Digital Transformation And The Future Of Healthcare

Healthcare organisations need to undertake digital transformation if they are to deliver the kind of 21st century care that modern patients expect.

Digital transformation is fundamentally reshaping healthcare, shifting it to a more proactive, patient-centric and data-driven ecosystem. Driven by a range of leading-edge technologies, this shift aims to enhance patient outcomes, improve operational efficiency and make care more accessible.

It is vital for healthcare businesses to undertake digitisation, says Quantin van Rensburg, CIO at Platinum Health Medical Scheme, particularly as healthcare evolves towards digitisation.

“Patient information, care and treatment paths are not coordinated with a clear objective in mind. Digital transformation in healthcare is critical, as it aims to break down the barriers that historically existed, by digitally transforming the care provided to patients. This should create a fully interoperable eco-system, where patient information is available to caregivers and healthcare providers at the point of care,” he explains.

“Digital innovation is rapidly becoming critical for the sustainability of medical schemes in South Africa. We must embrace digital innovation to address inefficiencies, wastage and cost drivers. This, in turn, will help to ensure that the costs for funding to beneficiaries are more aligned to the healthcare outcomes that patients expect and deserve.”

Van Rensburg notes that there nonetheless remains many misconceptions about healthcare digitisation, most crucially, the failure to realise that digitisation is a journey and not a once-off exercise.

“It must always be remembered that the objective behind implementing technologies needs to be made clear up front, with key milestone and tangible measurables. As technology evolves, so the organisation’s journey must follow into the next technological and digital frontier,” he continues.

“Understanding this, Platinum Health embraces technology and the benefits of digital transformation, ensuring we remain a cost leader in the industry. Digitisation further ensures we can continue to provide comprehensive benefits to our members and beneficiaries and, through sophisticated population health management interventions, provide world class healthcare.”

Emerging technologies

While there are numerous emerging technologies on the radars of medical schemes, the fact that healthcare is one of the largest industries targeted by cybercrime makes it obvious that cybersecurity and maintaining secure data exchange between systems will continue to be critical.

Medical schemes need to constantly update their cybersecurity and stay focused on effective cyber defence, in order to stay ahead of those bad actors that could target them for nefarious purposes. “Apart from security, data interoperability is high on the agenda, as healthcare becomes more digital,” he states.

“Of course, there are still challenges to overcome when implementing digital transformation in healthcare. Digital transformation is a culture shift, one that promotes and embraces change and the adoption of new ways of work.”

Additionally, the emphasis must remain on the importance of generating data that could be used as an enabler of strategic initiatives and new strategies. Lastly, he says, organisations must have the ability to manage ‘Big Data’, which can then be transformed into insights and better predictive healthcare.

Offering advice to healthcare organisations that are starting their own digital change journey, van Rensburg points to a publication – Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Centre of Your Business, by Harley Manning – that suggests they should start by observing their organisation from the customer, or in healthcare terms, the member/patient’s perspective.

“This helps you to highlight the areas of friction where costs could be reduced, improvements could be made in member engagement, and quality care can be provided on a frequent basis. These themes will inform the digital and technology requirements needed to achieve these improvements, such as omni-channel platforms or electronic healthcare records.”

As for Platinum Health, which has already embraced its digital journey, he indicates that the company will continue to evolve in the digital space.

“Platinum Health is in the process of reaping the rewards of its digital transformation journey, where data has become a trusted source for insights, population health management and improving on our members’ experiences and satisfaction,” he says.