'Role Of Technology In Connecting All Stakeholders To Improve The Patient Journey In A Hospital'

"Don’t make use of excellent technology, rather make excellent use of technology”

- Amit Sharma

This should be the guiding principle for the CIO of any hospital. Technology can be an enabler in solving some of the more classical issues faced by hospitals while also empowering patients to better care for their health.

Today, healthcare patients view themselves as customers of the hospital, and hence not only expect treatment but a good all round experience. In order to cater to such demands, hospitals are making concerted efforts to deliver on a patient-centric business model. A large part of these efforts involve leveraging technology–the right systems and right solutions–to improve patient outcomes and experiences and cultivate long-term relationships between patients and hospitals.

In a nutshell, the endeavor of any healthcare provider is to efficiently manage an individual’s hospital journey. This journey can be broken down into pre-treatment, during treatment, and post-treatment phases.

Similar to most buying decisions, the pre-treatment phase of the patient journey sets the stage for a patient’s entire interaction and experience with a medical facility and its staff. Just as a traveler might research multiple hotels before booking a room, medical consumers also wish to have options and access to all the information they will need to arrive at the best possible choice(s) for themselves. Hence at this critical decision-making stage, it’s imperative for hospitals to effectively communicate with prospective patients, educate them on the facility’s superior care and reputation for excellence, overview the staff’s qualifications and experience in various disciplines, and highlight specialty areas of care relevant to the patient’s needs.