Feb 3, 2021
In the ever-evolving healthcare environment, change is always on the horizon. So how can companies stay ahead of the curve?
2020 brought seismic changes that left observers with few words but “unprecedented” to describe the movements that shifted many aspects of everyday life for a majority of the populace. The urgency of the pandemic accelerated digital transformation already underway. But the work isn’t done.
This upcoming year will undoubtedly create new opportunities for healthcare to capitalize on shifting market forces and accelerate digital transformation. As a leading provider of digital transformation solutions to the healthcare industry, our unique vantage point has us keeping an eye on the following five trends.
Transform Care
Faced with a global pandemic, government and health organizations scrambled to implement new solutions for providing care outside the traditional in-person visit and simultaneously take on a secondary epidemic of degraded mental health. Consumer expectations have also digitally transformed, as they expect to access and navigate healthcare in the channels and with the tech they experience with their favorite consumer brand.
Engage Customer
The pandemic aided the expansion of a new strategy – one that focused on an organization’s digital front door and beyond. As we shifted to life in a contactless world, both consumer behaviors and expectations have altered. The driving force behind digital transformation – across every industry – has always been the consumer. Now is the time to give patients healthcare with easy and simple access points.
Accelerate Insights
Data will be the differentiator as the industry moves from fee-for-service to value-based care. Providers can leverage insights to deliver better, more individualized care to today’s patients. On the payer side, data enables improved quality and efficiency while reducing unnecessary care and bettering outcomes.
Modernize Technology
Technology has been essential to the COVID-19 response, and demands placed on healthcare IT teams are growing faster than budgets allow. While it was reported that nine out of 10 organizations successfully met increased telehealth demand during the pandemic, the rapid ramp-up to implement telehealth highlighted misalignments in technology—in particular, integration gaps with legacy platforms not built for today’s healthcare environment.
Optimize Operations
Agility was the imperative in 2020 as organizations of all kinds shifted to respond to the unfolding pandemic. It was a reminder that the right technology, insights and execution are critical to efficiency and resilience. Optimizing operations is a priority for rapidly adapting to a new competitive landscape, to customer needs and regulatory changes. Digital transformation is changing the way we work, how we shape operations and re-engineer for high-performance, collaborative, lean teams.
Change is inevitable, but change in healthcare is no longer a topic limited to industry stakeholders. Now an international conversation, the trends at play are important to us all. These forces will shape the future of the frontline workers, payers, providers, life sciences and technology firms and most importantly – consumers now and for the foreseeable future.
Watch for these five trends and discover your potential for digital transformation with our 2021 Outlook Report.