COVID-19, a rapidly emerging paradigm, has reshaped the contours of digital technologies in health care. Patient care services are seeing new paradigms—some changes are short-lived while some are likely to linger on for long. Health providers particularly in the U.K. and the U.S. continue to witness the effects of disruption. One key trend is telehealth, and providers are increasingly pinning their hopes on this to improve access to care. The contours of digital transformation in health care has come sooner than you must have thought of.
Digital Workflows Prove to Be Boon for Outpatients and Clinicians Alike
Several hospitals, for example in the U.K., have harnessed digital workflows through telehealth software to change the entire delivery of care and services. University Hospital Southampton (UHS) NHS Foundation Trust and Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) have opened up to technology consultants with regard to their recent moves.
In this COVID-19 restrictions where health systems need to employ services of clinicians, they can’t risk their lives. Keeping this in light, CUH increased remote working capabilities by as much as 3 times on the back of harnessing its ERP systems. One telehealth solution Attend Anywhere software helped them make way to remote consultation teams to outpatients. With the help of its ERP, CUH streamlined the whole patient care—for its inpatient as well as outpatient. Digital workflows helped them to carry out intensive care rounds, including for COVID-19 affected patients. Further, routine consultations were pushed to window or video consultations.
Patients and Clinicians both Key to Adoption
Providers of digital solutions are keen on making them personalized. BJSS, a UK-based consultancy, have increased their engagement with patients and clinicians; both have to work collaboratively. This will also pave way to empowering patients. The UHS Digital team and CUH have provided this by adopting such solution. For instance, family members of hospitalized patients can get to see how their patients are recovering. COVID-19 patients after recovery have used telehealth solutions to enable clinicians to keep a track.
While such digital transformations are the need of the hour, more so in post COVID-19 era, the objective is not to adopt these in knee-jerk way. Also, providers with might financial might shouldn’t take the upper hand. There should be level playing field for small players. So, stakeholders harp on preparedness—making their IT infrastructure ready for such holistic change.
