Making smart digital investments: Insights from Baptist Health
To say that 2022 has challenged healthcare providers is an understatement. With material and labor costs at record highs this year, leaders are being more selective about when, where and with whom they invest. At the same time, the pressure from consumers for healthcare providers to deploy digital solutions is increasing. When introducing digital health capabilities, providers must ensure they drive patient loyalty and limit disruption, while reducing operational costs and waste. During an Oct. 12 webinar, Drew Koerner, chief technology officer for healthcare at ServiceNow, and Aaron Miri, chief digital and information officer at Baptist Health, offered strategies for healthcare providers to select the right digital investments for their organizations, focusing on solutions that will optimize healthcare operations from back, middle and front offices, and greatly improve the patient experience.
1 Digital tools are critical to healthcare’s future
There are several macroeconomic factors at play accelerating the adoption of digital solutions in healthcare. Employees increasingly prefer entirely remote or hybrid workplaces. At the same time, consumers seek out virtual care options and expect digital healthcare tools that mirror their experiences with other industries, such as retail. These trends are aiding the transition of healthcare delivery from being provided largely at brick-and-mortar facilities to increasingly in people’s homes. To remain competitive, healthcare organizations must recognize these trends and adopt digital therapies and pathways.
2 Invest in scalable solutions
Digital tools should help employees be more efficient and effective. Too often, health systems invest in digital tools that only solve for one specific issue, and as a result, are minimally adopted by staff because they aren’t well integrated into day-to-day workflows. Organizations can prevent this by investing in tools that are adaptable and scalable to the entire health system. When starting this exercise, it’s important to evaluate the current inventory of digital solutions within your organization. Identify the solutions that are most popular and determine if, and how, they can be scaled and adapted to other parts of the business.
3 Track the performance of digital solutions
The performance and return on investment of digital tools should be measured like any other service and asset at your organization, such as the opening of a new primary care clinic. Common key performance indicators (KPIs) to use are the customer acquisition costs and the experience for patients and employees. Any metrics that help understand whether the tool achieved the goal for which it was implemented should also be reviewed.
4 Understand workforce challenges
Introducing technology is first and foremost a listening exercise. When healthcare organizations execute on a digital solution by leading with the technology, they run the risk of the solution being tossed aside. Instead, technology teams should shadow and talk with employees to understand their problems and obstacles. For example, clinicians often would like solutions that give them more time with patients and less time on administrative tasks. Digital tools should then be selected that will directly solve for those challenges. This helps ensure the digital tool is embraced and will more likely show a return on investment.
5 Present a strong business case
Not-for-profit health systems are balancing investments in technology with thin operating margins, which means due diligence is essential before pitching a new tool to the board and C-suite. Chief digital officers should vet returns on investment of solutions with the finance department before presenting them to the leadership team to ensure the numbers will be trusted. Additionally, the tool should clearly solve a problem faced by many frontline workers in the organization. With that information, health system decision-makers are more likely to invest in a digital solution.