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Patients today expect ease, convenience, efficiency, and a digital experience when accessing healthcare services. To deliver on these high expectations, technology must bring contextual intelligence, communication, and data to the proper point of care.
The introduction of Electronic Health Records (EHR) was the catalyst for medical data mobility, unleashing data that could be shared, aggregated, and evaluated. But the promise of data mobility was stalling. Concerns about privacy and security compliance led to technology stagnation over the last decade, as administrators weighed the risk of potential fines and security breaches against gains in efficiency and convenience. State and federal rules on delivering care over video were complicated and contradictory, holding back investment in virtual care.
Then the pandemic disrupted the technology tightrope that providers had been walking. Regulations that slowed technology progress were suspended, and worldwide, consumers turned to video calls. The adoption of telehealth exploded.
Healthcare is now a technology-first experience. When patients need to schedule an appointment or obtain care, they start with a call, click, or chat. Voice recognition technology is deployed in calls, patients check in with a click, and bots are delivering symptom triage. The timely contextual data exchange makes the experience work.
The future of this healthcare technology revolution rests in IT’s hands as those teams now need to manage applications, devices, data, and workflow while balancing a significantly higher cybersecurity risk. The future is a “healthcare anywhere” model where data is simultaneously mobile but controlled and secured.
Healthcare system CIOs tell us one of their highest priorities is to establish an enterprise telehealth standard that is integrated into the current workflow and can scale securely.
For telehealth to scale securely, it must be built on these four pillars of effectiveness:
● Fully integrated into existing clinician workflows. Providers and clinicians want a process for patient care that is simple and trusted. It’s important that technology works seamlessly with EHR software such as Epic, MyChart, Hyperspace, Canto, and Haiku. Technology should enhance the clinician workflow, not hinder it.
● Easy to connect for anyone, on any device, anywhere. An “appless experience” will be essential for widespread telehealth adoption. In the future, patients won’t be forced to download a new app or create a username and password just to meet with the doctor. They will be able to launch their video visit from a single click from any digital channel: a portal, email, text, calendar, and more. Eliminating these barriers with WebRTC (browser)-based interactions will help providers meet their patients on their own terms, with flexible options for how they can connect and engage, regardless of their circumstances.
● Secure and compliant experience. Security can’t be an afterthought when delivering telehealth at scale. Look for a solution that minimally meets the ISO 27001, 27017, and 27018 standards.
● Simple to support. Leverage technology that IT knows and your CISO supports.
Human behavior is predictable, and adoption of any new process works best when the experience is simple, fast, and clear. These four pillars of effectiveness are equally important across the globe, including in many countries where the digital transformation of healthcare delivery is just starting.
As patients and clinicians continue to adopt and use virtual care delivery methods, technology providers and healthcare organizations must evolve the care journey. We will see an expansion of new technologies that create a digital front door experience, further mirroring the conversion of the physical to digital experiences. This will streamline and improve the efficiency of the patient care journey, leading to patient satisfaction and loyalty.
For more information, explore Cisco’s healthcare portfolio explorer and our telehealth and digital front door use cases.