US software company Oracle has unveiled new healthcare-focused cloud solutions, including specialised supply chain technologies, to support hospitals and clinics that were put under immense pressure by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new offerings, which aim to drive a more connected patient experience, will help healthcare providers to improve patient care by “optimising planning, automating processes and enhancing visibility across the supply chain”, the company said on Thursday at the Oracle CloudWorld event in Las Vegas.
The solutions will allow hospitals and clinics to improve the quality of patient care, plan more effectively, reduce costs and manage more responsive supply chains, Oracle said.
“When healthcare organisations face supply chain disruptions, it can be a matter of life or death, and that’s why healthcare teams in particular need reliable, efficient and connected supply chain management systems,” said Rick Jewell, Oracle’s executive vice president of applications development.
New solutions are part of Oracle fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing (SCM) system. With built-in artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, SCM allows businesses to respond quickly to changing supply-demand and market conditions.
In the past two years, supply chains were disrupted due to the Covid-induced lockdowns and hospitals became overcrowded due to the spread of the virus.
Unpredictable supply and demand across the healthcare industry creates complex challenges, making it difficult for healthcare organisations to predict supply shortages, manage complex pricing, replenish orders quickly and maintain accurate billing.
This results in “unnecessary time and money being spent on administrative tasks, which ultimately impact healthcare organisations’ ability to deliver optimal patient care”, Oracle said.
“Connecting inventory and clinical data has the potential to revolutionise how healthcare supply chains operate … with Oracle cloud SCM, we are delivering new solutions that are purpose-built to give healthcare organisations the supply chain stability and confidence they need to improve patient outcomes,” Mr Jewell said.
The new solutions will help healthcare organisations maintain complete patient records electronically and assist patients and caregivers outside of the hospital by enabling equipment and maintenance tracking.
When healthcare organisations face supply chain disruptions, it can be a matter of life or death, and that’s why healthcare teams in particular need reliable, efficient and connected supply chain management systems
Rick Jewell,
Oracle’s executive vice president of applications development
They will also help hospitals reduce costs, improve planning and productivity, and predict demand.
Smart reordering and simplified supply planning capabilities will enable hospitals to have equipment and supplies available, even before they are needed, by automating the ordering process.
With AI-driven tools, hospitals can create personalised employee experiences, decrease costs and automate manual processes to save time, reduce burnout and allow their teams to focus more on patient care, Oracle said.
Globally, the cloud industry is booming. Spending on public cloud services is expected to increase by 20.4 per cent annually to $495 billion this year, as businesses expedite the pace of their digital transformation in the post-Covid era, US researcher Gartner said.
Total spending is about $84bn more than in 2020 and is expected to surge nearly 21.3 per cent yearly to almost $600bn next year.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
