. However, security has improved with newer technologies and DevOps in the healthcare sector. A specific team would help integrate the required security practices throughout the SDLC. This would aid in early detection and mitigate vulnerabilities through automated testing and continuous monitoring, reducing safety risks. 

However, custom DevSecOps solutions can help secure healthcare applications further by ensuring they comply with security regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, etc. 

• Better Collaboration and Communication 

DevOps fosters collaboration by breaking down the silos between the development and operations departments. This encourages knowledge-sharing throughout the software development lifecycle and resolving issues. 

How DevOps in Healthcare Can be Applied?

There are various ways that a healthcare organization can apply DevOps in its operations and improve efficiency. The process requires experience, and it is wise to partner with a skilled DevOps partner. Here are some examples of how a healthcare organization can use this methodology:

• Electronic Health Record Systems

A healthcare institute can develop EHR software to improve patient care by providing quick access to complete information and reducing medical errors. DevOps helps in:

• Promptly deploying new features and fixing bugs in EHR systems to improve functionality and patient experience.
• Streamlining data flow between different EHR systems and external sources.
• Promotes continuous monitoring and aids in taking immediate corrective measures to resolve errors.

• Telehealth Applications 

Telehealth apps like Doctor on Demand, mHealth, HealthTap, and more primarily focus on improving patient care and efficiency. The usage of DevOps can further enhance healthcare services by:

• The amalgamation of development and operation aids in quickly launching new and much-required features, like video conferencing, appointment booking, and remote patient monitoring.
• This helps in reducing silos between teams.  

• Medical Device Management Systems

These are built to ensure safe, effective, and reliable medical devices’ use. DevOps makes them more capable through quick development cycles, better quality control, and rapid issue resolution. 

• Personalized Medical Applications

Building a custom healthcare software solution leveraging DevOps can analyze large datasets and provide patient-specific personalized treatment plans. Also, the capabilities of AI in healthcare can be used to further improve decision-making ability and gain real-time insights based on individual patients’ data. 

Points to Consider Before DevOps Implementation in Healthcare

Every step requires precision, and precise steps can lead to success. Similarly, it is wise to consider some important pointers before implementing this software development methodology. Here are some points a healthcare industry should consider:

• Should be Secured

Safety remains a top priority for every software development methodology. Because patient data should remain confidential, it is wise to consider security in DevOps implementation for a healthcare application. This includes aptly taking robust security measures throughout development and must comply with healthcare regulations like HIPAA. 

• Sustainable for Long-term Goals

DevOps implementation in Healthcare sector should be sustainable enough to meet your long-term goals. This means choosing the tools and techniques that can be maintained and easily updated over time. 

• Automation With Human Touch

Automation is a key feature of DevOps, but it is important to maintain a human touch, especially in the healthcare sector. This ensures that valid checks and balances are in place and that human oversight is maintained for critical processes. 

• Assistance from Experts

Implementing DevOps can be complex. Hence, it is wise to hire dedicated DevOps developers to ensure the successful implementation of this methodology. The experts can offer guidance on best practices, help select and integrate the right tools, and train the team to use the software effectively.

Steps for DevOps Implementation in Healthcare

Every successful process is the outcome of combined steps aligned to it. Similarly, DevOps implementation in the healthcare industry equipped some important steps. A strategically woven approach is quintessential in achieving the desired efficiency and outcome. Here are the main steps that an expert cloud and DevOps service provider should follow:

• Prepare a Working Plan

Start the process with the required step, which is creating a plan. You can evaluate your current IT architecture to evaluate the tools, techniques, or methods you use. The assessment aids in finding the areas of scope and the methods required. Plus, you can consider the human and technical resources requirements. Moreover, your assessment should be based on the current capabilities of your system.

You end up building a strong working plan to complete the DevOps implementation. 

• Create Cross-Functional Teams

After building a plan, the next step is to form teams that can cross functionally work. This will bring in the individual with all-inclusive expertise in DevOps implementation. In the case of some highly complex algorithms, domain-specific DevOps developers and healthcare experts are required. This approach is crucial in reducing the intricacies involved. 

• Set Clear Goals

Clear goal setting works like a guiding light in the implementation of DevOps in the healthcare industry. You must set SMART goals by ensuring the implementation aligns with the algorithmic accuracy. This helps in maintaining the reliability. 

You should also establish ways to track the progress of DevOps implementation and assess its effectiveness. The present world’s complexity is evident in every sector. Establishing goals that directly relate to reducing deployment time, increasing efficiency, and attaining regulatory compliance can work well in resolving unique healthcare challenges. 

• Customizing DevOps for Healthcare 

Once you have completed the process by setting clear goals, it is wise to customize the DevOps strategy for healthcare. This includes aligning the DevOps methodology to fit flawlessly with the healthcare workforce. Three key aspects of DevOps support this:

• Continuous Integration 

This reduces the complexities of development and provides an error-free process. Regular and automated code integration changes ensure that the healthcare mobile applications work optimally.  

• Automated Testing

Whether telehealth, mhealth, or diagnostic softwares, their reliance on complex algorithms makes it quintessential to complete rigorous testing for efficient running. This emerges as a crucial need to ensure the optimum working of these applications. 

• Continuous Deployment

Continuous Deployment (CD) ensures that it aligns with patient safety standards and regulatory compliance. This must balance the rapid deployment of algorithmic updates and an in-depth validation process. 

• Integrate Apt Security Measures

Security is crucial, and integrating the right measures can help build a safety layer throughout the software solution. DevOps in mobile app development should follow security integrity at every layer, from code to deployment. This includes embedding crucial security features to fight against potential vulnerabilities. 

Also, DevOps implementation in Healthcare must comply with healthcare regulations like HIPAA and GDPR. These regulations help resolve specific requirements relating to security and data handling. 

• Continuous Monitoring

This is the final stage, where feedback on the working process or anything aligned with the development process should be resolved. A skilled developer’s team would follow a micro approach to ensure optimal resolution of all minute errors. Constant monitoring allows the system to remain performant even at peak times. 

Future Trends of DevOps for the Healthcare Industry

It becomes crucial to stay aligned with the DevOps trends in the healthcare industry to make a competitive presence and provide information more quickly to patients. The adoption of various technologies is widely evident in the industry. Here are some of the trends to consider: 

• Adoption of AI and ML

Technology is becoming smarter, with AI and ML integrated into healthcare to analyze patient data and predict disease risks. By leveraging DevOps practices, these technologies can be incorporated into CI/CD pipelines, enabling rapid deployment and automation of data analysis. This collaboration enhances the efficiency of healthcare applications, allowing for features like advanced image analysis and multimodal data integration.

• Usage of Serverless or Microservice Architecture

This approach eliminates the need for servers and teams associated with them to manage them, allowing DevOps developers to focus on doing the right things that can improve a solution. This aids in:

• Scalable and flexible deployment of healthcare applications based on demand. 
• Optimizing the efficient utilization of resources
• Improving resilience through distributed system design

• Blockchain for Security

Blockchain assists in improving the security of applications. This aids in:

• Securing patient data sharing across healthcare providers while maintaining patient privacy.
• Tracking medication history and provenance to prevent drug counterfeiting.
• Implementing tamper-proof electronic health records (EHRs).

• IoT and Wearables 

The future of DevOps in the healthcare sector upholds various significant changes, including IoT and wearables. This will aid in:

• With smartwatches and fitness trackers, continuous patient monitoring is possible
• Proactive interventions and early health issues detection are possible with Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)
• Integrating IoT data into Electronic Health Records (EHRs) enables comprehensive patient analysis. Incorporating real-time data from various health monitoring devices allows a clearer view of patient health.

Leverage the Expertise of SparxIT in Transforming Healthcare With DevOps

DevOps is transforming the entire healthcare sector, fostering better communication and collaboration among teams. This leads to better security and faster innovation. However, the complexities are unavoidable throughout the DevOps in mobile app development process. That’s where SparxIT emerges as a fiducial in harnessing the complete potential of DevOps. 

Our team understands the unique needs of the healthcare sector. We have a proven track record of assisting several organizations embracing the complete potential of DevOps. We put our years of experience to guide you effectively by completely understanding your unique needs.

By partnering with SparxIT, you can gain a significant edge. We enhance security throughout your healthcare software development life cycle and promote better team communication. This translates to quality and custom healthcare software solutions development that improve patient outcomes and drive operational efficiency. We are here to assist you in leveraging the potential of DevOps to transform your healthcare organization. 

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why is DevOps important for healthcare software development?

DevOps in healthcare is important because it improves software and systems’ efficiency, security, and quality, leading to enhanced patient care.

• What are the key benefits of DevOps in the healthcare industry?

Some of the key benefits include enhanced data analytics, reduced silos between teams by promoting collaboration and communication, improved patient care, and enhanced security. 

• Which tools are commonly used for DevOps in healthcare software development?

Some commonly used DevOps tools in healthcare software development include Ansible, Docker, Jenkins, Terraform, Kubernetes, and more. 

• How does DevOps ensure HIPAA compliance in healthcare applications?

Automating the implementation of robust security measures throughout the development lifecycle, including encryption, access controls, regular security updates, and rigorous testing. 

• What role does DevOps play in securing healthcare data?

It helps secure healthcare data by promoting a culture of continuous security integration throughout the development lifecycle, enabling faster identification and remediation of vulnerabilities.