What is digital health and how is it evolving?

“If there is a patient waiting in the office and the doctor is late, the patient does not go. If a patient is on Zoom and the doctor is late, the patient leaves,” she says. “The whole process involved depends on how you schedule things so that the doctor can reach on time and attend to the patient while they wait, if needed. The technique itself is simple. All the processes around it become more complicated and, frankly, even more interesting.

Many patients would like to see the consumer-centered approach of non-health care industries applied to healthcare, which means more choice and better access.

“It is not right for patients to wait for six months for an appointment. We have to be more consumer-friendly, not only in terms of access times, but also by allowing patients to schedule visits when and how they want,” says Baso. “This is not something that health systems have traditionally focused on.”

Disruption to the traditional care model can be beneficial for health care access, but Basso cautions that it can also disrupt continuity of care. Part of the CDO’s role is to use innovative technologies and processes to maintain continuity of care in the face of changing care models and industry players.

Tips for Successful Implementation of Digital Health Technology

The healthcare industry is often described as slow-moving, but factors such as the pandemic, a growing number of digital health startups, and disruption from non-healthcare companies are accelerating digital transformation in this sector. With this desire for change comes the need for rapid change management.

“We’ve been doing things roughly the same way in healthcare for decades, and now we’re asking people to think differently,” Basso says. “One of the ways we’re asking people to think differently is to not focus on stuffing technology into what you do today. It’s really about rethinking what you do today.”

When it comes to telehealth, Baso says, adding new technology to an already existing workflow won’t do. The success of implementation depends on rethinking how appointments are scheduled using this new care delivery model.

learn more: How Virtual Care Solutions Are Addressing Rural Health Care Challenges.

With the addition of many new technologies and apps over time, workflow challenges can arise. Ochsner Health created a Nursing Innovation Group that set out to rethink how nurses were working, in part due to the shortage of nurses and the shortage of nurses that was causing many to leave the profession.

“We had to make their lives better. We put together a group of leaders, and before we could start talking about some of the interesting technologies available, we realized we had to go back and sort out some of the basics, says Basso. had to log in dozens of times in one shift on different devices and apps, wasting valuable time in their workflow.

Raab agrees that workflow considerations are important when implementing new technology. He points out that when EHRs were implemented in many healthcare organizations, they did not digitally build workflows and processes with interoperability in mind.

He says, “We have just left it and now we are trying to change it.”

When undergoing digital transformation it is important to consider workflow as well as desired outcomes for patients and physicians. Basso stresses the importance of being clear on the organization’s desired outcome and the key performance indicators to achieve those goals, rather than focusing solely on the technology.

“You don’t want to design a project and find out six months later that it wasn’t right. You want to design in little steps and milestones along the way,” she says. “I think that’s really important. If you don’t have those things already defined, it’s time to buy in and make the necessary changes. Management is difficult to deal with.

Furthermore, all stakeholders must agree about these goals and the path to achieve them.

“Everyone needs to be united in a cause,” says Raab. “Don’t just talk to the doctor or nurse, but talk to the patient, because who are you doing this for?”

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