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Staffing shortages, clinician burnout, increasing operational and labor costs. These are just some of the challenges facing healthcare organizations today, and they’ve only intensified in the aftermath of COVID-19 and with the steady rise in patient volumes.
These challenges present clear opportunities for utilizing technological solutions. Historically slow to adopt new technologies, the healthcare industry is now at a point in which the need for scaling digital—that is, the widespread adoption of new technologies to improve healthcare processes, delivery and outcomes—has never been more critical.
At the same time, a new wave of healthcare consumerism has shifted the patient-provider relationship to a shared partnership. Patients are becoming more active care recipients, and they expect technological personalization, immediacy and convenience—akin to what they get in other industries—in their interactions with the healthcare system. “Patients are consumers using technology in all other parts of their lives, and the healthcare industry has not caught up in terms of providing that same seamless experience and connectedness along the patient’s healthcare journey,” explains Manisha Shetty Gulati, Vice President, Global Head of MedTech Digital Growth and Engagement.
That said, scaling digital has made some strides in the industry. Take surgery, for example, which has introduced and integrated tools like wearables, robots, and virtual and augmented reality. Still, there are many opportunities for continued innovation.
And innovating in these areas is top of mind for health systems across the globe. “Our leading healthcare partners are eager to address challenges with technology and digital solutions,” says Peter Talarico, National Accounts Director, Johnson & Johnson MedTech. “And our role is to be proactive and bring them value. That might mean—for a customer who is grappling with large amounts of data—a solution involving AI and predictive analytics. Always, trust and collaboration are key to putting these solutions in place.”
Read on to learn more about why scaling digital remains the biggest challenge in healthcare—and the potential for solutions on the horizon.
Resistance to change and inadequate training
The fear of change and reluctance to embrace innovations are major barriers to the adoption of new technology in healthcare, according to Paul Miele, Business Unit Leader at MONARCH,™ Johnson & Johnson MedTech.
When it comes to introducing new technology into existing workflows, decision-makers have difficult questions to answer, like: “Do we have the appropriate resources, governance and space necessary to make changes?” says Bryan Burrs, North American leader of Go-to-Market efforts at Johnson & Johnson MedTech.
Healthcare providers, already dealing with workforce shortages and burnout, often find it particularly challenging to learn about and integrate new technologies into their work, as highlighted in a study of technical physicians and medical specialists. Moreover, many medical training programs don’t equip healthcare providers with the skills to work with the latest technologies, the authors note.
To be sure, in a survey run by Gulati’s group, “we found that 83% of surgeons felt that insufficient ongoing training has a high or major impact on patient care, and 98% of surgeons said that current peri-operative technology is cumbersome to use,” she says. “And alarmingly, we found that 95% of surgeons shared that they are unable to access or utilize patient data in a timely manner.”
Technology adoption should be based on improving the overall patient experience, keeping patients connected and informed throughout the healthcare journey, and improving outcomes. Prioritizing solutions that support data interoperability can help achieve these objectives, empowering patients to access up-to-date personal health information and real-time information support.
And staff training isn’t a one-time event, but rather a continuous necessity. Organizations find themselves investing already limited time and resources into ongoing education about the systems in place and how to use them effectively, all of which can discourage technology adoption, notes Burrs.
The good news: Advancements like virtual reality are making training—particularly for innovative technologies like robotic solutions—more accessible, Gulati notes. And resources like the Johnson & Johnson Institute—aimed at helping healthcare professionals gain a deep understanding of advancements in healthcare—provide both physical and virtual learning centers worldwide that include centralized access to education content, programs, and technologies.
Cost limitations
Hospital expenses continue to rise because of factors like inflation and workforce shortages, and getting adequate reimbursements from government and commercial payers remains challenging. Coupled with the fact that more and more patients struggle to afford healthcare, many hospitals are financially strapped.
Against this backdrop, the high cost of adopting and maintaining new technologies means key stakeholders are understandably hesitant to invest in new solutions unless they can be assured that the benefits outweigh the costs.
Unfortunately, as Gulati notes, a primary challenge with digital adoption in healthcare is aligning the appropriate business models to ensure a real return on investment. The technology must be adopted in a manner that not only benefits the surgeons using it but also satisfies the interests of stakeholders who fund it and those involved in its implementation, such as financial teams and IT personnel, she explains.
Data privacy and security concerns
With the widespread adoption of innovative technologies comes a heavier responsibility regarding data storage, management, privacy and security. This is especially true in healthcare, where personal and sensitive information is generated every second. The need to safeguard patient data and information can contribute to a hesitation in embracing new technologies. Miele notes that mentioning “digital” or “AI” often sparks cybersecurity and data protection concerns.
What’s more, operating rooms lack a standardized method for accessing, joining, sharing, anonymizing and securing data in real-time, says Gulati. This gap only adds to concerns about data privacy and liability.
How healthcare organizations can safely embrace digital
On the bright side, more and more research and clinical stakeholders are recognizing the possibilities digital technologies offer to improve surgical care, performance, and outcomes. Tools like robotic systems, are also being developed with better performance and ease of use. As a paper on the digital transformation of surgery notes, it’s only a matter of time before these solutions become integral to routine surgical practice.
Technology adoption should be based on improving the outcomes and the overall patient experience, as well as keeping patients connected and informed throughout the healthcare journey, says Gulati. Prioritizing solutions that support data interoperability can help achieve these objectives, empowering patients to access up-to-date personal health information and real-time information support.
Gulati and Miele are optimistic about the future of scaling digital in healthcare and anticipate wider adoption in the coming years. “If you asked people 25 years ago whether they thought an entire surgical procedure could be performed using robotic arms, many would have answered no,” says Gulati. Yet, today, she notes, robotic surgery is commonplace—and this trend will only continue, possibly at a faster pace.