Digital Transformation for Australian Healthcare Boards

As the pandemic unfolded, healthcare services locally and internationally performed monumental efforts to persist and remain relevant. Hospitals and medical services across Australia started shifting their healthcare systems using the latest technology to continue moving forward in a challenging economic climate.

Moving Workflows to Digital

Thousands of healthcare manufacturers and workers were mobilised to adapt to the fundamental shifts imposed by the pandemic. The entire healthcare system of Australia was pushed to invest in its digital transformation journey to efficiently manage technology portfolios, acquire healthcare equipment, and move towards a more digital health service.

But as Australian healthcare services make future-oriented investments in technology, what aspects and goals should be considered? Find out below:

Prevention — Preventive medicine consists of continuous data collection and medical information processing that requires digital technologies to function. And to safely and securely store such data, healthcare providers require robust ICT infrastructure. Such solutions allow more efficient delivery of healthcare services that support the prevention of illnesses and diseases. AI-based health apps and wearable technologies are also recommended to help patients personalise their diet and take charge of their own well-being.

Diagnosis — Diagnosing illnesses is another priority to consider for digital transformation in healthcare. Prior to the pandemic, Australians preferred long queues in waiting rooms even with the availability of telehealth services. Telehealth consultations, especially beneficial to less-mobile patients, prevent in-person medical visits that put vulnerable individuals at greater risk. Medical equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Computed tomography (CT), and ultrasound must be on the list to assist doctors in diagnosing illnesses and triaging patients.

Treatment — With the availability of remote consultations, patients can obtain treatment in a familiar and comfortable setting. Mixed reality technologies and virtual reality headsets are utilised to support medical treatment, from clinical trials to pain management. Besides monitoring the post-operative progress of surgical procedures, CT and MRI machines can also help influence future decisions regarding patient treatment.

Operations management — Healthcare operations can now be run efficiently using different solutions like clinical communication and collaboration software and patient case management software. Through these technologies, hospitals and speciality care facilities can leverage several areas of operations management, including clinical care management, risk management, and financial management. This eventually allows clinical operational excellence for healthcare organisations.

What is the Current State of Digital Transformation in AU Healthcare?

In 2021, Australia took off on its first phase of the digital transformation journey for aged care with an $18.8 billion reform package granted by the Australian Government. This calls for industry volunteers to co-design the necessary APIs for improved data quality and sharing. 

2021 was also the year the private health sector had seen numerous digital investments, notably: 

• The Citadel Group — spent about $260 million to obtain the medical practice management technology company Genie Solutions.
• Telstra — spent $350 million to acquire the GP clinical and management software company Medical Director
• Livingbring — spent $500 million for a large controlling stake in Everlight Radiology

In a recent report by the Department of Health, the Australian Government allocated $107.2 million to modernise the country’s healthcare system and provide patients with the utmost care. This is made to support Australia’s Long Term National Health Plan, which consists of a 10-year plan to offer accelerating benefits for a more integrated health system. 

In terms of patient health reports, My Health Record notably paved the way for digital health innovation. The system offers a secure online summary of health information, such as medical history, prescriptions, and vaccinations, which can be accessed by patients and healthcare providers.

Australia’s National Digital Health Strategy

Australia’s National Digital Health Strategy is established from the co-production of patients, carers, organisations, and consumers to meet the healthcare needs of the country. Its implementation supports the care of individuals with chronic and complex conditions and the creation of a sustainable health system. 

But why now? The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) provided a clear response: 

“The Australian community has been clear about what it expects from healthcare services today and in the future. Australians want a health system that puts people first — giving more choice, control, and transparency. 

Healthcare providers have been equally clear. They want secure digital services that will provide instant access to a patient’s information — especially in an emergency, support earlier diagnosis and better management of disease, and the development of new medicines and treatments.”

ADHA also reported that 88% of patients want digital access to their personal health information, and 70% of the surveyed healthcare providers use email to communicate with patients. 

The Vision and Key Themes of the Strategy

ADHA’s Strategy is formed with a plan to create a more efficient health system and deliver better healthcare access and experience to patients, particularly those living in rural and remote areas of Australia. The Strategy is made in line with the purpose of ADHA of creating better health for Australians using secure digital health services and technologies. Such digitally enabled healthcare allows both patients and providers to access advanced tools that are also easy to use.

ADHA also conducted an extensive consultation to ensure the Strategy will be informed by Australian healthcare providers, consumers, community groups, professional bodies, and other health stakeholders. With over a thousand survey responses, these four key themes emerged, shaping the Strategy’s foundation:

1. Support patients or consumers in making the right healthcare choices, and provide them with options
2. Help all healthcare professionals or carers to understand their patients, and provide safe and personalised care.
3. Create an environment where healthcare providers and consumers can use and benefit from innovative technologies.
4. Preserve the community’s trust in the healthcare system and protect their rights

This vision and themes also support the seven strategic priority outcomes of the National Digital Health Strategy, which you can find below.

The Seven Strategic Priority Outcomes

Together with the implementation of the Strategy, ADHA aims to meet seven strategic priority outcomes by 2022. The outcomes are proposed to support a better-connected healthcare system through technology.

• Health information that is available whenever and wherever it is needed — Using My Health Record, healthcare providers can contribute and utilise patient health information by 2022. The platform will support easy access to medication reports and lab tests.

• Health information that can be exchanged securely — Healthcare professionals will be able to communicate with peers and patients using secure digital channels, pulling the plug on paper-based coordination of care.

• High-quality data with a commonly understood meaning that can be used with confidence — Australian healthcare services will have the ability to deliver comprehensive interoperability and boost data quality via clinical technologies and unique identifiers.

• Better availability and access to prescriptions and medicines information — All Australian medical management will start using digitally enabled paper-free options and access electronic prescribing and dispensing to better secure the health systems.

• Digitally enabled models of care that drive improved accessibility, quality, safety, and efficiency — These aim to solve technical challenges through pioneering health initiatives, particularly providing support to the Health Care Home trial, advance care planning, and telehealth services.

• A workforce confidently using digital health technologies to deliver health and care — Together with governments and partners in workforce education, ADHA will develop comprehensive proposals for the confident use of digital services of all healthcare professionals across Australia.

• A thriving digital health industry delivering world-class innovation — ADHA aims to meet the changing needs of both providers and patients by supporting accredited health apps and offering an improved developer program.

Complete details of these outcomes are in ADHA’s report.

Moving Forward Digitally

In the 2022 Gartner CIO and Technology Executive Survey, 66% of healthcare providers experienced severe disruptions due to shifting consumer demands, regulation and compliance, and so on. In response, adopting a digital-health-first mindset is essential. This assists healthcare CIOs in determining key actions to enhance the organisation’s composability.

Digital Transformation Barriers to Overcome in 2022

But while digital innovation proves to be beneficial for supporting future-fit healthcare organisations, there are still some barriers that the sector needs to overcome:

• Cost pressure — Many healthcare organisations and clinics don’t have the budget to upgrade to new systems. And a majority of them are already spending a big chunk of their IT operating budgets on their current systems, which they also have a hard time maintaining. The sector is advised to rethink the allocation of resources so they can have money left to invest in the future.
• Employee pushback — Digital transformation can bring discomfort that leaves employees feeling threatened. Keeping up with the changes is not easy for everyone. Ensure your healthcare staff is engaged through the entire process and stay transparent to get rid of their uncertainties and doubts.
• Data migration and sharing — Implementing a new digital ecosystem can result in troubles in data migration and sharing. Lack of skill sets in software integrations or IT, in general, can be a massive hindrance in accomplishing healthcare digitalisation goals. Acquiring newer and easier-to-use tools and technically skilled staff can help bridge the migration gap. 
• Cybersecurity — Healthcare is a data-sensitive industry that faces numerous privacy concerns every single day. Cyberattacks target poor healthcare setups and vulnerable systems and steal company data and patients’ personal health information. Most cybersecurity efforts in the sector today are focused on moving to the cloud and integrating data into a centralised system. For healthcare boards who should be vigilant about their confidential data, investing in board portal software with razor-tight security is best. 

Healthcare Executives as Digital Transformation Champions

Leadership is a critical factor in driving digital transformation initiatives. Healthcare CIOs, for instance, are expected to set the digitalisation ambition and guide their entire organisation to pursue the transformation. 

Among the digital goals that require an executive’s leadership include incremental digitalisation, advanced digitisation, new products and markets, and new business models. Regardless of the sector, executives should champion digital transformation across their organisations.

Having a hard time driving transformation initiatives? We can speed up the journey for you and your organisation! We at Convene are committed to supporting healthcare facilities and boards in strategy execution using our board portal. 

Convene is a board management software tailored to meet the healthcare sector’s needs for smoother workflows, better accessibility, and greater oversight. Find out how we can turn you into digital champions.