Improving Patient Outcomes in Healthcare Through Test Automation Technology

When considering the role of testing in the healthcare industry, the process of diagnosing and tracking patient progress comes to mind most often. But there is a whole other angle of testing that is critical to positive patient outcomes, and that is healthcare software and system testing. While a more behind-the-scenes testing, it is imperative that physicians and support staff have access to high quality software, systems, and digital tools throughout the patient care process. And, while automated testing practices have been utilized across many industries to improve such solutions, a recent survey revealed that the healthcare industry lags in deploying test automation solutions. This is where technology companies, like Keysight, can play a role in improving patient outcomes in healthcare management and help drive quality improvements in the medical field.

Importance of Healthcare Software Testing

Software and digital systems are employed across the healthcare ecosystem, from wearables and instrumentation to communications systems, telehealth applications and, of course, electronic medical record (EMR) systems. The pandemic sped this transition to digital and integrated systems in support of more virtual patient management — and those changes are here to stay. Ensuring these digital solutions function and interface accurately is critical for medical staff to be able to make quick, sometimes lifesaving, decisions for their patients. Poorly designed user interfaces, system glitches, and lack of cross-system integration can lead to medical errors. This is what makes testing so important.

Challenges of Healthcare Software Testing

The exponential growth in systems and software has strained healthcare quality assurance leaders who have needed to quickly scale systems amid talent shortages, budget and time constraints, and strict regulations on protected health information. However, because of these challenges, testing tended to rely on traditional methodologies, manual, or sometimes homegrown solutions.

Speeding Quality Deployments with Test Automation

Test automation methodologies used by other industries can also help speed deployment of quality healthcare systems. Automating testing can enhance testing coverage, reduce time to release, free up staff and resources, and lead to fewer software defects. As a result, healthcare leaders are eager to embrace test automation. In fact, 75% of respondents in the Vital Signs survey — a collaboration between Keysight Technologies and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) — stated that they "plan to move to primarily automated testing during the next five years."

That is good news for the healthcare industry, medical professionals, and patients alike.

To help healthcare IT professionals in this endeavor, Keysight offers an AI-powered suite of software test automation solutions tailored to their industry. We are committed to building intelligent test automation solutions for the healthcare industry and help bring quality care to everyone.