In all the excitement over telehealth and other digital enablers, don't forget the talent

In the midst of a digital revolution, healthcare organizations along with consultants and technology vendors that serve them are quickly implementing…

| February 26, 2016

lbeckerdirectory In the midst of a digital revolution, healthcare organizations along with consultants and technology vendors that serve them are quickly implementing new enabling technologies that will transform the way they do business. While the industry as a whole is at a cross-roads, the digital impact comes at an interesting time; one in which the transition to value-based care focusing on the quality of patient outcomes, the reduction of costs and the overall patient care experience can see improvements from the adoption of digital technologies. Digital provides enormous opportunities to aid in this transition, but consultants will need to remind their clients on the "business side", that although the excitement generated by new "toys" is palpable; the people (in this case we are talking about physicians /clinical talent), and processes behind the workflows are an integral part of any future successful transformation; and that their education and engagement will be an essential component of success. Telehealth provides the perfect testing ground to address both the consumer needs and the physician alignment needs.

Telehealth and rising consumerism; but what about the physicians With rising consumerism, many healthcare organizations are responding with tools and devices to meet consumer demand. This has been a large focus on the healthcare provider side where many systems are dabbling in the delivery of virtual health or telehealth. There are different forms of telehealth (provider-focused, clinical among physicians, etc.) but for now, let's focus on the consumer-driven apps such as American Well, Teladoc, Doctor on Demand or MDLive. According to a Deloitte study, there will be 75 million virtual visits in North America and the potential exists for as many as 300 million visits a year. In addition, the telehealth companies are flourishing and providing both independent services directly to consumers and working with health systems to design "white label" services of their own. There is tremendous excitement over the potential of telehealth to meet rising consumer expectations and to provide a more efficient, cost effective channel for providers. But, there is a huge "red flag" here. Healthcare organizations need consultants to facilitate the cultural change necessary when adopting telehealth and other digital enablers. Those "on the ground" at health systems are finding that physicians may not feel quite the same level of enthusiasm for telehealth as do the business leaders. Often times, physicians may be concerned on several fronts including "cannibalization" of their practices, potential liability, and the quality of care delivery with virtual health. The difference in attitudes toward digital adoption are starkly contrasted in a survey done by the Journal of Medical Internet Research which found that consumers were more likely to prefer using technology for non-life threatening medical conditions (437/1102, 39.66%) compared with providers (194/1406, 13.80%) ("How Consumers and Physicians View New Medical Technology: Comparative Survey," Journal of Medical Internet Research, September, 2015). Consulting Needs: Engaging and educating clinical talent for better alignment A senior director of telemedicine at a major health system describes the need to appoint a "Clinical Leader" on the physician side. The Clinical Leader is a point person who is an "early adopter" and believes in the real value of telehealth. She describes this as an essential component of the transformation and files it in her "lessons learned" folder. Consulting firms can play a huge role in facilitating the era of digital adoption by focusing on physician alignment; and making sure that the people and processes in healthcare organizations are "along for the ride" and buy-in to the new workflow processes. The need for digital governance cannot be overstated; engaging and educating physicians is a key to ensuring successful integration. The convergence of technology, healthcare organization planning and redesign points to consulting firms as key enablers of telehealth transformation. While third party expertise is needed for digital technology capabilities within healthcare, it is ultimately the successful business and patient health outcomes delivered by the right clinical talent that will make or break successful telehealth and other digital transformations.

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