Breakthrough Data-Driven Approach within Healthcare

That a lot can happen in a year we don’t need to tell you again. No one was ready for a pathogen with global impact that would last more than a year. The pandemic has once again underlined the fact that almost nothing is certain. Still, we look ahead by looking at some of this year’s healthcare developments. How are we using technology and data to transform business and healthcare delivery?

For healthcare organizations, using the right technology leads to better care and business decisions. The Netherlands is a leader in the use of digital support in healthcare. Research found that 65 percent say COVID-19 has led to the introduction of more digital technology within the healthcare sector. But technology alone will not make healthcare successful. The past year has taught us that this requires several factors.

Using the right mindset

In order for a healthcare organization to achieve successful digital growth, it is essential that a unified answer to the why question can be formulated by the organization. Why does the organization need to digitize and why is digitally enhancing that particular component required for this? In many cases, the reason is either a necessity or an efficiency improvement.

Ensuring the security of patient data, for example, or preventing employees from spending hours in a filing cabinet searching in vain for a document. Especially in the latter case, the additional benefits are considerable. Costs are saved, or clients become more self-reliant by being provided with information through an app.

However, just defining the “why” question is not enough; the answer must be shared by all stakeholders at various levels. Only then will the right mentality emerge for the successful implementation of innovations that will be adopted by the entire healthcare organization.

A digital change requires more than just tools. Above all, it requires people who understand that, thanks to those tools, they can focus on more relevant issues. Research shows that company culture and employees are the biggest obstacles to implementing digital reforms. So without the right collective mindset, you won’t get very far.

Shared vision within the ecosystem

The deployment and implementation of software should flow logically from the mission and vision of the healthcare organization. It follows from this that the software vendor that is selected must also be able to formulate the answer to the why question. The product he provides should be the answer to the how question.

In other words: is your organization looking for a new supplier? Then choose a party that thinks along with you and uses a market approach (SaaS) that guarantees this added value in the long term. Avoid providers who focus exclusively on replacing the existing systems without worrying about the why question.

Implement critical success factors

When it comes to innovation, the healthcare industry typically focuses only on the clinical side of care, without thinking about the various business aspects.

As a result, there is little investment within the logistics and finance departments. There are many efficiencies to be gained if these two business units were better integrated, but this often remains on the table due to the potentially high costs, and because such trajectories are far removed from the core tasks of a healthcare institution.

The ideal software vendor is aware of the relationship between the business and clinical goals within the healthcare organization. Technology enables and further sustains necessary change. Data drives better outcomes and provides insight into how patients want to be served. The ultimate spirit of innovation is only possible if the organization collaborates with its suppliers from a data-driven perspective.

A consequence of focusing on integrating business and clinical factors is that patient and staff satisfaction increases. Patients expect ever higher standards, are becoming more empowered, and – rightly – are making higher service demands on the health sector: having to wait for hours in a waiting room without information is no longer accepted in any part of society.

Yet many organizations have difficulties meeting these expectations – think, for example, of the supply problems of essential protective equipment at nursing homes at the beginning of the crisis, such as mouth masks and disinfectant hand gel. A cloud platform can provide the logistical solution for this and give better insight into the financial and administrative arm of the store.