More people than ever before are using technology to monitor and track their own health or the health of a loved one. According to the global market research firm Parks Associates, the fitness tracker market is set to nearly triple, reaching $5.4 billion by 2019. These digital health devices are becoming a part of our socio-cultural fabric; mobile fitness trackers and connected clinical devices will be as common an accessory as a smartphone in the next five years.
This quick and significant growth represents enormous potential for healthcare providers as they explore new ways to extend their reach and connect to their patient populations. Care is moving beyond the four walls of the hospital and physician's office, and provider organizations are beginning to invest in the necessary infrastructure and programs to help launch data-driven initiatives.
These new, remote sources of patient health data provide valuable information to caregivers−whether it is a physician, nurse, clinician, or lab technician−that can be used in the treatment of a patient. With technology, healthcare providers are now able to monitor existing conditions, diagnose earlier and with more accuracy, and provide better preventative care.
In order to incorporate information from all of these new technology sources, providers need to establish a clear digital health strategy that incorporates telehealth services, remote patient monitoring, and analytics. All of these initiatives are critical to the future success of a healthcare organization. And, key to the success of those initiatives is patient-generated data.
5 Key Steps Companies Can Take to Start or Accelerate Their Digital Health Strategy
More people than ever before are using technology to monitor and track their own health or the health of a loved one. According to the global market research firm Parks Associates, the fitness tracker market is set to nearly triple, reaching $5.4 billion by 2019. These digital health devices are becoming a part of our socio-cultural fabric; mobile fitness trackers and connected clinical devices will be as common an accessory as a smartphone in the next five years.
This quick and significant growth represents enormous potential for healthcare providers as they explore new ways to extend their reach and connect to their patient populations. Care is moving beyond the four walls of the hospital and physician's office, and provider organizations are beginning to invest in the necessary infrastructure and programs to help launch data-driven initiatives.
These new, remote sources of patient health data provide valuable information to caregivers−whether it is a physician, nurse, clinician, or lab technician−that can be used in the treatment of a patient. With technology, healthcare providers are now able to monitor existing conditions, diagnose earlier and with more accuracy, and provide better preventative care.
In order to incorporate information from all of these new technology sources, providers need to establish a clear digital health strategy that incorporates telehealth services, remote patient monitoring, and analytics. All of these initiatives are critical to the future success of a healthcare organization. And, key to the success of those initiatives is patient-generated data.
The Landscape: Where is Digital Health Today?
Most providers have yet to implement or successfully launch a digital health strategy. In the summer of 2015, Validic, a healthcare technology company, received responses from more than 450 healthcare organizations to gain a better understanding of the current state of their digital health strategies.
According to the “Global Progress in Digital Health” Survey, the majority of respondents (59 percent) are either behind schedule with their strategy or have no digital health strategy at all. The remaining 41 percent of organizations say they are on schedule with their digital health strategy.
Respondents were primarily healthcare providers, but also included pharmaceutical companies, wellness companies and healthcare technology vendors. The survey garnered responses from healthcare professionals, who are members of the American Telemedicine Association, as well as subscribers to MedCityNews and MobiHealthNews.
For organizations that are behind the curve in formulating and executing their digital health strategy, there are tactics and technology partners available to help quickly kickstart programs and initiatives.
Digital Health: Opportunities and Challenges
In 2015, formulating and executing a digital health strategy must be a priority for healthcare organizations.
The industry is experiencing transformative shifts in the way care is delivered by clinicians and accessed by patients. The major driver of this shift is the rapid pace of digital health technology innovation and adoption.
Technology has a greater role than ever before in healthcare, and it is changing patient and provider behavior in profound ways. Patients now have the tools to self-manage, self-diagnosis, self-test, and self-treat. They have the opportunity to choose how, when and with whom they seek care. This means the patient has greater control and influence over his or her health than ever before.
Similarly, healthcare providers have more ways than ever before to connect with their patient populations. Patient portals, virtual visits, and secure messaging are just a few of the ways providers are now able to interface with patients outside of the hospital or physician’s office.
Digital health-powered initiatives, like telehealth, remote monitoring and analytics programs, may be a competitive advantage today. However, these solutions are quickly becoming status quo and will soon simply be a part of the normal healthcare environment. Organizations that lag behind in implementing these services risk losing patients who will seek services from third-party technology providers, like Doctor on Demand and HealthTap.
It was only three years ago that Becker’s Hospital Review wrote that EHRs, smartphone applications and tablets were going to be competitive advantages for hospitals. Today, those technologies are ubiquitous. Of healthcare providers, more than 75% have at least a basic EHR, and 70% of caregivers at hospitals use smartphones or tablets in daily care coordination. Technology is forcing the healthcare industry, which has historically moved slowly due to a number of regulatory and other factors, to move at a staggeringly quick pace to maintain competitive relevance.
The speed of innovation and competition in the healthcare landscape is requiring the implementation of more technology-enabled solutions. A digital health strategy is the only way for healthcare organizations to efficiently and effectively drive better outcomes, reduce costs and provide better care.
Innovators and Successors in Digital Health
Telehealth: Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente, the largest non-profit provider organization in the U.S., has won numerous awards for its digital health initiatives, including an online personal health record (My Health Manager) that is linked to the EHR, along with a mobile application, personal fitness tracker integrations, and other components. But, the organization is perhaps best known for pioneering its telehealth services.
Kaiser noticed a trend of patients frustrated by long wait times in their urgent care centers. In response, Kaiser launched video visits conducted by emergency physicians for patients to access care from home or kiosks in the urgent care units. Patients were able to share images from smartphones or data from applications with physicians during visits to assist in care delivery.
The implementation of telemedicine services increased physician productivity, as they were now able to see six patients per hour rather than the 1.6 average with in-person visits. Across all regional locations, virtual visits grew from 4.1 million in 2008 to 10.5 million in 2013. By 2016, Kaiser Permanente expects e-visits to exceed in-person visits.
Remote Patient Monitoring: Partners Healthcare
The Partners HealthCare Center for Connected Health, a not-for-profit integrated health system in Boston, was one of the first large medical delivery services in the U.S. to incorporate remote monitoring with patient records. Partners HealthCare heavily relies on digital health devices in remote monitoring programs to reduce readmissions for chronically-ill patients and those recovering from surgery.
One of their programs focuses on heart failure patients to detect daily changes in weight, heart rate, pulse, and blood pressure readings. Clinicians monitor this information to track progress and then use telehealth services to educate patients about the significance of changes in weight or other readings. When needed, the clinician will intervene to facilitate treatment in collaboration with the patient’s physician.
Partners HealthCare found this type of remote monitoring and data collection not only reduced the cost of providing care, but also increased access for patients that faced difficulty in visiting their provider in person due to physical impairments or lack of transportation. The approach has reduced heart failure-related hospital readmissions among these patients by 50 percent.
Analytics: Utica Park Clinic
Utica Park Clinic, a multi-specialty physician group in the Midwest, was experiencing challenges with implementing population health management programs and initiatives as a means to reduce costs and improve care. Utica Park utilized analytics software to determine gaps in care across patient populations and create the infrastructure to better manage care coordination.
The analytics software pulled data from financial records, patient records, and physician records. With the necessary data, the system was able to identify gaps in care with over 65,000 patients and create communication, outreach and engagement programs to fill the voids.
Incorporating analytics, they were able to improve their overall quality of care delivery by reducing readmissions, re-engaging patients through secure messaging, and generating almost $850,000 in billable revenue.
Implementing a Digital Health Strategy
While provided are a few examples of healthcare organizations successfully executing on digital health, the “Global Progress in Digital Health” Survey confirms that the majority of organizations are still struggling. To help those organizations thrive, Validic, the industry’s leading digital health platform, has identified five commonalities of healthcare companies successful in digital health.
These steps will help lay the roadmap for organizations struggling to advance or start on their digital health strategy.
Five Steps to Digital Health Success
For healthcare organizations that want to launch a digital health strategy, or reinvigorate an existing one, there are five key steps to take.
Step One: Assemble the Team
First, allocate sufficient cross-departmental resources to make the program a success. Identify technology champions among the executive, clinical, product and information technology staff who can take ownership of the initiative.
This core team can educate clinicians about the value of the data, hammer out the details of the digital strategy, and work with the IT team to ensure that the data can be pulled into existing clinical systems in a way that is useful to all stakeholders.
Step Two: Identify Objectives
Determine the key strategic initiatives for your organization and the programs that would best suit your patients in your environment. Do your research, review your numbers and consult your patients. Ask yourself the tough questions, like what is feasible and realistic? The key to success for any strategy is to set clear expectations early on to build an accurate roadmap.
Step Three: Budget the Project
Once the project or program is identified, implementation will require a budget, as well as a full cost justification analysis. There is a strong return on investment (ROI) case to be made for digital health initiatives: organizations can reduce costs, improve patient outcomes, and make it possible for clinicians to treat more patients in a more efficient manner. Integrating real-time digital health data can also help provider organizations transition to value-based care by focusing on preventative interventions.
Step Four: Establish Partnerships
While it is possible for some advanced health system IT departments to build the necessary technology infrastructure to integrate digital health devices or stream video visits, doing so would be an ultimate drain on the organization’s human and financial resources. It is much more efficient and effective to partner with technology companies that can provide these services quickly.
A business would not spend time and resources to build a word processor - because several already exist that would meet the company’s needs and possibly exceed what they can do internally. The same is true for healthcare. A technology partner can help you quickly advance your digital health strategy and allow you to focus on your patients and physicians.
Step Five: Investigate and Launch
Finally, develop an implementation timeline and begin executing on key parts of the strategy. It is important to move forward and not spend years preparing for the use of technology that is available now. Begin with internal pilots. Launch an internal mobile health summit and get feedback from stakeholders with different roles in various divisions.
Doing so will likely uncover new ways to use digital health, remote monitoring, EHR and telehealth data. This type of internal "crowdsourcing" can result in far more interesting pilots and innovative ideas than a top-down approach.
Technology is shaping the future of healthcare success with digital health leading the charge. Telemedicine, remote monitoring and analytics are all key initiatives for healthcare companies to focus on in 2015. Right now, the industry has the opportunity and the responsibility to use these new digital health innovations and technologies to build a better healthcare system.
Some healthcare organizations are thriving in this new value-based healthcare landscape, while others are looking for solutions and partnerships to help keep them ahead of these changes. No one company has all of the right solutions lined up. And, that is okay. But, every healthcare organization needs to take steps forward or risk being left behind. The time to execute on digital health is now.
About Validic
Validic is the healthcare industry's leading cloud-based, digital health platform. Validic provides convenient and quick access to patient data from mobile health and in-home clinical devices, fitness wearables and wellness applications. By connecting its growing base of customers - that includes providers, pharmaceutical companies, payers, wellness companies and health IT vendors - to the continuously expanding list of digital health technologies, Validic enables healthcare companies to better coordinate care across their communities, improve their patient engagement strategies, and more efficiently manage their patient populations.
Validic's innovative, scalable and FDA Class I MDDS technology delivers actionable, standardized and HIPAA-compliant health data from the best in-class digital health devices and applications. Validic was recognized for healthcare innovation by Gartner, and received Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices and Best Value in Healthcare Information Interoperability award and Top Ten Innovator Disrupting Healthcare award. Validic's leading global digital health ecosystem reaches over 160 million lives in 47 countries and continues to grow daily.
To learn more about Validic, follow Validic on Twitter at @validic or visit www.validic.com.
