Healthcare's digital future

The inter-inclusion phases of digital in Healthcare

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in Digital Healthcare has generally followed the same pattern as other industries. In the 1950s, when institutions began using new technologies to automate highly standardized and repetitive tasks such as accounting and payroll, healthcare pioneers and other industry stakeholders began using AI to process huge amounts of statistical data. 

Twenty years later the second wave of adoption of artificial intelligence has come.It did two things: it helped integrate different parts of the main processes (production and human resources, for example) within individual organizations and supported B2B processes such as supply chain management for different institutions within and outside outside the individual sectors.

As regards its effects on the health sector, this second wave has helped to create, for example, the electronic health card in Germany. It was also a catalyst for the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act in the United States - an effort to promote the adoption of health information technology - and the National Artificial Intelligence Program in the National Health Service in the United Kingdom . Regardless of their immediate impact, these programs have helped create an important and powerful infrastructure that will surely be useful in the future.

Many institutions in the public and private sector have already gone through the third phase of AI adoption , i.e. the complete digitalization of the entire company, including digital products, channels and processes, as well as advanced analyzes that allow completely new operating models. What will this third wave be like for healthcare?

Healthcare players have had some success - and have benefited - from the first and second waves of AI adoption. But they have struggled to successfully manage the myriad of stakeholders, regulations and privacy concerns needed to build a fully integrated healthcare system: this was in part due to the fact that the first and second waves of adopting AI they focus more on the processes and less on the needs of the patients .

Now that patients around the world have become more comfortable using digital networks and services, even for complex and sensitive problems such as healthcare (the successful PatientsLikeMe , DrEd , ZocDoc sites are just three examples of this trend), we believe it is the time has come for the various healthcare structures to invest in Healthcare Marketing strategies that focus on Healthcare. But where should they start?

Non-healthcare organizations that pioneered the third wave of digitization have started trying to understand what their customers really wanted; they then built their initial digital products and services based on this information and methodically expanded their offerings and customer base. We believe this model can also work for healthcare. Success in the third wave of digital depends heavily on understanding patients' digital preferences in both channels and services. But many digital Healthcare strategies are still guided by myths or information related to the patient experience that are no longer true.

Myth 1: People don't want to use digital services for Healthcare

Many health executives believe that due to the sensitive nature of medical care, patients do not want to use digital services except in some specific situations but the reason why patients are slow to adopt digital health care is mainly because of the existing services. they do not meet their needs or because they are of poor quality: over 75% of respondents from McKinsey & Company would like to use digital health services, provided that these services are simple to use and allow an interconnection between the various digital devices. Of course, non-digital channels will continue to be relevant and important, so digital channels will have to be incorporated into a well thought out multi-channel concept.

Myth 2: only young people want to use digital services

One of the most widespread myths about healthcare is that only the younger generations want to use digital services and, therefore, digital Healthcare will not reach many of the major players in the system.

 The McKinsey & Company survey shows, however, that patients of all ages are more than willing to use digital services for health care, in fact, patients over 50 want digital health care services almost as much as their younger colleagues the. More than 70% of all older patients in the UK and Germany want to use digital health services, and that number is even higher in Singapore.

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However, there is a difference between the types of digital channels that older and younger patients want to use. The former prefer traditional digital channels such as websites and email, while the latter are, of course, more open to relatively new channels such as social media .

The type of service , not just the channel, should be segmented by age : younger patients obviously want access to health promotion and prevention services, while older people need information on services for health conditions acute and chronic.

Myth 3: mobile device health is the turning point

Mobile health, the practice of healthcare supported by mobile devices, is often considered the future of digital services in the healthcare sector. However, the demand for mobile health care is not universal, it is therefore not the only critical factor in the future of healthcare digitization.

Of course, there is definitely demand for mobile healthcare applications, and it is stronger among young people. 

Healthcare systems should therefore create mobile solutions for this audience, for example apps that focus on prenatal health or on what could be classified as lifestyle apps . Attention to solutions that could have a great impact but which do not interest the segment in question: digital applications to manage the chronic conditions typical of elderly people, for example.

Myth 4: Patients want innovative features and apps

Healthcare facilities often think they need to be innovative when designing their digital service offerings. But the main features that patients expect from their healthcare system are surprisingly trivial:

Efficiency , better access to information , integration with other channels and availability of a real person if the digital service does not provide them with what they need . Highly innovative services, better apps and more social media are far less important for most patients

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Myth 5: A complete platform of service offerings is a prerequisite for value creation

When it comes to digital, many institutions - not just those in healthcare - think it is necessary to build a complete platform with offerings along the entire spectrum of customer services. But the survey finds that it can be smarter to start small and act fast .

Surprisingly, all over the world, most people want the same thing: digital Healthcare for routine activities and navigation in the often complex healthcare system . In Germany, Singapore and the United Kingdom, for example, three very different countries with three very different healthcare systems, patients often mention " finding and scheduling medical appointments " as the service with which they need assistance.

Other commonly cited needs include help in selecting the right specialist and support for repetitive administrative tasks such as prescription refills . What many of these services have in common is that they don't require huge artificial intelligence investments to get started.