What Healthcare Providers
Need to Know About Software
Engineering in Healthcare Innovation

Over the last decade, the healthcare industry has evolved rapidly at a never-before-seen pace. Besides advances in medical science, we can credit much of this progress to innovations in computer technology, especially software engineering. As such, it is really important for today’s healthcare providers to have a good understanding of the potential of software engineering in healthcare.

But what should healthcare providers know about software engineering? And how can they stay ahead in an era of rapid digital transformation? This article will delve into that. We will also answer another key question: Will software engineering be replaced by AI?

Key Takeaways:

• Software engineering helps reduce administrative burden and enhance patient care.
• AI is reshaping software engineering but still needs human expertise.
• Human oversight is still needed to ensure AI outputs are accurate and reliable.
• The demand for software engineers is shifting, with new opportunities emerging in specialized roles.

1. How Software Engineering is Changing Healthcare

Software engineering is more than just writing code or building an app. It includes everything from design and development to the maintenance of safe and reliable software systems that automate daily operations and clinical workflows ⁽¹⁾.

In healthcare, software engineering helps manage the heavy administrative burden and unpredictable work environments in which medical professionals regularly do their jobs. By bringing innovative solutions that improve efficiency, it buys them the time they need to focus on patient care ⁽²⁾.

These complex software systems help manage health records, allow remote patient monitoring, schedule appointments, handle billing, and much more. By analyzing complex data sets, they also assist medical professionals with clinical decision-making. This analysis reveals patterns and trends that help make early and accurate diagnoses ⁽²⁾,⁽³⁾.

Software Engineering, Computer Science, and Software Development

For healthcare providers using technology in their practice, it’s helpful to know the differences between the following terms:

• Software Engineering vs. Computer Science: The difference between these two terms is like a river and its small branch—although this analogy is a bit of an oversimplification. Computer science is a broader discipline that studies both theoretical and practical applications of computational systems, whereas software engineering uses the theories and principles of computation to build systems that solve specific problems ⁽⁴⁾.
• Software Engineering vs. Software Development: These two terms are often used interchangeably, but they represent two distinct concepts. Software development is part of software engineering. Software development involves writing the code and developing the application, while software engineers are in charge of the whole project—managing everything from planning and design to quality assurance and maintenance ⁽⁴⁾,⁽⁵⁾.

2. Will Software Engineering Be Replaced by AI?

With AI becoming more common in healthcare, one might wonder if these technologies could replace human software engineers. Some people worry that AI will make software engineering jobs disappear in the coming years. But is that really so?

The simple answer is AI has not gone that far yet! We still need human oversight to ensure the responses generated by AI are correct and up to standard. At present, AI has squeezed the job market for software engineers. This means companies now require fewer people to build software than before ⁽⁶⁾,⁽⁷⁾.

While AI can automate repetitive tasks and generate code, it cannot entirely replace software engineers, especially in highly regulated industries like healthcare. Put simply, it is still unable to do everything all by itself. We need the creative brain and problem-solving skills of a human engineer ⁽⁸⁾.

Software engineers build applications and systems that manage health data, protect patient privacy, ensure regulatory compliance, and use AI for big data analysis. They also ensure AI works properly.

AI helps us make better decisions. For example, radiologists can use AI to quickly spot issues in medical imaging. However, we still need doctors to interpret the scans accurately and decide on the best course of action ⁽⁶⁾,⁽⁷⁾,⁽⁸⁾.

3. Is the Demand for Software Engineering Jobs Declining?

AI may impact the software engineering occupation. It has the potential to automate many of the routine tasks of developers such as coding. It can also assist in handling complex tasks like problem-solving and decision-making ⁽⁸⁾.

A 2024 study found that from 2015 to 2022, patents automating programming tasks impacted the jobs of 47% of software developers and 40% of computer programmers ⁽⁷⁾. However, this does not mean the demand for software engineers is declining.

The demand is actually shifting to new roles. To remain relevant, software engineers need to adapt by improving their programming competency and developing soft skills, such as communication and problem-solving ⁽⁶⁾.

That being said, since the healthcare and IT sectors are already dealing with labor shortages, AI is more likely to augment rather than replace the workforce ⁽⁷⁾. For software engineers, this means their jobs are not disappearing but evolving. They now have new opportunities in more specialized and strategic roles.

Ready to embrace the power of software engineering in healthcare innovation? IT Medical can help you stay ahead of the curve. Our expert team specializes in building secure, AI-driven software solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of healthcare providers.

We’ll work closely with you to integrate innovative technologies, streamline your operations, and give your team more time to focus on patient care. Whether you’re looking to implement new systems or optimize existing ones, we’ve got you covered.

Don’t wait—contact IT Medical today and discover how software engineering can transform your practice for the future of healthcare.

References

1. Michigan Technological University. (n.d.). What is software engineering? Michigan Technological University.

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3. Javaid, M., Haleem, A., & Singh, R. P. (2024). Health informatics to enhance the healthcare industry’s culture: An extensive analysis of its features, contributions, applications, and limitations. Informatics and Health, 1(2), 123-148.

4. Yeboah, J., Pang, F., & Ponnakanti, H. P. (2022). The Framework For The Discipline Of Software Engineering in Connection to Information Technology Discipline. arXiv preprint arXiv:2206.09303.

5. Kumar, R., Rawat, R. S., Prajapat, V., & Choudhary, V. (2023). Software engineering and programming. Journal of Nonlinear Analysis and Optimization, 14(1), 102-108.

6. Necula, S. C. (2023). Artificial Intelligence Impact On The Labour Force–Searching For The Analytical Skills Of The Future Software Engineers. arXiv preprint arXiv:2302.13229.

7. Septiandri, A. A., Constantinides, M., & Quercia, D. (2024). The potential impact of AI innovations on US occupations. PNAS nexus, 3(9), pgae320.

8. Georgieff, A., & Hyee, R. (2022). Artificial intelligence and employment: new cross-country evidence. Frontiers in artificial intelligence, 5, 832736.