During an April 2018 TED Talk in Vancouver, British Columbia, neuroscientist Poppy Crum, chief scientist at Dolby Laboratories, posed a question that should resonate with anyone who works in the fields of healthcare and technology: “What happens when technology knows more about us than we do?”

Crum is among the featured speakers at next week’s Health 2.0 Annual Conference in Santa Clara, California. Whether we like it or not, she told her TED Talk audience, advances in technology mean that we are “already sharing parts of our inner lives.”

One of the tasks of a healthcare IT company is to develop ways to creatively respond to the realities of our information-saturated age, ensuring that patients’ personal and medical histories are protected while enabling providers to use medical data to improve lives.

To thrive in today’s healthcare environment, practices need to understand how a rapidly changing market is making a subtle shift from patient-centric care to creating a customer-centric experience.

Thanks to brands such as Uber and Amazon, today’s healthcare customers are more tech-savvy and connected than previous generations. They expect instant results, delivered with five-star service. For example, according to Google, searches for “open now” are increasing while searches for “store hours” are declining.

The Economist calls it "time poverty" — the notion that there’s not enough time to do all the work we need to do. Against that backdrop, healthcare providers still need to find ways to connect.

In his classic “Economics in One Lesson,” Henry Hazlitt wrote: “The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.” ¹

Change “economics” to “healthcare,” and you have a useful guide for medical practices challenged to deliver quality care while controlling costs: Think about long-term consequences for all.

Whether you’re cutting into a juicy steak or biting into a crisp apple, food safety metrics were established to keep you safe and feeling healthy. Meeting all of these requirements can feel overwhelming, so tools have been created to make the process easier and more efficient for food and beverage manufacturers.

The same could be said about quality measures in the healthcare system.

Dinosaurs get a bad rap. Conventional wisdom says they were cold-blooded, had small brains, and were incapable of adapting to rapid climate change following a cataclysmic asteroid impact. The lessons for businesses? Move faster. Work smarter. Adapt.

But let’s face it: Keeping up with the rapidly changing climate in the world of healthcare is hard. Regulations change, reporting requirements grow, and healthcare consumers demand high-quality, convenient, and affordable care — or they’ll potentially take their business elsewhere.

What’s a practice to do? How about learning from the dinosaurs!

The upbeat and warm sound of last year’s hit “Swingin’ Down the Lane” by Isham Jones fills the quiet of your parlor as you remove the stethoscope from your neck and lower the volume on your new radio. As you sit in a chair as angular as a Picasso, you pick up the latest copy of Radio News magazine and shake your head in wonder.

On the cover of the April 1924 edition of the magazine, three children are seated in front of a square system with two dials, a flaring horn, and a screen in the center of the contraption. With mouths wide open, the kids are saying “Ahh” as the image of a suited doctor equipped with robotic fingers like the metallic tentacles of the Martian ships from The War of the Worlds is projected onto a screen. Hugo Gernsback named this invention the teledactyl.sham Jones fills the quiet of your parlor as you remove the stethoscope from your neck and lower the volume on your new radio. As you sit in a chair as angular as a Picasso, you pick up the latest copy of Radio News magazine and shake your head in wonder. 

As organizations are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with their Electronic Health Record (EHR), many are beginning to make the switch for better healthcare IT. A recent Medical Economics’ study found 62% of practices have already switched EHRs at least once. 

In a new EHR, the organizations are seeking increased efficiency and productivity, advanced functionality, unified solutions, and data analytics. 

But ensuring success throughout the implementation process requires first understanding your practice’s actual needs and then working with a healthcare IT partner capable of meeting those needs quickly, efficiently, and affordably. 

Why getting the finances right matters

Healthcare today is a mix of payment models, third-party payers, complex regulations, and codes. A practice’s survival depends upon getting the finances right. As getting paid appropriately and accurately for rendering medical services has grown more complex, so too has the importance of having an effective Revenue Cycle Management solution.

The 2018 CAQH Index® report found an 18% increase between 2017 and 2018 in the total volume of healthcare transactions across the U.S. Manual transactions declined 6%, evidence that practices and health systems are continuing to make progress in implementing electronic processing for coding, claims, and reimbursements.

The healthcare industry is undergoing dramatic efforts to improve the delivery of care. Lots of changes have already occurred that have expanded access to quality care. Now, the challenge is to shift the conversation to focus on optimizing health that emphasizes patient-centered care.

A recent report by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) determined consumers should remain at the center of care to keep them engaged and healthy. CMS describes an optimal patient-provider relationship as one that “[gives] consumers access to their records, [enabling] them to be more active participants in their care, making care more person-centered.”

Many tools, but challenges persist

Each year brings new advances in medical technology and new understanding of challenges in healthcare. The progress of science is so visible that it’s easy for physicians, patients, and public-policy experts to believe all the tools necessary to build a healthier society are already in hand. 

In reality, many difficult and complex challenges remain. Conditions that have clear, adverse impacts on the quality of life — including diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and poor nutrition — remain widespread. 

Discussions and debates over healthcare policy never end, but one point is beyond dispute: Since their founding in 1965, our nation’s community health centers have grown to play a vital role in delivering quality healthcare to more than 28 million Americans.¹

During National Health Center Week, we take time to recognize the work that thousands of providers and staff do every day on behalf of communities across the nation.

Each year brings new technologies and breakthroughs in healthcare. But to ensure accurate understanding among patients, healthcare providers need to have and share realistic perspectives on technological advances. In short, what’s real and what’s hype?

The ABCD’s of Healthcare Progress

The following four areas have seen real progress, are likely to see more, and are directly or indirectly promoting better care and outcomes.

To thrive in today’s healthcare environment, a strong online presence is vital for quality patient care.

Switching EHRs can be time-consuming and expensive, but practices continue to seek better healthcare IT. An EHR should provide comprehensive documentation, the latest interoperability, tools for Patient Engagement and Population Health, robust data analytics, and effective Revenue Cycle Management. 

Given how few EHRs meet all those criteria, it is not surprising that 62% of practices have switched EHRs at least once. 

The idea of interoperability in healthcare IT isn’t new, but there’s still confusion and misunderstanding regarding what interoperability really is.

At a basic level, interoperability means sharing data between disparate programs. But asking another practice or hospital for patient records isn’t true interoperability. Nor is logging into their system to retrieve those records.

True interoperability is when patient information can be sent electronically to the EHR.