Thinking through Healthcare 

Healthcare, now more than ever, is a community interplay, where everyone's wellbeing depends on one another. Today, good patient outcome, is more dependent than ever on a health care system that extends well beyond any one particular healthcare entity.

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While regulation, guidelines and resource allocation were meant to protect patient care, without system integration and updating, critical gaps in care still occur. Meanwhile, the pandemic has thinned out our cadre of on-site clinicians. The lessons learned during the pandemic highlighted the interdependence and the essential role of data and technology to connect patient care while optimizing resource allocation. This shift of comprehensive community care continuum using value-based payment model, will require new rigorous healthcare training and quality assurance oversight.   

 

Organizations often have to master meeting the quadruple aim (enhancing patient experience, reducing costs, improving population health, and improving the clinician experience) which is easier said than done. Therefore, we need innovative leaders to rethink how to approach this new system and build the team to support it.

 

Before creating the strategy to improve customer experience, operational efficiency, and improve or maintain quality work to get the desired outcomes, we need to build a positive sustainable culture within an organization that creates an engaged, collaborative, internal team. 

 

This potentially opens up the door to the concept of a matrix organization (or hybrid) which offers advantages that includes:  

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• Collaboration between departments pulling the best people for the task

• More agility and include different perspectives

• Better communication between departments removing silos and creating more informed decisions

• Improved efficiency of resources

• Engagement and leadership opportunities

 

Despite the historical changes of healthcare that brought on new challenges, such as EMRs, clinical decision-making guidelines, different payment models, etc., many of the changes provide positive advances in healthcare if utilized appropriately and seamlessly.

 

Let's take a look at the positive of digital advances.

Digital health technologies, such as telemedicine, remote patient monitoring, and electronic health records, have the potential to bridge gaps in care and improve patient outcomes. Telemedicine allows patients to access care from the comfort of their homes, reducing the risk of exposure to infectious diseases and increasing access to care for those who live in rural areas or who have mobility issues. Remote patient monitoring can provide real-time data on patients' health status, allowing healthcare providers to intervene before a problem becomes a crisis. Electronic health records can improve care coordination and reduce the risk of medical errors by ensuring that all healthcare providers have access to a patient's complete medical history.

 

Now we need to wrap around point of care solutions to create seamless coordination of care that is supported by data and technology. This integration is critical to improving patient outcomes as healthcare providers increasingly work in teams. Data sharing across healthcare entities can help prevent duplication of services and ensure that patients receive appropriate and timely care.

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There are growing pains as healthcare transitions into modern times, but with thoughtful examination, collaboration and technology, we can end up with a better system. COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of a well-integrated healthcare system that incorporates digital health technologies. Leaders that create the vision and value through culture can help bring the dream to reality.