Care at home organizations are facing several industry-wide pain points impacting growth, including staffing and labor shortages, the cost of services and the predictability of care delivery needs. A panel of technology experts in the industry discussed leveraging technology for growth at the 2023 小猪视频 Growth, Innovation and Leadership Experience (小猪视频).
Andrew Olowu, Chief Technology Officer at 小猪视频, moderated the session with panelists Holly MacDonald, President of ; William Simione lll, Chief Executive Officer of ; and Dave Baker, Chief Information Officer of .
The panel focused on ways to combat slow adoption of new technology, the value of meaningful data and how to choose the right technology and leverage its tools and resources to maximize growth.
Adopting New Technology in Healthcare
Healthcare professionals have historically been slow to adopt new technology.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anybody goes, 鈥榊ay, I鈥檓 going to get into a software conversion,鈥� because it鈥檚 difficult,鈥� MacDonald said. 鈥淏ut when you start looking at what the potential for improvement is, you can get behind it a little bit [more easily].鈥�
MacDonald鈥檚 organization adopted new technology in pilot phases, and the software鈥檚 ease of use helped streamline the adoption process.
鈥淲hen we first started [with a new electronic medical record (EMR)] and we did the pilot offices, we had older nurses and therapists 鈥� who sometimes are a little more resistant to adopting new technology 鈥� come in after doing their first start of care, their first OASIS, and [say], 鈥業 think I鈥檝e done this wrong because it was so easy, and I think I have missed something,鈥欌�� MacDonald said.
鈥淸That] kind of tells you that you have to keep up in the EMR world to not have archaic technology that鈥檚 bogging everybody down,鈥� MacDonald added. 鈥淚 went from people resisting to people asking to be in the next rollout wave.鈥�
Baker discussed the importance of getting company-wide buy-in. 鈥淪ystem implementations are tough, and the more you get people bought in prior to the implementation鈥he easier that implementation will be,鈥� Baker said.
Simione agreed and highlighted the importance of finance allocation when considering and implementing new technologies.
鈥淒on鈥檛 go in undercapitalized,鈥� Simione said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the worst things you can do. And the reason for that 鈥� it鈥檚 going to cost you [twice as much] on the back end to try to fix the inefficiencies that come through…I can鈥檛 overemphasize that piece. So, think about what it鈥檚 going to cost, add some more money to that and make sure that the implementation isn鈥檛 rushed, that the implementation is complete [and] everybody understands what they鈥檙e doing.鈥�
Tracking Meaningful Data
Simione emphasized the importance of not only tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) but making sure the .
鈥淭here鈥檚 so much data that鈥檚 out there,鈥� Simione said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 get paralyzed by it. Embrace it. Make sure that it鈥檚 meaningful and that you validate the data.鈥�
MacDonald illustrated the significance of real-time access to meaningful KPIs with an example from her organization.
鈥淲e recently did a restructure in our home care division to stay nimble, to stay agile, and鈥ith the KPIs we were looking at, we were 鈥� within a few weeks 鈥� able to see the impact of that,鈥� MacDonald said. 鈥淲e were able to really understand what we were looking at with those changes we made instead of waiting for a monthly financial and going, 鈥極h gosh, this isn鈥檛 quite working like we had anticipated.鈥� So, to have that real data quickly has been crucial and very helpful to us.鈥�
Choosing the Right Technology for Growth
All panelists discussed the importance of focusing on the end-user鈥檚 experience to keep staff positioned for success when choosing a technology solution to maximize growth.
鈥淵ou have a lot of clinicians with a lot of different skillsets, so if your software is cluing and cuing to say, 鈥榃ell, wait a minute. This is how you answer this,鈥欌�t鈥檚 almost like your technology is teaching you,鈥� MacDonald said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a little built-in tutorial, which is fantastic.鈥�
Along with clinical support, Simione noted that new technology needs to create efficiencies and address the organization鈥檚 needs.
鈥淚 always ask if you have workflows, you need to stop right then and there and figure out the reasons why,鈥� Simione said. 鈥淎re we trying to jam old, inefficient processes through? Scope it all out and then make sure that you go to a solution that you鈥檙e not mesmerized by the bells and whistles 鈥� that you鈥檙e really looking at something that is going to make a change.鈥�
With more than 250 attendees, more than 40 sponsors and countless connections made, 小猪视频 2023 was a massive success for everyone. and mark your calendar for .