Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global healthcare system was already facing strong pressure; the expected demand for healthcare workers by 2030 stood at 80 million, while only around 65 million professionals would be available. As the coronavirus spread like wildfire, hospitals and other healthcare facilities tried their best to fill in empty positions.
The Guardian recently reported how hospitals in South London faced an unprecedented “explosion” in the number of patients rushing into hospitals. Most of them were seriously ill due to the coronavirus and the facilities were already running at full capacity. Ultimately, this led to turning operating theatres into intensive care units, in an attempt to accommodate the maximum number of patients possible.
The current point-to-care model has shown its limitations during the crisis and according to Chris Jennings, policy consultant, and former health care adviser to the Obama and Clinton administrations, COVID-19 has accelerated telemedicine and virtual care by a decade. As technology advances further, the future healthcare model will provide an empowering experience for both patients and health stakeholders. We can expect automation of end-to-end medical processes, faster and intuitive experience for patients and practitioners, while big data will be streamlined across doctors, insurance companies, and others.
Discussed below are the 4 main ways to adjust to tomorrow’s digital transformation of the healthcare system.
1. Know where you stand
In the near future, healthcare regulatory bodies are expected to join forces to implement a framework for telehealth practices. To be prepared, healthcare organisations should be able to define where they currently stand in the evolving health ecosystem. Key considerations include patient population and demographics that would benefit the most from virtual health. The COVID-19 pandemic may serve as a reference point to identify the shortfalls of their organisations during a time of crisis. Analysing and comparing pre-COVID-19 data to the surge faced will allow organisations to pinpoint where to invest in technology.
2. Think of alternate healthcare models
The COVID-19 pandemic has pointed out one major flaw of the current healthcare model: it is not patient-centric. Shifting to a more consumer-centric model may require a complete redesign of the work process and administrative procedures. One way to make this easier is by including physicians and clinical teams in the workflow redesign process, as they are the front lines of patient care. The new model should heavily focus on improving health outcomes, consumer and clinician experience while increasing remote access to virtual care. The new model can potentially increase patient satisfaction, clinician engagement, and lower overall service delivery cost.
3. Prepare your workforce for changes
Healthcare organisations should prepare themselves to provide adequate training to their workforce as the healthcare industry looks poised for widespread adoption of telehealth. Interaction between medical staff and patients in a virtual environment should be the main focus as this will directly reflect the end-experience for both sides. Additionally, healthcare workers need to be progressively encouraged towards the use of integrated technologies in their day-to-day practice. One simple way of doing this is by making use of medical staff scheduling software and apps, which will progressively help your workforce see the benefits of integrating technology into their practice.
4. Be open to partnerships
By now, you should have realised that a breakthrough in the virtual care space may not be achievable if you try to go it alone. It is essential that your organisation is open for collaboration with other healthcare institutions. It would be wise to have data that you have collected before, during and after the coronavirus outbreak at hand. Be ready to analyse and share your findings with collaborating partners and at the same time dig into any possible data that will be shared with you. Expect alliances that will bring together various stakeholders in an attempt to create an improved healthcare offering that will take the industry to the next level.
Off you go
When looking back at the COVID-19 outbreak a couple of decades from now, it is highly likely that this pandemic is considered a turning point in virtual health. Currently, even if the world is steadily flattening the coronavirus curve, many people are still reluctant to check-in at medical centers over the fear of inadvertently contracting the virus. With over 8.2 million infections and more than 400,000 deaths worldwide, it is hard to consider the COVID-19 pandemic as a blessing, nevertheless, the rapid adoption of telehealth around the globe shows that the world is ready for virtual care.
David Kelly
David Kelly is the General Manager for EMEA at Deputy, a software company that provides cloud-based workforce management and scheduling platform to more than 200,000 workplaces globally. David is proud to lead an ambitious and enthusiastic team that supports a rising number of new customers across the EMEA region.