Earlier this year, J.P. Morgan’s 38th annual Healthcare Conference was held in San Francisco. The event is tailored more towards pharmaceutical and life science industries, medical devices firms, technology vendors, emerging start-ups, and members of the investment community. I believe the content at the upcoming HIMSS Global Health Conference will resemble those discussions with a technology focus.
Themes from #JPM20:
- The shift to value-based care starts with price transparency.
- Consumers want to be in charge but, are they really in control?
- Massive investments to lower drug prices.
- There is still a focus on digital, but are we building the culture or talent.
Focus for CIOs at #HIMSS20
- Technology platform to incorporate virtual care offerings and define the desired digital experience. Healthcare providers must define their consumerism strategy and what looks like for the patient experience. We expect the expansion of telemedicine services by every organization, and CIOs are on the hunt to help define the digital patient experience while looking for the ideal technology platform.
- CIOs need the right information security solutions to safeguard assets. CIOs and CISOs are working to build comprehensive information security programs while investing in a variety of tools to combat sophisticated external and internal threats. Specific products such as Identity Access Management (IAM), internet of medical things (IoMT) protection and management, and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) are top of mind for the executives during the conference. Pervasive security will mature as the new normal.
- CIOs are exploring the right partner for their back-office transformation using Cloud ERP. Healthcare systems are in the process of an aggressive change by utilizing technology solutions such as ERP and revenue cycle. Unfortunately, many health systems have antiquated ERP solutions, and the CIOs will be looking for the next generation cloud ERP solution as a trend for the upcoming years.
- Clinical communication is a core competency for patient engagement. Physicians, nurses, and every clinician must be on the same page when providing patient care. Clinical communication technology provides the platform; it is the transparent tool that can be used by every clinician for delivering patient care. Communication technology is more than a secure messaging platform; it should also be the platform for clinicians to document patient interactions, and provide notes on a patient as the clinician administers care.
- CIOs want a “digital front door.” The digital front door requires a mass personalization for the patient. It starts with the contact center as the first interaction for a patient/consumer for scheduling appointments or any questions related to care. CIOs will explore next-generation contact center technology as a standard to establish the digital experience.
- API orchestration using low code platforms is a priority. Interoperability is still a hot theme on the radar for CIOs. They’re looking for a low-code, easy to use platform that can decouple data from the various applications while stitching them together using microservice architectures.
- CIOs are discussing 5G, but they’re not convinced yet. The fifth-generation global mobile telecommunications standard, which is expected to become broadly promises much faster speeds through a higher-frequency millimeter-wave band. 5G requires building out more infrastructure and CIOs for the impact while exploring their WiFi infrastructure strategy. With a mature 5G network, can this replace the hospital WiFi infrastructure?
2020 is about blocking and tackling. CIOs must focus on reinforcing the IT foundational building blocks. Infrastructure must be up to date; enterprise applications in the portfolio should be reevaluated to ensure that the departments are utilizing them effectively while removing redundant systems to drive efficiency. CIOs must focus on cleaning up the core technology stack as a starting point before they jump into leading the digital initiative.
This piece was written by David Chou, a digital transformation consultant and longtime advocate for leveraging technology as a competitive advantage. Currently serving as CIO at Luye Medical Group, Chou has held leadership roles with several organizations, including University of Mississippi Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic, and most recently, Children’s Mercy Hospital. To follow him on Twitter, click here.
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