About two-thirds (65 percent) of healthcare organizations self-reported a strong or very strong understanding and use of digital technology to achieve strategic goals, according to a survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Healthcare is not alone in embracing digital technology to respond to changing markets. "Today, all roads lead to digital. From business strategy to execution, digital technology has become the foundation for everything we do," said Chris Curran, PwC advisory principal and chief technologist, in a news release. "You can't afford to underestimate digital. Through all of our research, CEOs have made it clear that they see both the promise and the peril of digital technology and we believe that charting their company's course in the digital age is the number-one challenge business leaders will face in 2014."
The report identified four digital behaviors shared by successful companies:
- Healthcare leads in one of the main areas needed for successfully using digital technology to achieve strategy goals — a CEO who champions the use of IT to achieve strategic goals. According to the survey, 82 percent of healthcare organizations, more than any other industry, reported having a CEO who is an active technology champion.
- A strong relationship between the CIO and chief marketing officer is also important, as digital initiatives are often driven by marketing needs. Healthcare came in third in this area, as 59 percent of healthcare respondents reported a strong CIO-CMO relationship.
- Top-performing companies often look outside their own organization for new ideas for innovations, according to the report. Of all healthcare respondents, 36 percent look to external sources and 31 percent look to internal sources for ideas, ranking healthcare fourth behind the technology, hospitality and automotive industries.
- Investing in key areas will also help raise a company's digital IQ, according to the report. In healthcare, the top five areas for new investment include:
- Data mining and analytics
- Private cloud infrastructure
- Mobile apps for consumers
- Social media
- Digital delivery of products and services
Cybersecurity is notably absent from this list, and most other industries list reported cybersecurity to be a top priority.
Survey results are based on the responses from 1,500 business and IT executives from a variety of industries.
More Articles on Digital Strategy:
Hospitals Must Ensure Security at the Door, for Patient Data, and in the Cloud
The Virtual Primary Healthcare Revolution: What Health Systems Need To Know
6 Statistics on the Use of mHealth