Q&A: Implementing digital health in hospitals

0
Q&A: Implementing digital health in hospitals

Digital technology is prevalent in hospitals, according to Bernke Papenburg, program manager of Robotics at Rijnstate Hospital, a 700-bed teaching facility in the eastern Netherlands. 

Papenburg noted that very few procedures or care measures performed in a hospital setting do not require digital technology, from patient records and monitoring to diagnostics and treatment. 

Still, she says, there is “regular” digital technology that is standard of care and “new” transformative digital technology that can be employed to stimulate the transformation that is needed in hospital care. 

Papenburg will be a co-presenter along with Laura Kooij, manager innovation, at a session entitled, “Digital Health Transformation in Hospitals: Opportunities, Challenges and Lessons Learned,” at HIMSS25 in March in Las Vegas. Papenburg provided MobiHealthNews with a glimpse of what she’ll discuss, including the challenges of implementing digital technologies in a hospital setting.

MobiHealthNews: What are some of the key elements in successful implementation and adoption of digital health technologies? 

Bernke Papenburg: If you want to implement digital technology into a process, you must consider the process as a whole from the beginning. You have to start with the “why.” Why do you want to transform or change a procedure or a process?

To do so, you need to take along all the stakeholders. That includes healthcare professionals and the hospital organization and, equally important, the patients.

Next, you have to identify the “how” and the “what.” Determine what needs to change and how the technology can support those changes. Don’t start with technology and see how you can implement it. Once you are clear on that, identify the technology that can actually support that transformation.

It is crucial to look at the whole process not simply replacing old technology with new technology or just adding a new functionality.

You must look at how you can truly make maximum use of the technology in the process, and simultaneously look at how to adapt the process itself to fully leverage the technology. You should not be working around the technology to make it work; it should assist you in your work. The goal is to create an interaction between the process, people and the technology, rather than forcing workarounds to make the technology fit.

MHN: What are some challenges with successfully implementing digital health technology in a hospital setting?

Papenburg: It is healthcare professionals, it is patients and the organization. To succeed, together you must first analyze the existing processes and determine how the technology can be seamlessly merged into them. Financial considerations also play an important role as well. 

MHN: What’s on the horizon regarding digital health for hospitals?

Papenburg: We are living in interesting times. AI and generative AI have the potential to really make a difference; however, their success depends on how well they find their way into the healthcare processes. If you take AI and keep it separate from what we generally do, it is just that. 

The aim should be to incorporate AI into processes, taking along the healthcare providers, organizations and the patients, and ask, “How should we be using this technology, what should it do for us?”

It can be challenging to implement this transformative technology into healthcare workflows. It is not perfect, it won’t solve every problem or perform every task. But we have to realize, nor do we as people. My coworker and I can do things differently.

I can be used to doing something one way, while my coworker prefers another approach. It is important to determine, if we can standardize the workflow, is the outcome acceptable, and if so, can we make good use of this technology?

Starting to use generative AI thinking that it can do everything you do, the way you do it, will leave you disappointed; however, when you are aware of its limitations and pitfalls and acknowledge those when you start to use generative AI – it can be a powerful tool to support you in your work. The focus should be on working together as people and technology to become more efficient and improve outcomes.

MHN: How much of an issue is cybersecurity?

Papenburg: Cybersecurity is a huge concern, not just for keeping your systems safe, but also regarding privacy, use of AI and interoperability, especially in Europe, where strict regulations continue to evolve. While these regulations can sometimes make innovation more challenging, we do believe cybersecurity is very important, as you don’t want the hospitals to be shut down due to hackers getting access to your organization.

So, it is a fine balance between enabling these new technologies, while securing the safety of your organizational systems and your patients. That is why all stakeholders should be included in the implementation process, including IT experts and legal advisors, to ensure new technologies are adopted safely and effectively, while leveraging these new technologies to support the strongly needed transformation in healthcare.

“Digital Health Transformation in Hospitals: Opportunities, Challenges and Lessons Learned,” is scheduled for Tuesday March 4 at 3:45 p.m. at HIMSS25 in Las Vegas.

link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *