Four health IT leaders discussed their strategies and innovations for the consumerization of healthcare and digital experience in 2020 during a keynote panel at the Becker's Hospital Review Health IT + RCM conference on Oct. 9.
The panel, titled "Consumerization and Digital Experience - Strategies and Innovations in 2020," featured Liz Popwell, CSO of Ascension Michigan; Ben Patel, CIO of Cone Health in Greensboro, N.C.; Viraj Patwardhan, vice president of digital design and consumer experience at Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health in Philadelphia; and Paul Black, CEO of Allscripts.
Mr. Patel said Cone Health is working on leveraging behavioral sensing or IoT devices powered by artificial intelligence to deliver protocol driven medicine to improve outcomes and experiences, as well as using genetics decision support to tailor therapies and meds to individual patients. It is also working on a digital command center to route patients in real time based on their needs and investing dollars into a center that will offer healthcare and wellness under the same roof.
Ms. Popwell touched on how consumerism among rural and community hospitals often means offering telehealth and virtual health options. She said the idea that older generations of patients don't want to interact with technology in healthcare isn't always the case.
"Elderly patients are more apt to use virtual platforms and providers if their primary care physician that they trust has a relationship with them helps them work through that and helps them understand the benefits," Ms. Popwell said.
Mr. Patwardhan discussed strategies for health systems to compete with large tech organizations breaking into healthcare, such as Amazon and Google.
"In the case of healthcare, we expect the customers to come to us. In the case of Amazon and Google, there you can do everything on a mobile phone, on a TV, wherever you want it," Mr. Patwardhan said. "If we start delivering care to wherever the patient is, I think that's the best thing."