The Year 2020…
It’s always seemed to be some distant, far-off time – somewhere in the FUTURE. Futurists predicted that technology would become essential to our lives, that information would become the new currency, and that automation and ease would be the hallmarks of daily life.
Some predictions of the past were closer than others (I still want my flying car!), but the truth is, 2020 is coming up next quarter. The ‘future’ of healthcare is really the NOW of healthcare.
We must think strategically about our healthcare data ecosystems, consider who our “customer base” is, and keep up with the fast-paced expectations our healthcare providers and patients expect.
We see three key trends poised to change the future of healthcare. At our December event, The Next Decade: Your EMPI as a Strategic Asset, we’ll be discussing how these trends will unfold over the next decade:
It’s not just about the patients:
When we work with healthcare information, the data we gather moves beyond the patient sphere into many personas. These personas include patients, guarantors, consumers, providers, citizens, and even digital. Managing these personas requires foresight and a vision.
Patients will still play a central role in the next decade, but the other people around them will become more integral. Population health already understands that clusters of patients, cohorts, family members, and peers all play a part in health outcomes and treatment solutions.
Understanding the different personas – and how they inter-relate – becomes the key to managing health in the future. It’s not just about stewardship or management anymore… it’s about truly understanding the whole person and analyzing the multiple factors that lead to better health outcomes.
Wellness and customer experience combine:
From counting steps and logging water intake, to monitoring heart rate and glucose levels in real time – the future of health and wellness is creating experiences where patients interact with their data constantly.
Individuals won’t have to rely on yearly check-ups for historical trends; they will see those trends daily from their own data. Accessibility to data brings challenges as well.
As healthcare IT professionals, it is our mandate to protect the security, privacy, and integrity of the data we gather. As personal data becomes more accessible, so does the risk for data breaches… and we must innovate with an eye toward compliance and risk management.
Value-Based Care and Reimbursement will rule:
Not too long ago, Western medicine was focused primarily on symptom relief, quick turnarounds, and creating repeat customers. The shift towards Value-Based Care and Reimbursement is marching forward, and over the next decade will dominate the clinical landscape.
High-volume, impersonal consultations with no awareness of patient history will not cut it. Healthcare providers must have an integrated, detailed, and thorough view of the patient – a longitudinal record – that spans across healthcare systems, providers, and time. This requires integration, collaboration, and interoperability between EMR, practice management systems, registration, and claims.
Treating an urgent symptom will not be enough… especially when health and wellness outcomes factor into the financial reimbursement formula. Medicine will become more personal, and that requires knowledge that goes beyond the “show me where it hurts” model of today and focuses on a holistic view of the patient that demands complete data.
Over the past 20+ years, IMT has seen huge strides in healthcare information technology. We’ve also seen how information governance and strategy can make or break an organization’s chances of success. The Enterprise Master Data Index still has a place, so long as data continues to be created and duplicated across systems, but the EMPI can also become a truly strategic part of your ecosystem. The future is about change, and IMT is here to help you face the evolving landscape with a strategy that is focused on preparing for the future instead of reacting to it.
We invite you to join the conversation on the future of healthcare information at our customer leadership summit on December 4-5th in Orlando, Florida. The Next Decade: Your EMPI as a Strategic Asset will bring together health information management and IT professionals from across the health and wellness spectrum to share ideas, learn new strategies, and prepare themselves for what the 2020s have in store. Register now and plan to join us in sunny Florida in the final days of the 2010s.
