The Current State of Digitalization in the Healthcare Industry. Are Healthcare Providers on the Right Track?

Against all expectations, Digital Transformation in the healthcare industry has developed slower than in other sectors. Historically, the healthcare industry has resisted adopting new digital technology. However, thanks to Covid-19, healthcare providers quickly realized that more must be done to advance patient care and transform operations.

The benefits of Digital Transformation in the healthcare industry are undeniable: enhanced data interoperability for more effective management of patient care, reduced risk of human error, improved communication between healthcare providers and patients, and a better partner and supplier ecosystem.

It’s predicted that Digital Transformation in the healthcare industry will hit $210bn by 2025, but despite the significant growth, healthcare providers still face plenty of challenges.

So, what’s holding healthcare back from fully embracing Digital Transformation? We break this down for you below.

 

Digital Challenges of Healthcare

Challenges of Digital Transformation in the Healthcare industry 

Usability Issues

One of the critical barriers to effective digital transformation is that healthcare systems are poorly designed. 

Sometimes even newly implemented digital solutions do more harm than good, as they are often introduced as a fix to a particular problem without considering how they integrate with the rest of the technologies. This can create issues in patient safety and the security of medical records while negatively impacting staff productivity and workflows.

The truth is that a digital solution with a myriad of functionalities that neither employees nor patients find valuable ultimately reduces the product’s usability. For this reason, staff become frustrated and resort to familiar and often manual processes and technology to get the job done without interfering with patient care.

$210bn by 2025

is the estimation for Digital Transformation in the healthcare industry, according to a recent study

 

System and Database Disconnection

Healthcare is an industry that uses cutting-edge technology. Still, we see significant inefficiencies and a lack of a single point of truth when it comes to administrative systems and patient data.

Worst of all, healthcare professionals are frequently required to repeatedly rewrite patient names for different processes and labs or submit patient reports to multiple systems. This results in duplicate records and medical data silos that are difficult to consolidate. This is why Digital Transformation in the Healthcare industry is so important today.

Likewise, each patient encounter with the healthcare system creates a large amount of data, typically kept by many organizations and on different systems. For this reason, healthcare providers can’t unlock truly holistic patient care driven by big data analytics.

Not Leveraging Digital Channels of Communication With Users

80% of patients now expect to use digital channels to communicate with clinicians; however, healthcare providers are still catching up. The rising popularity of telemedicine shows that patients want timely digital clinical communications via their preferred mode of communication, which is especially true for younger generations.

Furthermore, people proactively use the internet and even social media to look for medical information; nevertheless, healthcare centers are still slow at capitalizing on opportunities to reach wider audiences.

Tapping into various digital channels, such as the website, social media platforms, and SMS, can help patients navigate their needs and give them the flexibility to respond when it’s the best time for them. Digital Transformation in the Healthcare industry not only means integrating existing systems but also finding new and modern ways of connecting with external audiences.

80% of patients

now expect to use digital channels to communicate with clinicians

Lack of Secure Digital Spaces for Providers and Suppliers

Running a large healthcare organization resembles a logistics operation, as your service provision depends on the timely delivery of products and materials by your partners and suppliers.

However, both parties have yet to establish effective workspaces.

On the one hand, there could be issues with end-to-end visibility and transparency, notably a lack of easy access to consolidated, usable, real-time data from fragmented data sources and siloed systems. Thus, neither physicians nor suppliers know what’s required, what’s in stock, or what future demand will look like.

Equally, there are integration challenges across the organization, workflows, and technology, which further contribute to visibility issues. 

After all, to match the patients’ needs, healthcare providers and partners must develop a collaborative ecosystem and robust healthcare supply chain driven by data and analytics.

Start your Digital Transformation in the Healthcare industry with Base22

There has never been a better time to embrace new healthcare industry models to provide better treatment to patients and empower medical and administrative staff to increase efficacy, safety, and efficiency of care.

It’s time to overcome these limitations caused by disparate back-office systems and address the needs of patients, providers, and administrators. Base22 has the approach and experience to make your Digital Transformation in the Healthcare industry successful without having to rip and replace existing systems. Get in touch with our team today.

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