Direct Employment vs. Outsourcing to Technology Company

It's a common phenomena and perhaps human nature to take sides, when we debate among ourselves regarding certain topic and hence get involved in endless arguments! Similarly, the subject of 'Direct Employment versus Outsourcing to Technology Company' is something that is now going on for years. But, if we keep aside all our prejudices for a few minutes and think deeply we will understand the real essence of it all in a much simpler way.

Let me provide a real life scenario. You are a start up with an excellent idea that can capture the imagination of millions of consumer, which can become a big success story, provided you initiate and launch your technology product “in time” into the market. In such circumstances, what should be the next steps? Since, we all know having an idea is not an exception and thousands of intelligent people have them.  Actually the major hurdle in form of multiple challenges (Challenges of different shapes and sizes) comes before us when we start the process of implementing our idea in reality. It can be dilemma of choosing the right marketplace/demographic, then developing the quality product precisely as vision and then of course doing it in time (Just cannot help, but had to mention the time factor once again).

Let us elaborate these challenges a bit more. First is your geographical location. If you are located in a geographical area where it is difficult to find qualified and technically sound developers in your preferred technology (You have decided on this technology after doing a detailed market study) then what are the options left for you? Look for a developer who is willing to travel to your part of the country, who is probably excellent, work as per your advice and deliver in time? Well, if you are lucky enough you might get such a match. But what are your chances? Trust me, it’s less than 20%. For arguments sake I am considering you as one of this 20% lucky entrepreneurs then? Well then the next set of challenges crops up. We can assume that these are early days for your business start up and hence your wallet is not as healthy or fat as you would have liked. This does bring the following complications in the table, which we cannot ignore.

1. Relocation of the developer involves time and money.

2. Your IT infrastructure has to be ready before the developer joins.

3. You might be thinking a single developer will be enough to meet your technological needs, but in reality it's not so. For proper execution of your idea, you will need multiple skills which include but not limited to product design, planning, UI, database implementation, setting up architecture, coding, deployment and so on. Honestly its more complicated than we think initially.

4. The craziest part is the charge recruiters’ demand for such a candidate from you. Sometimes if you select a candidate introduced by a recruiter, you may end up paying him / her around 35% of the first year's salary of the hired candidate and that too in advance.

5. Though, you are already lucky as Obamacare will save you from draining out high medical insurance.

Such a scenario is also applicable, if you are providing web and mobile application services and there is a huge demand for the same in your part of the world and you have very good contacts.
I would rather choose to outsource such work after proper screening of the potential and technological prowess of the company in question through interviews utilizing video calls, checking their references and previous experiences and of course after signing a well written agreement document covering all the necessary clauses.

But what, if the work involved is in a technology where human resource is available locally? Yes, then you can opt for direct employment, if it is available at a cost which is manageable. My standpoint is, outsource your work when it is necessary, to a qualified technology company who even when located at a different geographical region are accessible through various modes of telecommunication as per your convenience and can provide you with quality skill at a reasonable price. Whereas go for direct employment when the resources are available nearby and is within your budget.

MOBILE HEALTH AND GROWING EFFICIENCY

If you are thinking that the benefit of mobile applications was only for patient, you are wrong. The impact of mobile connectivity is on the entire healthcare industry, bringing ample efficiency to each parties of the value chain. These applications have been beneficial to healthcare professionals in several ways like enhancing connectivity, tracking reports, appointment reminders, and make big data calculations.

Now that you have got a brief idea on the importance of the usability, let’s take look on the efficiency result. What about the overall impact of applications on the industry? Or, how good is it? Before you get baffled with all the dilemmas, let’s have a very surface note on the areas where mobile health applications has brought all round efficiency to the entire industry.

The Deloitte Center for Health Solutions 2013 Survey of U.S. Physicians found that most doctors believe that meaningful adoption of mobile health technology can improve the efficiency of clinical practice. Now, any patient would be more likely in contact with the doctor, at the occurrence of the symptoms, which would increase the efficiency of care coordination.

If you have the healthcare applications, you would always stay updated to your medical records. You will know the where’s and how’s of every phase, which will in turn reduce the chances of mishaps and medical frauds. During this process, the customers and the patients become significant stakeholders of the application. By this, the application increases efficiency on the part of the patients. Remember the days when you dreaded the visit to the doctor? Today, with these applications, you can reach to your doctors within several convenient communication routes. Even if you fail to reach one, there are pretty healthy chances, that you will find assistance from someone else. This increased interaction helps lead improved health.

When an application is linked to a medical tool, the instant result is creation of more patient data. This data when analyzed and understood is guaranteed to lead to more accurate predictions in the healthcare industry.

Healthcare in Mobility

There was a time, when getting treatment for even the most common diseases was an uphill task. Whereas today, thanks to technology even the most fatal of health issues can be addressed conveniently. More so, with the value change brought by healthcare oriented mobile apps, which made the communication between doctors and patients much simpler and hassle free.

Trisha Torrey, founder and director of Alliance of Professional Health Advocates, says “The words that comes to my mind to define the past heath care experiences are ‘tightly controlled’ and ‘paternalistic.’ “Because of patient shifts, policy adjustments, technological advances, and easy accessibility to treatment, over the last decade, healthcare industry has moved towards a more patient centric approach, that prioritizes prevention and offers easy care. “Heath is driven by health care, but it also is driven as much by everything that is not health care – all the social factors, economic factors and demographics,” says Maulik Joshi, senior vice president and CEO of the American Hospital Association’s Health Research & Educational Trust.

The hospitals of yesterday were quite different from the sprawling healthcare initiatives that are common in USA today. The hospital industry continues to evolve, streamline, and improve patient care, by integrating big data that has ultimately moved the entire industry from a fee-for-service to a fee- for-outcome model.

The role of mobile applications

From the availability of mobile apps for daily calorie monitoring to complete medical records on the mobile phone, there has been a drastic change in the way mobile has taken up the healthcare world. In fact, apart from nutrition based apps, you can also find interesting options on ways to check your heartbeat, monitor blood sugar levels, or get relevant blood donor. Thus the mobile dominant healthcare industry is informed, digital, and more active now. This latest trend set by mobile applications are transforming healthcare, increasing efficiency, lowering treatment costs, and improving outcomes. It aims at bringing treatment and care to the easy access of one and all. The applications assist these professionals with important tasks, such as: information and time management, health record maintenance and access, communications and consulting, reference and information gathering, patient monitoring, online health education. Most importantly, it is seen that these benefits have a very positive effect on patient care outcomes.

Top healthcare applications like Medscape, Epocrates, DocsInk and Micromedex, has already won trust of many within the healthcare chain, because of its significant and market standard features, and unprecedented communication platform. These applications have brought productive efficiency not only to the industry, but have also stated the fact as true that ‘care is omnipresent.’

Fact is mobile applications are set to further facilitate patient care and therefore positively impact the healthcare industry.  So now is the time to bring your wellness structure on easy accessible screens to connect with the key ingredients of your service i.e. doctors and patients and make them believe that you care.