The lines between modern convenience and invasion of privacy are increasingly blurry. Individuals and organizations alike must question the sharing and use of personal data in order to act wisely and ethically in the marketplace.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
In the face of all we cannot know about AI in these early stages of development and adoption, I see two particular areas that deserve our focus to develop helpful guardrails that will allow us to move forward wisely.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare professionals were making predictions about telehealth’s effectiveness and the possibility of its post-pandemic adoption (including me). Nearly a year after the rapid rise in telehealth usage brought on by the virus, we are starting to get a clearer picture of telehealth’s role in the healthcare landscape as we inch closer to post-pandemic life.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
Whether in reports from journalists, briefings from government officials, or socially-distanced conversations with next-door neighbors, “unprecedented” seems to be the word on everyone’s lips these days.
It is certainly true that in the United States, we have not experienced anything quite like the societal, economical, and public health impacts of COVID-19 in our lifetime. However, if we look into the not-too-distant past, we see that today’s events are not entirely unprecedented, and that the past may offer perspective to the healthcare industry as we find a way forward.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
There is reluctance in the healthcare industry to adopt new price transparency technology. Some healthcare providers are ignoring it all together, saying they’ll wait and see if anything comes of it.
But this technology isn’t “coming.” It’s already here. With the technology in place and demands for increased affordability coming from consumers and legislators alike, this technology is just one little tilt from being mainstream—and I believe that it can change the healthcare industry for the better.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
With an unprecedented number of healthcare provider mergers and acquisitions in recent years and new requirements being ushered in with the Affordable Care Act, healthcare professionals are in a constant state of technology systems transition. Though replacing a legacy system can be necessary and even beneficial to patient care or a hospital’s bottom line, times of transition deeply impact the people these organizations are relying on to provide quality care and keep the healthcare organization running efficiently.
To consider the implementation of a new system a success, you need to do more than make it to launch day on time and under budget. Your employees—the intended users of the new technology—need to understand the “why” behind the switch and actually use the system as intended with their sanity intact. In my experience, this can only be accomplished by engaging your people and giving them a voice at every step in the process.
Preparation
Before selecting a new system for your hospital or healthcare organization, it is essential to get the right people at the table to create a roadmap for the transition process. Be sure to involve and gather feedback from:
Employees who can think critically about workflow efficiencies so you can ensure that you aren’t carrying bad practices forward with the new system.
People who are highly knowledgeable about the current technology in place and its limitations. They will have invaluable insights into problems that any future systems need to solve.
Anyone who has a vested interest in the new system. If the new technology is clinical in nature, you need to make sure physicians and nurses have a voice. If it’s a change in back-office technology, human resources professionals or accountants who will use this technology regularly will need to be invited into the conversation.
Any department who will deal with a heavier-than-normal workload during the parallel running process or launch.
These groups have the expertise and high levels of investment to help your executive team document your current process, find the right technology to replace your legacy system, determine real costs, and set a reasonable timeline.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
The business world seems to be moving in the direction of business process automation, yet in the healthcare industry only about 20% of provider organizations are widely engaging in hospital financial automation, according to a new Black Book CFO survey.
Automation can result in immediate cost savings, the elimination of duplicated tasks, and improved visibility. For the healthcare industry in particular, the automation of business processes can result in improved compliance, elimination of errors in workflow processes, enhanced vendor management, and better billing practices, to name a few.
So why are so few hospitals adopting automation for their back-office processes? I believe it’s because they have seen that automation technology doesn’t always save money as it claims. I have learned that when automation is employed without critical thinking around cost and workflow efficiency, the result is automation that will only produce unwanted outcomes—faster.
Consider the actual cost.
I don’t want to come across as overly negative toward technology—I love technology! My doctoral studies examined impact of computerization on business administration in healthcare industry. However, through the course of my research, I learned that despite promises to the contrary, technology doesn’t always save you money.In many cases, the difference in cost savings between companies that had completely automated their business functions and those that didn’t use automation at all was negligible.
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By Pamela J. Gallagher
Within the next five years, technology could be performing as much as 30% of tasks commonly performed by people in today’s workplace, according to Supply Chain 24/7.
People tend to react to statistics like this in one of two ways. Some throw their full confidence behind the inevitability of technology, believing it to be the solution to nearly every financial or operational issue. Others view these numbers through the lens of a “doomsday-er,” prophesying that technology will upend business-as-usual—for the worse.
Whether 30% of people-powered tasks will be fueled by technology a few years from now, I can’t say. But here’s what I do know: The future of the workplace and of the healthcare industry will look different than it does today. We just have to make sure it’s going to be better. With the costs of technological solutions playing a role in the skyrocketing cost of healthcare, hospital executives must think critically when considering tech solutions to operational issues.
How can you tell if a tech solution is 1. necessary, and 2. worth the time and money to implement?
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