Expert perspectives on trends driving change in healthcare

The healthcare industry has seen rapid innovations in recent years, with increasing collaboration between people and technology. From telehealth to AI, healthcare providers are using technology to increase access to patient care and improve its quality.

We’ve brought three key opinion leaders into discussions with Microsoft leaders to dive deeper into the trends driving advancements in healthcare and life sciences, including remote care, connected data, and AI. 

These conversations explore how you can adapt to the ongoing shift toward hybrid and omnichannel healthcare by using technology to unlock the power of information and care.

Balancing high-touch and high-tech in nursing

Nursing is a high-touch profession, with nurses delivering personalized care to individuals. However, as providers work to staff enough nurses and outdated systems lead to siloed information and administrative backlogs, the industry needs technology to play a bigger role in helping nurses deliver that care.

Dr. Bonnie Clipper, Founder and CEO of Innovation Advantage, discusses the importance of the developments that are happening at the intersection of nursing and technology.

“Every single workflow is ripe for disruption and transformation,” says Clipper. “It’s up to us to identify the gaps and weaknesses that we can use technology to address.”

Cloud technology, AI, and virtual communication platforms show promise as solutions to the challenges facing the nursing industry. “The bright spot I’ve seen is virtual-care nursing,” says Clipper. “This virtual model is going to allow organizations to provide safer care and a safer orientation for new nurses.”

Also, innovators are identifying new ways that technology can support nursing staff by off-loading some tasks to computers so nurses can focus on providing the best care possible.

Clipper offers some valuable advice for healthcare professionals: “We need to learn how to embrace technology in appropriate roles and identify the opportunities where we can use it to solve problems.” 

Check out the full interview with Dr. Bonnie Clipper for more insights on this increasingly hybrid approach to healthcare. 

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Delivering omnichannel patient care to more people than ever

As the healthcare landscape changes, it’s important for organizations to understand the variety of ways that innovative technology can help deliver better care to their patients where they want to be seen. 

Jane Sarasohn-Kahn is a health economist and founder of THINK-Health. “Primary care is the leading aspect of this trend toward care at home,” says Sarasohn-Kahn. 

Meeting people where they are through care-anywhere solutions represents an important shift to patient-centered care, a shift that COVID-19 accelerated. Now, innovative technology is creating and improving many of these omnichannel ways to access healthcare, including telehealth video calls, virtual mental health services, and more.

How can the healthcare industry promote omnichannel care through trusted touchpoints and a patient-centered system? Sarasohn-Kahn points to one major factor: data.

“We can’t achieve seamless omnichannel care until we realize that healthcare is a data-driven enterprise,” says Sarasohn- Kahn.

Dive deeper into omnichannel care with Jane Sarasohn-Kahn in the full video. 

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Unlocking the power of information to improve healthcare

Gil Bashe, Chair of Global Health and Purpose at FINN Partners, agrees that connecting data by using technology is the key to unlocking the power of information. 

Healthcare data can reveal insights to improve patient care, empower health team collaboration, and enhance provider experiences. However, much of the information in healthcare systems is siloed. To improve healthcare, organizations must unlock the power of information by using technology to connect it.

Bashe says that COVID-19 led to rapid innovation in telehealth and the increased adoption of AI. “What’s happening with these technologies is exactly what needs to happen,” says Bashe. “It’s not this or that; it’s a hybrid.”

Bashe believes that AI is a game changer that will help healthcare providers make better decisions faster. “Using AI, we will have the power of the professional complemented by the power of information,” says Bashe.

In the interview below, you’ll access more of our discussion with Gil Bashe about the increasing importance of connected data in healthcare.

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Discussing technology trends with healthcare industry experts

These key opinion leaders were generous with their time and insights as Microsoft explored the exciting opportunities that continue to develop in healthcare.

Find out how Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare can help your organization prepare for new and evolving directions in healthcare and deliver better experiences, insights, and care.