Forbes
Kris Fitzgerald
Forbes Councils Member; Forbes Technology Council
Jul 27, 2020,
As VP and CTO of NTT DATA Services, Kris leads client innovation programs, and the IT Strategy Consulting Practice.
Months into the pandemic, we’re continuing to adapt to a new way of life. We’re not only keeping our distance from friends and co-workers, but we’re altering the way we conduct almost every daily activity.
Despite the economic devastation created by mass quarantining, many digital companies have flourished during this time, as the vast majority of consumers have turned to contactless online services to meet their every need.
Meanwhile, primarily brick-and-mortar establishments, such as restaurants and entertainment venues, have pivoted their business models and upscaled their online capabilities.
In some cases, the crisis is pushing old-school practitioners to actively embrace technologies that have been around for years
- web-based forms and
- sign-in kiosks at clinic entrances come to mind.
On the other end of the spectrum, the more progressive institutions are breaking new ground with radical digital innovations.
Across the board, there’s a rising tide of technological advancement that will lift everyone.
Perhaps the most obvious example of the digital shift taking place among health care providers is the exploding use of videoconferencing technology to provide “telehealth” services.
After all, most other businesses have discovered the value of connecting with colleagues and customers virtually, so what’s to stop doctors and nurses from seeing patients over the internet?
Indeed, an April survey of physicians reported that at least 48% are now using telehealth techniques, compared to only 18% in 2019.
Concurrently, health care insurance organizations, both governmental and private, are making changes to better incorporate telehealth into their reimbursement plans, helping more patients get the medical guidance they need without an office visit.
Rethinking Everything
Irrespective of the pandemic, all indications are that telehealth will become the preferred way to see your health care professional from now on.
- For consultations where hands-on treatment isn’t required, a quick online chat is often more convenient and efficient for patients and providers.
- Providers that take advantage of technology to optimize multitasking and queuing of work could use telehealth to reduce overscheduling and wait times for patients who do need to be seen in person.
For those reasons, we’re starting to see some providers actually require a telehealth appointment before a face-to-face one is allowed.
Telehealth is only one piece of the digital health care universe, of course, but its sudden surge and success is prompting providers to ask, “What else could we convert to digital?”
“What else could we convert to digital?”
In many cases, serving patients requires no human interaction at all.
Following the lead of other industries, more health care organizations are employing
- content-rich websites,
- digital apps,
- chatbots,
- virtual agents and
- other self-help tools
to provide information, deliver test results and check in on patients.
It keeps people safe at home and allows health care workers to focus more time on critical patient care.
In the physical world, robotics are increasingly used
- to augment the health care workforce or
- alleviate dangers to people, such as disinfecting areas with ultraviolet light.
Even drones are playing a role, monitoring crowds in public spaces or delivering medical supplies with no human contact.
More Work To Be Done
- Using data to combat the virus,
- artificial intelligence,
- analytics and machine learning
are already at work to
- track the spread,
- build predictive models,
- optimize the use of hospital beds and ventilators and
- redirect health care resources to vulnerable areas.
It’s a safe bet that when the worldwide quarantine is over, all of these high-tech helpers won’t just disappear.
They’ll continue their work and be put to use in countless new ways to promote good health and save lives.
While the health care sector’s technical advancements are encouraging, many of them could be compared to putting Band-Aids on serious wounds.
To adopt these technologies as more than a temporary workaround, providers will need to go back and rethink/redesign their scheduling and models.
Three Keys To Success
To maximize the long-term benefits of telehealth and other digital solutions, companies will have to integrate these technologies into their ongoing operations seamlessly.
That will likely include tying the new solutions into existing systems in IT and HR, creating clean links to health care payers and other heavy lifting in the back office.
Health care personnel may need to adjust as well, adapting to new standards for how they schedule their days and perform their duties. And, as the transfer of sensitive information occurs more regularly online, cybersecurity will become an even greater challenge than it is today.
As the crisis continues to reshape normal, the organizations that flourish will be the ones that accept change and run with it.
Here are three important takeaways health care providers should take to heart:
- Resist the urge to go back to the way things were.
- Prioritize data — gathering it, managing it and understanding it.
- Adopt a consumer mindset
1.Resist the urge to go back to the way things were.
Digital interaction is the way of the future. Just as educational institutions have increasingly moved toward online learning, health care companies must move toward online healing.
2. Prioritize data — gathering it, managing it and understanding it.
In health care, data affects nearly every aspect of the business, from research, education and patient care to consumer privacy and cybersecurity. Yet in a recent study by NTT DATA, the health care sector ranks data first in its lack of data literacy skills — about a fifth (21%) of respondents report they don’t know how to read their data.
3. Adopt a consumer mindset.
In the digital era, consumers have more power than ever to comparison shop, access ultra-convenient services with a few clicks and make informed decisions about how they spend their money — including on health care.
Providers must continue working to make their services easy and safe to use, or consumers will find another company who can.
A Better Future Awaits
As a society, we’re far from realizing technology’s full potential to improve the health care system.
But troubled times have a way of bringing people together to serve the greater good, and this year’s ordeal has certainly put wind in the sails of progress.
Health care is accelerating its way to a digital-first future.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives.
Originally published at https://www.forbes.com
