Imagine a world where healthcare is hyper-personalized, digitized, and AI-enabled. It is a world where patients use price transparency apps to find the best care for their specific needs, and physicians leverage data for improved outcomes.
Health systems have an enormous task before them. Faced with inflation, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions, healthcare organizations strive to improve patient and clinician experience while optimizing inventory and staffing.
AI
Despite AI’s numerous advantages to healthcare organizations, many still need help fully embracing its potential. By using AI to streamline administrative tasks and optimize resource allocation, healthcare providers can enhance patient care quality and satisfaction, improving patient outcomes. To make that happen, leaders must be open to identifying solutions that support rather than antagonize practitioners and truly augment their professional roles.
Ambient clinical intelligence is revolutionizing the healthcare industry by automating data entry, documentation, and other repetitive tasks, allowing clinicians to focus more on patient care and improving healthcare outcomes. It can also provide real-time, contextual insights that drive better care decisions.
AI could also help tackle healthcare delivery’s biggest challenges, such as staffing and per-patient supply costs. It can help predict demand, uncover optimal staffing recommendations, and create inventory and patient flow forecasts. It can also enable better sourcing of supplies, helping to curb price increases from vendors and reduce overall costs.
Big Data
Data is increasing rapidly due to the increased use of digital technologies by patients and healthcare providers, such as wearables, health apps, EHRs, and more. These varied healthcare data components can reduce healthcare expenses, better patient outcomes, and novel therapy developments.
Hospitals can now import and analyze this vast data pool to improve patient care and reduce costs. They can use data to predict disease progression, perform more effective research on diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s, develop innovative drugs, and more.
Data analytics is also spotting prescription errors before they happen and saving lives. With a dynamic patient KPI dashboard, hospitals can gain insight into their operations and provide patients with easy-to-understand reports.
Patient Engagement
Successful partnerships thrive on effective communication. When patients and healthcare providers clearly understand their needs, preferences, care requirements, and expectations, they are less likely to cancel or miss appointments and follow through on all recommendations and care plans.
Patient retention strategies, patient attrition result in better compliance with healthcare plans, more frequent doctor visits, and stronger relationships between patients and healthcare providers. It also helps improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery, especially for high-volume hospitals and physician groups.
However, creating a meaningful partnership with patients can be challenging for many organizations. To streamline their efforts, it is crucial to have the right tools that help automate time-consuming tasks and provide visibility into operations. It allows them to prioritize and optimize their processes based on the data they are analyzing.
Telehealth
Telehealth, also known as eHealth, allows patients to interact with their providers through electronic communication technologies like video conferencing and phone calls. It can support access to care for rural communities and those with mobility issues and help patients avoid costly visits to the emergency department.
Virtual visits are beneficial during a pandemic, making it easier to stay home and connect with a healthcare provider for advice. However, they can be used year-round for various healthcare needs, including mental health services and remote follow-ups.
Home Care
Home care is a massive, growing market. It includes both medical and non-medical services. At a health system level, it offers cost savings by avoiding hospitalizations and preventing premature nursing-home admissions. It also helps improve adherence to medication regimens and enhances humanistic outcomes.
Studies have shown that patients like home-based telehealth access because it’s more convenient than clinic visits. This penchant for convenient care access may improve adherence to home-based rehabilitative programs, positively impacting clinical and adherence outcomes.
Given the burgeoning demand for care at home, healthcare leaders must decide whether to build out capabilities in-house or partner with existing providers. The latter option expands care to populations enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans and their dual-eligible members.
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