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For example, 78 percent of organizations are currently deploying cloud computing, while 20 percent are planning to deploy cloud computing, and 66 percent of organizations are currently deploying data analytics, while 30 percent are planning to deploy data analytics.
Additionally, 59 percent of organizations are currently deploying the internet of things, while 35 percent are planning to deploy the internet of things.
For healthcare organizations looking to expand their data analytics capabilities, RPA is a crucial implement they need in their toolbox. Most organizations surveyed (64 percent) are planning to adopt RPA in the coming year.
Robotic process automation (RPA) is a vital technology because it can collect and analyze data across all its processes, which allows for better predictive modeling. This can be used to address health equity challenges, especially as the US moves toward a model of better population health management.
Patient experience also continues to be a top digital priority for organizations, with 26 percent citing this as the main priority for their organization.
The three areas in which organizations are looking to improve patient care experience are telemedicine, EHR interoperability, and patient portals.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare organizations began engaging their patients digitally to seek a safe and efficient way to provide treatment while social distancing and sheltering in place. Planned investment in telehealth jumped from 42 percent in 2020 to 75 percent in 2021.
Telehealth adoption allows healthcare companies to improve many different areas. For example, 63 percent of patients can now make appointments through the organizations portal, 61 percent can view bills and pay online, 34 percent can use the portal to access their medical records, and 33 percent can securely communicate with the organization through the portal.
In the future, it is likely that every step of the patient journey will be supported by digital tools and remote care. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will enable compassionate care, while automation will save providers time and money in revenue and billing cycles.
Additionally, robust data analytics will support business strategy to ensure the organization remains healthy and on track to achieve goals.
Understanding key technologies, harvesting greater insight from data, turning telehealth into an effective complement to patient care, and designing a digital patient experience will be challenging, researchers explained in the survey.
But it will bring healthcare organizations to the next level and create a patient-centric future.
“Technology can be a powerful resource for both cataloging and addressing health inequity. For example, electronic health records (EHR) provide data crucial to identifying inequity of care, and predictive analytics can identify potential vulnerable populations who may be struggling with effective chronic disease management,” Jim Watson, principal of the BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence & Innovation, said in the survey.
“As the U.S. healthcare system strives for a more ethical, more equitable future, technology must be part of the conversation,” Watson continued.
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