In today’s world, almost everything computes thanks to constant connectivity, exponential increases in data, easy access to massive computational power and the growth of human-machine interaction. Technologies in these areas are accelerating the pace of innovation and creating new possibilities for a digital world while changing every industry, including healthcare, in significant ways.

In healthcare, digital transformation is not only reducing cost but is also creating new, richer experiences for patients and clinicians, and, importantly, improving health outcomes, said Rich Bird, worldwide industry marketing manager for healthcare and life sciences at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which will be discussing this and other health IT trends at HIMSS19 in February in Orlando.

Technology alone, however, is not the complete answer to the issues facing healthcare CIOs today – it’s a very important part of the answer, but if healthcare is going to digitize successfully, programs should be delivered together with clinical teams, Bird said.

The clinical management team

New technology deployments need to be agreed to by the clinical management team from the start, and delivered to ensure that all stakeholders, clinical staff, administrators and, ultimately, patients are protected and their experiences are made better, Bird said.

“To improve the patient experience requires health system agility,” he added. “It is just as important to healthcare as the ability to quickly develop and implement critical adaptations to patient care workflows.”

Health systems must be able to add, change and remove infrastructure resources at the speed of healthcare, not the speed of technology, he stated. This type of agility positions a health system to posture its applications cost effectively to maximize their value, paving the way to strategic digital transformation.

Beyond traditional clinical settings

As that digital transformation happens, what will healthcare look like in the near future?

“Mobility and hybrid cloud computing are increasing accessibility for patients and doctors alike,” Bird said. “From remote monitoring to specialized apps, technology is taking medicine beyond traditional clinical settings and creating a new continuum of care.”

Wearables, the Internet of Things and smart workspaces are improving how medical staff deliver care, allowing doctors to spend more time interacting with patients, Bird stated.

“From remote monitoring to specialized apps, technology is taking medicine beyond traditional clinical settings and creating a new continuum of care.”

Rich Bird, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

“By using wireless infrastructure and tag devices like wristbands and ID badges, care centers can track bottlenecks and service slowdowns to improve performance,” he explained. “Hospitals also are using wireless technologies to track and manage medical assets, like diagnostic machines, to inform medical personnel of an item’s current location so they can be fully prepared when an individual arrives.”

Similarly, wayfinding technology can provide patients arrival time instructions and turn-by-turn directions to get them to their appointments to more quickly meet with medical staff.

Clinical efficiencies

And on the back-end, mass data collection from all of these devices combined with patient data from around the world can help medical research organizations and pharmaceutical companies improve clinical efficiencies and accelerate the development of new drugs and treatments, Bird said.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise at HIMSS19 will be discussing blended and cloud computing infrastructure for enabling solutions that empower patients, enhance clinical collaboration and accelerate the use of genomics – as well as running electronic health records, patient portals and administrative processes, Bird said.

HPE will be in booth 3321 at HIMSS19.

Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT
Email the writer: [email protected]

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