By Monica E. Oss, Chief Executive Officer, OPEN MINDS
What’s driving digital transformation and the investment in new technology in health and human services? One factor is changing reimbursement—and anticipating performance-based and value-based reimbursement (VBR). According to a recent survey of provider organization executives—The Tipping Point: The State Of Technology In Value-Based Care—61% think that technology is important to their success with VBR, and 97% plan to invest more in technology for data management.
Almost half (40%) of these same provider organization executives reported that data quality issues are a top challenge to getting the integrated data they need for performance management. And, only a third (33%) rated their ability to integrate data across systems as excellent. The reasons are various. Seventy-three percent say that their technology platforms are too complex or time-consuming for clinicians to use their technology effectively, and 85% say there are too many manual processes in their organization’s workflows.
Among the executives, 93% reported an increased use of AI in the past 12 months. This includes 29% who have seen a significant increase. The commonly adopted AI tools by provider organizations include image recognition technology (46%), predictive analytics (49%), natural language processing (39%), speech recognition (38%), and machine learning (36%). But lack of transparency is a primary reason why 68% of these executives are hesitant to use AI in value-based care settings.
With these shifts in enhanced platforms for database management and the use of AI, 55% of provider organization executives are concerned about data security as a challenge to integrating data across systems. Significant cyber incidents in the past year were reported by 24% of executives; only 56% feel well-prepared to handle those incidents in the future.
But investments in technology for organizational transformation are likely to continue—97% of provider organization executives see strong data management as a competitive market advantage. And like it or not, most health and human service executives are likely to spend a significant amount of time and investment dollars on technology. We recently heard from one executive about her organization’s journey in digital transformation and adopting technology to improve performance. Carolyn Spence, Chief Information Officer at Alexander Youth Network (AYN), led the recent Executive Roundtable on the topic, Tech Integration, From Planning To Practice: The Alexander Youth Network Case Study.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, AYN is a $35 million non-profit organization that provides mental health services for children and young adults. Its services are provided through 25 offices and 150 licensed foster homes across the state of North Carolina. It employs 400 staff and serves approximately 10,000 consumers annually.
AYN needed strategic solutions for three business challenges. One challenge was managing its complex service mix, with children frequently moving across different levels of care and different payers. A second challenge was addressing elevated compliance requirements, while a third was shifting to accelerated use of hybrid service delivery models. To meet these challenges, AYN underwent a transformation of its technology platform.
Ms. Spence guided AYN through this tech transformation. At the start, she led a service gap assessment, identifying technology needed to improve quality of care and client outcomes. Following the selection and procurement of those technologies, she developed a phased implementation plan to integrate the new technology into existing platforms and support capabilities. This required adaptation across multiple teams—so the process included significant stakeholder feedback.
The benefits to AYN of the new tech platform are many. At the macro level, the organization’s leaders benefit from better dashboards and insights. On an operational level, there are new tools for providing faster access to information, with staff’s ability to retrieve policies, procedures, and program playbooks on mobile devices. AYN also had better consumer engagement, faster access to care, and enhanced clinical outcomes.
Ms. Spence offered three pieces of strategic advice for health care provider organization executives who are considering similar investments to maintain a competitive edge. This includes selecting the right leadership for new technology initiatives, building a structured, phased plan to implement and optimize technology, and planning to gain staff buy-in in every phase.
For success of tech initiatives, the right leadership is key—those organizational leaders who seek to gain competitive advantage from new technology. Ms. Spence noted that they need to ensure that digital investments are aligned with the long-term strategic goals of the organization. And rather than layering on standalone tech platforms, leaders need to bring a holistic vision of the organization, its technology needs, and its reporting requirements.
“How we adopt and integrate technology is all about maintaining effective, highly effective quality of services,” said Ms. Spence. “The leadership’s strategic assessment step ensures that our digital investments, whatever we’re looking to do, are not just innovative but also aligned with the needs of our consumers. We do a full evaluation of where we’re currently at and then build a roadmap based off interviews with staff and our executive leadership and based off our strategic plan.”
Ms. Spence also discussed the phased approach to tech implementation that she recommends. She added that phased rollouts are critical for making tech adoption manageable for staff. This is a model that allows for evaluation of where and how new tech tools fit, and don’t fit, into existing platforms. This “slow but thorough” approach assures that the technology is scalable, sustainable, and aligned with organizational long-term strategy.
“The phased-out rollout approach is not just a technical strategy,” said Ms. Spence. “It helps people engage, and it builds the momentum as you’re rolling different pieces. It reinforces the idea that transformation is unfolding with a purpose and with care. We want to make sure that whatever we’re putting in place is something that will grow with us, be scalable, and adapt to all of our needs and the changes.”
And lastly, Ms. Spence emphasized that staff buy-in in every phase is critical for success. Co-designing workflows, implementation, and adoption paths with the staff who will be using it daily is the best way to achieve this. She recommended that the process start with staff surveys and interviews to create both quantitative and qualitative assessments of their needs, challenges, and pain points. This reduces resistance and ultimately improves workflows. The ongoing process should also include proactive microlearning, real-time support, and multiple learning formats.
“Technology succeeds when it’s co-designed with those it impacts the most,” said Ms. Spence. “Our planning process centered around the voices of our clinicians, our staff, and our families to ensure that whatever solution we put in place was practical, inclusive, and sustainable.”
For provider organization executives, using a methodical approach to technology adoption is critical. “Whenever we’re heading down this road, we want to make sure that whatever we’re putting in place is something that will grow with us and adapt to the changes that are happening around us,” said Ms. Spence. “It’s a lot of energy putting a new application, a new tool, or a new process in place. Nobody goes into doing any of this, hoping that in two years they can do it all over again.”