The Five Key Points Missing from the Majority of Digital Health Transformation Strategies

May 23, 2023

Grateful for the opportunity to speak at Modern Healthcare’s Digital Health Transformation Summit with Rich Steinle,Julie Wolk, Teresa Andrea MSHA, BSN, RN.

Here are my 5 key points from the patient and carepartner perspective, from our panel as well as the 2 day event, that are of essence to successful digital health transformation strategies:

1) Robust digital health transformation strategies must include diverse representation from ALL stakeholders through co-creation with patients and carepartners as a necessary cornerstone. Organizations must dedicate budgets to compensate patients and carepartners for their time and contributions as subject matter experts.

Future-facing hot-tip

Hire a Chief Patient Officer as a catalyst for success. Stop relying solely on pro bono Patient Family Advisory Councils (PFACs)! Which organization is going to be first?

2) Transparency and trust should be natural byproducts of inclusively cultivated digital health transformation and implementation strategies. Celebrate and showcase all digital health innovations and clinical decision support tools utilized at point of care as a competitive brand differentiator and for patient and consumer awareness, education, as well as informed decision-making.

Future-facing hot-tip

Your organizational or provider website should have bios for any AI powered clinical decision support tools and other digital health innovations that are used to make decisions about an individual’s care or coordination of care.

3) Do not exclude palliative, supportive, and end of life care in organizational digital health transformation strategies. These arenas are in great need of transformation!

4) Health systems should collaborate on the institutional level to utilize AI powered analytics to decrease physician and Patient Administrative Burden (PAB) fallout from unnecessary [rogue] prior authorization and payor batch denial processes. These practices are causing delays in care, increased out of pocket costs, and placing administrative burdens on exhausted providers and patients.

5) Don’t forget about the carepartners and caregivers who are supporting patients. Round in hospitals, check on waiting rooms, sit in surgical waiting areas, visit ERs and look for the carepartners and caregivers who won’t leave their loved one’s side. See what information, tools, and technology they are armed with: it’s often nothing. That’s grossly unacceptable and negligent. Digital transformation strategies must meet carepartners and caregivers unmet needs too.

Future-facing hot-tip

Document patients’ carepartners & caregivers in the EHR; USCDI v3 includes Care Team Member as a data element.

What would you add to this list of tips for successful digital health transformation?

The Five Key Points Missing from the Majority of Digital Health Transformation Strategies

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