Why Software Quality Practices Are a Matter of Life and Death in Healthtech

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A software developer reflects on years of experience working across industries, including a formative encounter with developers who wrote untested code for tunnel lighting systems. The author argues that in healthtech, the primary goal is not profit or aesthetics but preventing accidental patient harm. Errors such as mixed-up patient records, miscalculated dates, or mismatched medications can lead doctors, nurses, or pharmacists to make dangerous mistakes. The developer contends that avoiding such failures requires rigorous practices including test-driven development, continuous integration, code reviews, and close collaboration with end users. These methods may seem inefficient upfront but ultimately save time, money, and — in healthcare — potentially lives.

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ProgrammingDEV Community ·

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