Cyberattacks targeting the supply chain are an increasingly prevalent threat in the healthcare industry, especially as the modern healthcare supply chain contains significant digital elements, such as the patient engagement vendors that provide public-facing digital tools. These third-party apps and patient-facing tools process sensitive patient data and connect with a healthcare organization’s source systems on the supply chain. As such, they are tempting targets for cybercriminals, who can sell this data on the black market or lock it up with ransomware until they are paid.
Patient education is about more than simply spreading knowledge about the disease. It can also empower patients to better live with their condition and avoid complications–an approach known as therapeutic patient education[¹]
Digital technology can do wonders when it comes to streamlining the work of delivering efficient quality care to patients. The use of patient portals, EHRs, mhealth apps, and wearable tech can all empower patients to be more active in their healthcare, get faster treatment, and access preventative care earlier on. But with all the capabilities of modern technology, we find that many patients are slow to adopt digital tools. If this is the case for your healthcare organization, we recommend the following tips to increase adoption.
Technology has a lot of potential to improve efficiency and health outcomes in the complex practice of healthcare, from time-sensitive interventions in the hospital environment to long-term preventative measures among patient populations. Diagnostics, data management, patient engagement, and personalized medicine all stand to benefit from greater technology integration in a holistic, connected care model. Despite this, there are many hurdles that prevent technology from being adopted as quickly or effectively as it could be. Let’s take a look at the challenges contemporary healthcare organizations face.
Healthcare services are meeting patient demand by becoming increasingly digitized. These digital healthcare services are often developed by third parties and access electronic health records (EHR), revenue cycle management (RCM) systems, and other databases that include sensitive and legally protected information. While these electronic services are beneficial to both patients and providers, they create an increasingly complex software supply chain, with more potential vulnerabilities that are being targeted by hackers[¹]. Healthcare providers can find it difficult to manage effective oversight of these supply chains - including the relationships between different software tools, who has access to what data, and where there might be potential weaknesses.
Recently I had the pleasure of attending sessions at the HR Florida Annual Conference in Orlando, where the speakers referenced following their yellow brick road and how that allowed them to attain their personal and organizational goals. I have worked with several health centers and watched how leaders, including me, often know what they want at the end of their yellow brick road but allow their wicked witch to prevent movement that detours them from reaching Oz.
As every one of my clients has heard at one time or another, I plan on writing a book some day, and it’s going to have a chapter entitled “management spends 95% of its time on the 5% of its employees that provide the least value.” I will certainly need a more pithy chapter title at some point, but be patient with me for now. Some time into our discussions, people eventually nod their heads and say “yes, that’s true,” and then often launch into a conversation about the number of times that has happened to them. Unbeknownst to them (but beknownst to us!) we are now adding on to the time we’ve wasted on those same people, well after they are gone. The corollary to the chapter title is an exercise in simple math, which breaks down to: “we spend almost no time on our best people.”
I could just stop there.
But I won’t.
FQHC Connect is a Free, Private Online Community for FQHC Professionals. Join the conversation, share resources and insights with your peers and access exclusive educational content to ensure your health center can thrive. You can request to join at www.FQHCConnect.com.
