Download the State of Healthcare Report

STATE OF HEALTHCARE REPORT
REVEALING
HEALTHCARE
BARRIERS AND
OPPORTUNITIES
HIMMS 2021
marketing@ismnet.com www.ismnet.com

Revealing Healthcare Barriers
and Opportunities
HIMSS, Accenture, The Chartis Group, and ZS conducted a study that included a
series of SMEs from all scopes within the health network to reveal the most pressing
healthcare barriers the public faces today and provide insight into opportunities to
address these challenges.
The four areas HIMSS and their Trust partners focused on to design their quantitative
approach and offer critical takeaways included artificial intelligence (AI), digital
health, and machine learning (L) ad financial health. The information gathered from
the market profile covered March – April of this year and represented a cross-section
of 309 clinicians, 225 health systems workers, 147 payers, and 2,062 patients, total-
ling 2,743 respondents.
The survey included questions on artificial intelligence, digital health, machine learn-
ing, and financial health; the questions focus on access to healthcare, availability of
data, and healthcare costs.
The HIMSS - Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society -is a
thought leader, global advisor, and member association committed to transmuting the
health care ecosystem.

Members and healthcare professionals from all walks of life, CEOs, Senior Executives, Entrepreneurs, IT Consultants, and others have been
attending the HIMSS Conference, one of the industry's most influential conferences and trade shows, for almost 60 years.
The increasingly digital nature in healthcare has created novel opportunities. Companies are developing new products and
approaches to overcoming obstacles; successful collaboration among all parties is vital. Strategic planning will be essential in
these areas.
Innovative new products transform industries daily; the pace of change has accelerated due to vast technological developments
such as the internet, wireless technology, and smartphones. The healthcare stakeholder groups represented within the HIMSS21
report— clinicians, health systems, patients, and payers—all expect considerable changes to impact healthcare over the next five
years. The complexity of the healthcare sector and the medical care delivery ecosystem is under increasing pressure due to chang-
es in patient expectations and rising costs. The inherent nature of the industry combined with those pressures makes innovation
in healthcare more complicated than in other sectors.
HIMSS and the trust partners examine the various types of financial and non-financial barriers that a significant segment of
the population must deal with, along with opportunities that have introduced new proposals for addressing these barriers

Digital Health
Annually, over 3.6 million Americans don't get medical care, and 4% of Ameri-
can children miss their medical appointments due to transportation issues. One
of the biggest and fastest initiatives to be deployed during the pandemic was
Telehealth. Healthcare leaders sought new ways to bring healthcare to the
patient, introducing Telehealth to the public., making it accessible to anyone
with a Smartphone, laptop, or computer.
Telehealth technology is easing the healthcare disparity gap for those affected,
helping provide better access to healthcare. Telehealth is showing promise for
equitable healthcare access. Though telemedicine won't solve all healthcare delivery, it equalizes some of the disparities in
access among the vulnerable and underserved. Here we examine and how telemedicine can help address some of the critical
barriers to healthcare access.
The pandemic propelled digital health utilization to new heights, creating challenges throughout healthcare and promising last-
ing impacts. By keeping close tabs on digital health trends, healthcare leaders can unearth future opportunities for innovation
and proactively invest in the necessary tools and technology.

Health Systems Generally Believe in AI/ML Beneﬁts
But There Is Also a Need for Greater Understanding
On a scale from 1-5, how much do you agree with the following statements about AI/ML now?
Top Positive Perceptions
Increases Jobs
Focuses Workload
Mitigates Health Disparities
Reduces Cost
Usage Applications are Transparent
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

Stakeholder Perceptions
Top Negative Perceptions
Consumer Understanding
Executive Understanding
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Reduces Employees
Creates Risk
Increases Healthcare Inequity

Although health caregivers were expeditious in implementing telehealth, the most significant barrier to implementing this technology was
not lack in patient demand—52% of providers indicated that the hesitancy to utilize telehealth was caused by uncertainty regarding regula-
tory reimbursement and internal management. In addition, the lack of interoperability between systems presents a challenge.
In this digitally-expanded post-pandemic environment, clinicians are now shifting their focus to gain a competitive edge; tracking such things
as KPIs and outcomes has become significantly more critical. Telehealth can also bridge geography by providing remote access to specialists
and other services. Additionally, telemedicine services don't require insurance—many telehealth platforms offer telemedicine at no addition-
al cost to the uninsured.
The consensus is that the pandemic has inspired the use and acceptance of virtual healthcare. Eighty percent (80%) of healthcare providers
trust that their patient's health information is well-protected. However, concerns continue as cybersecurity attacks continue.
The most significant concern expressed by those in the Payer group was that there would have to be substantial changes made to govern-
ment regulations and payment structure. Additional concerns of interoperability (60%), privacy and security (40%) were also identified as
top concerns.
71% of Gen Z, millennials and Gen X patients stated that they prefer Telehealth because of convenience—avoiding in-person care. 44% said
that if Telehealth is not offered, they may look for a new healthcare provider

Integrating innovative informatics, eHealth tools, and resources into health-
care education, certiﬁcation, practice, and research is vital to providing the
global health workforce with an inclusive, intergenerational, interdisciplinary
approach. Everyone has a role in the healthcare delivery process—it is only
through collaboration and by combining each participant's respective
strengths that we can surmount these barriers and deliver incomparable
healthcare.
AI (Artiﬁcial Intelligence ) and
ML (Machine Learning)

Only 30% of healthcare systems have
implemented AI/ML strategies—yet 68%
believe they must grow AI/ML investment to
achieve enterprise goals. Concerns ranking high-
est in this category included cybersecurity, insur-
ance, and fraud prevention. Many respondents
remained concerned that AI/ML might create
risks and increase healthcare inequity.
Over 77% of Clinicians stated that they are
now/ are interested in using AI/ML. Opportuni-
ties for training clinicians abound; ONLY one in
five have received formal training thus far. One of
the top-most benefits cited (52%) was better
diagnosis with AI.
62% of Payers cited reported that the most
substantial challenges to innovation are technol-
ogy-related. They also stated that AI/ML capabil-
ities need improvement and that more payers
should adopt AI/ML.
When patient responses were analyzed,
some of the most significant concerns was access
to their health data, with a large segment citing
"big brother" sentiment. However, over 75% of
the respondents were eager to share health data
for the enhanced benefits of a more accurate
diagnosis, early detection, and more timely treat-
ment.

Clinicians Appreciate Digital Health
Tools and Recommend Use
But Adoption Barriers Exist
78% Strongly agreed and that the pandemic
resulted in helpful changes like adoption of virtual
care, telehealth, etc
92% have recommended digital
health tools to patients
HAVE YOU RECOMMENDED THE USE OF
ANY OF THE FOLLOWING DIGITAL
HEALTH TOOLS TO YOUR PATIENTS?
TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE WITH THE
FOLLOWING STATEMENTS REGARDING
DIGITAL HEALTH TOOLS THAT WERE
INTRODUCED TO YOU DURING THE PANDEMIC?
57% Strongly agreed and agreed that digital
health tools were user-friendly and
easy to learn
TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE WITH
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS REGARDING
YOUR PROFESSION AND RECENT
PANDEMIC IMPACTS?
78% 92% 57%

WHAT HINDERS YOU FROM ADOPTING NEW DIGITAL
HEALTH TOOLS IN GENERAL?
Respondents emphasize
lack of interoperability
between different
IT systems
LACK OF
INTEROPERABILITY
Respondents point out
that digital health tools
do not ﬁt in their
clinical workﬂows
LACK OF
INTEGRATION
Respondents have
concers over security
of patient data
SECURITY
CONCERNS
Top barriers for digital health tools
61% 41% 39%

Financial Health
Perceptions of financial health are mixed at this time. The current financial
health is questionable as they struggle to pull themselves out of the pandemic's
financial devastation. The good news is that the economy is flattening out, and
the jobless rate is declining. But we are not out of the woods yet as new strains
of the virus continue to cause havoc globally.
The ageing population also has made a considerable impact. The challenges to
the bottom line can help leaders identify opportunities to create greater effi-
ciencies in healthcare.
Partnerships and cost efficiencies contribute significantly to a health system's revenue stream, improving its financial posi-
tion—a hospital's primary revenue contender is another hospital. Although a health system's direct revenue stream is primarily
fee-for-service, value-based care now contributes a more sizeable share of revenue dollars to the bottom line.

Clinicians report the pandemic's financial
impact as manageable: 70% described their
current financial position as stable, with only 12%
saying they're somewhat or highly financially
unstable.
Unequivocally, over 79% of patient
respondents stated that healthcare costs are
excessively high. Alternately, this same group
was satisfied with their health insurance (70%).
According to payers, more payment reform is
necessary, especially since providers are increas-
ingly adopting value-based care. An ageing popu-
lation increases in healthcare utilization and
better safety measures are all driving up health-
care costs.

AGING POPULATION is the top reason for an increase in costs
Respondents That
Expect No Change
Expected change in healthcare costs and spend:
KEY FACTORS
Payers Continue to See Healthcare Costs Rise
INCREASED UTILIZATION AND SAFETY MEASURES follow closely, likely
as a result of an aging population
Which of these do you expect will be the drivers inﬂuencing an
increase in healthcare costs over the next few years?
41%
Aging Population
38%
Increased Utilization
38%
Safety Measures
36%
Mental Health
Issues
38%
Future Outbreaks
38%
Poor Lifestyle

Health Systems
It is generally accepted that the COVID-19 crisis necessitated digital health
options—and that it's here for the duration, according to Thomas Kiesau, direc-
tor and digital leader for The Chartis Group. He states that the pandemic accel-
erated the need for those options.
As a result of this high interest, 70% of health system respondents said that the
position of a chief digital ofﬁcer is on the horizon for many of them. Others con-
ﬁrmed that patient portals have already been established but are not delivering
the same patient care across the board.
Here again, technical issues are not the holdback to the adoption of digital health—it is the overly complicated reimbursement
and regulatory systems. Health systems readily acknowledge the opportunities AI/ML delivers but are not persuaded of their
worth. Further, the consensus is that operational and technical issues can be resolved. Thomas Kiesau is adamant that health
systems should embrace and invest in transitioning to digital health.

Clinicians According to Darryl Gibbings-Isaac, MD, Accenture's health strategy, growth and innovation expert, clini-
cians have demonstrated copious amounts of resiliency in dealing with the new norm. However, for the past year
and a half, most healthcare workers have been continually overworked due to the COVID19 pandemic, so learning
and adopting new systems, new methods of care, or new devices has taken a backseat to urgent care. Yet they
remain optimistic-- 65% said they'd recommend the profession, 86% said they are generally satisfied with their
career, and 92% recommend digital health tools to patients.
Digital health cannot be disruptive or clinicians won't use it; issues accessing appropriate data, a lack of integration,
security concerns, and a lack of interoperability are all problems, according to Dr. Gibbings-Isaac. However, he antic-
ipates those numbers to change and that the number of clinicians using AI/ML will increase in the near future.
Payers want more advanced technology--AI/ML. Legacy systems are a significant hurdle, according to Shreesh
Tiwari, principal at ZS; technology infrastructure is a massive investment within healthcare. He firmly believes that
legacy systems create barriers to innovation.
Payers generally agree that most of their barriers to innovation are technological; creating efficient processes to
improve ROI is a challenge. An abundance of optimism and forward-thinking drives real innovation and plays a
significant role in "leveraging technology to improve care."

Patients Lauren Goodman, director of market intelligence at HIMSS, believes that although patients describe want-
ing to go back to pre-COVID times, it's mostly "pandemic fatigue." 65% of the patients surveyed said they like the
convenience and prefer telehealth.
About 50% of millennials said they will still choose telehealth even when the pandemic ends; 25% of boomers
agreed.
Wearable technology is generational and income-related; those with less than $25,000 tend not to own wearable
technology.

Have had at least one telehealth visit in the last 12 months
Believe healthcare costs in America are too expensive
Use wearable tech to track their health
Patients, Perspective on Healthcare
79%
52%
37%

ISM is a global leader in Healthcare IT Solutions driven by passion for
innovation; well known as
A PARTNER WITH A DIFFERENCE in the Healthcare world!
We provide business consulting, digital transformation services and
cutting-edge solutions for the entire healthcare eco-system
TRUSTED BY INDUSTRY LEADERS

Download the State of Healthcare Report

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Tendances

Tendances (20)

Similaire à Download the State of Healthcare Report

Similaire à Download the State of Healthcare Report (20)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Download the State of Healthcare Report