Are we open to the new normal?

Apr 2019

Healthcare technology that generates Disruption:

Are we open to the new normal?

By Raymond Ortiz, President Effectus Corp and President 2019-2020 HIMSS PR chapter

The healthcare industry is one of the most challenging to transform, because of the huge number of legacy systems, combined with the amount of highly sensitive and personalized information.

While doing my daily “innovation-seeking reading”, I found out about the so called 4th Industrial Revolution. We are literally at a transition point, moving toward the “Industry 4.0”. Different from the steam and water power (1st), electricity and assembly lines (2nd), and computerization (3rd), the Industry 4.0 challenges what it means to be us, what it really means to be human.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution builds on the Digital Revolution. It represents new ways in which technology becomes embedded within societies and even the human body.

Facing these changes and new market expectations, we as healthcare professionals have the opportunity to help decision-makers transition from their traditional business mindset, to think strategically about the forces of disruption and innovation that are shaping our future.

Big tech is yet to figure out its play for healthcare markets providing what we call “the last mile” solutions for real-time care delivery, Quality of Care, Patient Care and Patient Management, with emphasis on understanding our consumers. That is why you see a trend of these companies incorporating executives with clinicians’ background to help them understand their down to earth consumer needs. Big Tech has made great progress in building capabilities for the Healthcare sector.

Where are we?

Surveys on healthcare enterprises indicates that health systems are investing in specific programs such as;telehealth and remote monitoring. While these initiatives gather momentum, other digital health programs are struggling to emerge and face competing priorities for discretionary budgets.

For instance, the Electronic health record (EHR) systems continue to consume a large chunk of enterprise IT budgets. These technologies continue to be the default choice for health systems when looking to improve patient engagement and caregiver enablement in the short term, even though they are seen as not user-friendly.

CIOs of health systems will face a trade-off between traditional EHR systems and emerging digital health technologies. However, we as CIOs and Technology leaders continue to look for technologies that provide;

superior experience design.
advanced analytical capabilities.

AI and Data

Chief Analytics Officers across the industry find themselves doing basic reporting under pressure from business stakeholders. But at the same time, they are expected to “move beyond Excel Gymnastics” and deliver tangible benefits. That is why we need to explode AI and advanced analytics.

Fortunately, AI’s prospects in 2019 look good for two reasons:

We have a more mature technology to mine vast and diverse data sources: Algorithms continue to get better.
Healthcare enterprises now have more technology and analytics solutions available, no matter the size of your organization.

Now most of Healthcare Enterprises are planning to execute an AI Strategy. OPTUMIQ Survey revealed that:

92% said that hiring resources with AI technology experience is a priority.
75% of healthcare organizations are actively implementing or have plans to execute an AI strategy.
42% of those organizations have a strategy but have not yet implemented it.

Cloud

The healthcare system, as a whole, faces unprecedented challenges, thanks to a reduction in resources – both in terms of staff and finance – as well as rising expectations and an escalating demand for digitized services.

Cloud computing is changing the way doctors, nurses, clinics, and hospitals deliver quality, cost-effective services to their patients. This transition is being driven by two forces: the economic imperative to cut costs and to improve the quality of patient care. The cloud has the capacity to revolutionize healthcare, rendering it more efficient through a decentralized approach, and improving the patient experience by providing services

comparable to those offered by internal IT organizations — yet at significantly lower costs.

The use of cloud technology has the ability to relieve the challenges. By using cloud services, healthcare organizations only need to pay for what they use, such as storage, applications, and infrastructure service.

Another key benefit of the cloud for the healthcare industry is flexibility, as providers can scale resources up or down as needed. But healthcare organizations cannot enforce a cloud-focused culture shift in isolation. They all have to work together and get help from external providers and specially from their management and business leaders. All working together to achieve the same goal.

Security

It has become increasingly clear that cybersecurity is a risk factor in health care data. Data breaches cost the health care industry approximately $5.6 billion every year, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. At the same time, healthcare organizations on average spend only half as much on cybersecurity as other industries.

Hospitals and other healthcare providers must practice better cybersecurity hygiene.

Overall

The challenge for health systems and their technology providers is not just to develop meaningful insights but integrate them seamlessly into clinical workflows and care pathways.

References

“What is the fourth industrial revolution?” World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
“The 4th Industrial Revolution Is Here - Are You Ready?” Bernard Marr
“How cloud technology is transforming the healthcare industry”By Afshin Attari, director of Public Sector at Exponential-e.
“The healthcare industry is in a world of cybersecurity hurt” by Robert Ackerman