What are the barriers to digitizing healthcare operations, and why is there often resistance to these changes? What motivates stakeholders to “rip off the Band-Aid” and make the decision to challenge the status quo? How have you witnessed operational digitization transform patient care and internal processes in your career that you can articulate?
As a 25-year veteran of healthcare services across the managed care payer and provider industry, I’ve gathered some interesting perspectives on the ‘inside baseball’ of healthcare. Today we will talk about why healthcare operations are the last to digitize yet are the first ones to need it.
Let’s start with the most practical example using patient experience. Picture your doctor’s office that has been open for the last 15 years, such as your local pediatrician or OB/GYN. While they have upgraded software and hardware across different systems such as patient scheduling and payment collection, they also have 3rd-party services to submit your insurance claims and an after-hours call center to handle your after-hours needs.
In comparison, a large corporation or hospital-based primary care center typically presents as fully integrated, with 24/7 staff that use the same electronic health record, full integration into affiliate systems that support your prescriptions and refills, and a sophisticated referral system that is faster than email or (heaven forbid) fax.
While the obvious observation behind these change drivers is cost, the more complicated answer is also the time, energy, and change management effort behind what it takes to fully digitize and transform your business. You see, system change — replacing processes and workflows that staff have been relying on for years — is not as simple as purchasing new software.
Decision-makers must evaluate the entire change lifecycle of digitization when pursuing an upgrade, and to be honest, it’s a lot easier to start from scratch than to pursue data conversion, training, and navigate the impacts to patient experience.
Healthcare is a complex industry that boils down to service and products. When it comes to someone’s life, we have minimal tolerance for mistakes or delays. In clinics and hospitals, patients have zero tolerance when their cancer diagnosis or lab result is delayed. Healthcare service leaders know the value of their brand, and every time a staff member can’t log in to their new EMR in order to start completing activities for the day, or a clinician cannot complete documentation before moving onto the next patient, it threatens brand and patient satisfaction.
Simply put, change is hard, especially in healthcare, but it’s one of the most important industries where digitization is critical, and often, for the very same reason: change.
System change — replacing processes and workflows that staff have been relying on for years — is not as simple as purchasing new software.
Charles Rosado
Even though I am not a clinician, we support them every day, and there is a fascinating concept known as “whitecoat syndrome.” It’s the premise that because a professional has earned the title of Doctor or Psychiatrist, they must know everything, and when they graduated from medical school and completed internship, that may have been true. The reality is that as clinicians see more and more patients, they need help. They need systems to organize their tasks, and alerts to remind them about patients requesting medication refills.
Congruent to how algorithms have changed the landscape of social media, the healthcare industry is a machine that pumps out change faster than the human brain can comprehend. Whether it’s new prescription products, updated classifications of disease, or new systems to verify insurance status and eligibility, the healthcare service ecosystem is difficult for any one person to manage.
Along the difficult decision for stakeholders to manage: to digitize or not. Oftentimes, those decisions are birthed through negative operational experiences, such as a failed audit, or litigation that created penalties.
As healthcare service leaders, we must do better for our patient population, staff, and the communities that we serve. Proactive planning in the digital ecosystem, outlining technology roadmaps for multi-year strategies, and integrating data/services is critical to protecting the brand, meeting the needs of our staff, and delighting our customers. Without this focus, customer needs will continue to evolve, leaving clinicians and their practice behind.
A heartfelt thank you to Charles for shining a light on healthcare's digital elephant in the room. Why are operations — the backbone of patient care — often the last to digitize when they need it most? It's like watching someone struggle with paper maps while their GPS sits unused in the glove compartment.
The numbers tell the story: while 98% of healthcare executives are talking AI strategy, Brookings found that in 2022, only construction moved slower than healthcare in actually adopting these tools. We've all been there — enthusiastically downloading a fitness app, then leaving it untouched for months. Healthcare operations face the same human resistance, just with higher stakes.
Why are operations — the backbone of patient care — often the last to digitize when they need it most? It's like watching someone struggle with paper maps while their GPS sits unused in the glove compartment.
Stephen Dean
You absolutely nailed why this hesitation exists. Changing those deeply ingrained processes feels like performing open-heart surgery on your workflow while still seeing patients.
We get it! Nobody wants to be the doctor whose system crashes mid-appointment, leaving them smiling awkwardly with "The computer's just thinking...." But clinging to outdated systems is like asking your staff to run a marathon in lead boots — technically possible but painfully inefficient.
What if digitization could transform that administrative jungle gym into a smooth-running machine?
Imagine Maria, who waited 47 minutes for an appointment, becoming the last patient to face that frustration. That's not just better technology; it's giving your team the gift of time — time to actively listen, understand their fears, and provide the human connection that truly drives healing.
Ready to explore what this transformation could look like for your team? Let's talk about where to start.