Digital health’s big transformation: The shift to healthcare, anywhere

FEATURE - Industry Innovation Article – Orion Health

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the transformation of global healthcare systems is long overdue. Much has been said about shifting care out of hospitals and empowering people to stay healthy at home, but the importance of making this a reality is very apparent. 

This challenge has become more urgent as health systems are struggling with increased patient demand and more complex clinical needs in a budget-constrained reality. Whilst New Zealand has been lucky to avoid a major outbreak of COVID-19, the threat is still real, and health systems globally face simultaneous pressures with rising mental health issues, an aging demographic, and rise in the incidence on systems from multiple chronic diseases. 

There is also a big shift in how consumers want to access and interact with their health system. This is based on the way consumers interact with other digital services such as online banking, and expectations are rising around their desire to access healthcare in a way that suits them. 

So, how do we address these challenges, and ensure that individuals consistently receive the right care for them, in the right place and at the right time?

Mindset is the first step towards transformation 
The first step towards making any kind of transformation is a change in mindset and a clear strategy, such as what we’ve seen here in New Zealand with the recent announcement about the health and disability system reforms. 
  
Whilst the shift towards patient-centred care that focuses on prevention rather than treatment, and keeping people healthy at home has been talked about for many years, it is exciting to see that the reforms have identified the importance of providing consumers with more control over their interactions with the health system. 

Simplifying our system and getting the right infrastructure in place are the logical first steps to future proofing our healthcare system. But imagine a truly patient-centric world, where we could manage our interactions with the health system through our own device.

The future of healthcare and the digital front door
It’s well recognised that health systems are becoming more and more complex and difficult to navigate. Typically, to access healthcare services, consumers must make an appointment with their doctor, wait some time for that appointment, then wait again for any referrals to other healthcare providers. Alternatively, they can spend hours waiting in an emergency room that may be located a great distance away. The process is fragmented, slow, opaque and fraught with risk of errors.

A digital front door solution provides digital tools for people to interact with health and care organisations, bringing new and existing patient engagement technologies together. It provides consumers with access to all of the tools needed to manage their own, as well as their dependents’ health and wellbeing, from a unified, user-friendly hub.

By putting consumers at the centre of healthcare delivery in this way, and empowering them to navigate complex health systems, a digital front door promises to address the challenges facing today’s healthcare organisations.

Providing high-quality healthcare, digitally 
The components of a digital front door are extensive and can look different depending on the priorities of a particular organisation or jurisdiction. If you were focused on reducing inappropriate emergency department use and increasing consumers’ access to the health system, the digital front door might include a chatbot with automated and digital human communication functions to assist with access, a symptom checker that triages patients to the right advice or care, natural language processing (NLP) powered search, and telehealth capability so that people can choose how they would like to interact with services. 

The potential of a digital front door also includes online prescription ordering and payment options, trusted healthcare resources and support services that use machine learning to personalise information based on the user’s preferences and search history, and user-recognition tools that can pre-fill forms and learn the most effective way to engage with users. 

Integrating existing technology  
Many people have already adopted the use of patient portals, telehealth technology and other digital health solutions to help manage their healthcare, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for adopting virtual healthcare services to keep people out of hospitals, reserving valuable resources for those who need them most.

A digital front door solution should allow for integration with these existing technologies and take a best-of-breed approach that does not demand replacement of the tools that already exist. Taking an incremental approach to implementation, leveraging existing successes and extending services will provide a holistic solution that is adopted and used more quickly.

Digital health’s big transformation - the time to act is now
For New Zealand, with the new structure of our health system formally being in place by mid-2022, the next 18 months will be key. A patient-centred health strategy, coupled with the recent rapid adoption of virtual and online care tools presents an opportunity to fundamentally transform the way people across the country experience and interact with healthcare. 

Now is the time for a shift in an industry that has historically lagged in terms of patient engagement and experience, particularly in the digital space. What will be possible for consumers when access to complete health records is topped off with a way to navigate complex and, at times, overwhelming health systems?

The shift to patient-centred care starts with a digital front door. Integrating existing technologies and leading with a cohesive strategy will put us firmly in tune with engaging and empowering consumers now and in the future, and finally deliver the healthcare everyone desires.

Hear more from Orion Health chief revenue officer James Rice on consumer-centred care and the impact of the coming health reforms in this episode of eHealthTalk NZ.

If you would like to provide feedback on the above feature article please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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