As the world transitions to life post-Covid, health systems across the U.S. continue to deal with the aftermath of the pandemic. And with the onslaught of virtual care as a result of Covid, many are now looking at the digital solutions they have in place to determine what makes sense for their organization in the long term.
Telehealth is here to stay, and with consumer demand for these tools at an all-time high, assessing what makes sense for your organization can be tricky. Not to mention, provider burnout and shortages continue to plague many areas in the U.S., making it even more critical to ensure the digital solutions you choose help fix the problem—and not contribute to it.
To address many of the common questions we’re hearing from customers, Bright.md developed a new framework that reviews the lessons learned during Covid, and how healthcare executives and providers alike can look to recent trends to help determine their next steps. Below, we review three key areas that should be included in any assessment of a digital care solution.
Curious to learn more about what to look for, and what lessons can and should be learned for long-term growth? Check out three of the five keys to assessing your digital solutions in a post-pandemic world.
Read more about industry trends, and discover all five areas to assess. Download What’s Next? How to assess digital care solutions to create a sustainable hybrid care model post-pandemic now.
Here are the three keys to consider when assessing digital health solutions in a post-Covid world:
1. Care navigation
With consumers continuing to shift to more app-based care and direct-to-consumer solutions, one issue the traditional healthcare system faces is care navigation. Oftentimes, navigating the system can be time consuming and frustrating for patients, but new solutions have come to market that streamline the digital front door and make it easier for patients to find a care path.
When assessing tools to add to your digital suite, look for ones that focus on ease-of-use. For instance, solutions like Bright.md offer the ability to collect chief complaint and demographic data from patients and then direct them to the most appropriate avenue of care within the health system, ensuring patients recieve the right care in the right place at the right time.
2. Clinical workflow automation
As vaccination rates continue to rise, patient volumes are returning back to normal, and health systems are assessing what digital tools make sense to meet those demands. However, with provider workflows already strained, it’s critical to ensure new digital solutions help with automation—and don’t create more of a headache.
When assessing digital tools, looking for ones that alleviate administrative burden could be a game changer, since for every hour of time a provider spends with patients, there’s an associated two hours of documentation work. The Bright.md platform centers on alleviating administrative tasks for providers. It increases the capacity of existing clinical teams, giving providers digital tools that eliminate nearly 90 percent of administrative work so they can focus on practicing at the top of their license.
3. Streamlining around low-acuity conditions
Low-acuity conditions account for upwards of 50 percent of the visits in typical primary care and urgent care settings. However, many of these conditions can be treated using asynchronous technology.
Although it can be intimidating, asynchronous care—also known as “store-and-forward” services—does not require a real-time interaction between a patient and provider. Instead, the technology amplifies the benefits of telemedicine and increases patients’ access to high-value, low-cost care. This also creates opportunities for quality improvement, since physicians have more time to gather a patient’s data and full history, while then moving to research hypotheses and consult with others before responding.