In a recent virtual event we held with Lenovo, we dove into the subject of what’s coming up next for virtual care? To kick off the event, Dr. Nick van Terheyden, CEO of Incremental Health and a Digital Futurist, set the stage for exactly how far we’ve come in regards to the use of technology in healthcare. It was really astounding to compare the very first technology in healthcare to the advanced technologies we have available to us today. Although, Dr. Nick aptly reminded us that there’s a risk in ignoring ongoing disruption in healthcare as we learn from the experiences of Blockbuster, Borders, Kodak, and Blackberry to name a few.
While we need to be aware of how quickly technology and virtual care in particular is moving, Dr. Nick also painted a beautiful picture of new opportunities that tracking data will provide healthcare. Plus, that data will be made actionable and integrated into our lives. He even showed a great demo of how technology could start to integrate the virtual with the physical in something that he compared to the holodeck in Star Trek. While this is still a ways off, he illustrated how the groundwork we do today with patient data will provide for that future. And it will likely happen faster than any of us can imagine.
Dr. Nick gave two suggestions to avoid being left behind:
- Do things other aren’t willing to do
- Take part in the change because the pace of innovation is so quick that if you don’t, you’ll miss out and won’t be able to keep up
As we shifted to the panel portion of the event, Anne Martin, RN, Clinical Solutions Specialist at Lenovo, framed where we’re headed with virtual care perfectly when she said the following:
We’re seeing a shift away from transactional based care to the patient journey.
How then can a healthcare organization make this shift? Experts on the panel offered a lot of great advice that offered many of the key pillars that are needed to do virtual care effectively:
- Collecting Data – You have to deploy the tools and technologies that can collect the data from the patient. Jen Horonjeff, Founder and CEO of Savvy Cooperative and a Patient Advocate, appropriately pointed out that patient response to these tools is going to be across the spectrum. We have to take that into account as we deploy them to patients.
- Sharing Data – It’s one thing to collect the data and another to share the data where it needs to be shared. Horonjeff reminded us that giving patients access to the data is important as well. Whether the patient is an expert on the data doesn’t matter since patients can share that data with those who are experts.
- Ensuring the Quality of the Data – Dr. Nick offered the great example of patients with “white coat syndrome” that have high blood pressure in the doctor’s office because they’re in a stressful situation. However, their blood pressure at home is normal. This is just one of many examples of how virtual care can help provide higher quality data.
- Converting Data Into Information – Data alone isn’t of worth until you convert that data into information that helps to spur action.
- Educating and Inspiring Action – Health literacy is a major concern with virtual care programs. For a virtual care effort to be effective, it will have to take into account a patient’s health literacy. In many cases, this means virtual care will have to educate the patient in order to inspire them to action.
As we work through this move to virtual care, the panel also reminded us that sometimes the simplest programs are the most effective. This is particularly true with patients who have varying degree of skills. Horonjeff appropriately commented, “Just because the technology and the capabilities exists doesn’t mean that everybody is comfortable doing it.” Turns out, this applies to both patients and doctors.
Martin summed up virtual care best in the following clip when she says that “we want our patients to focus on living, not their chronic conditions” and then describes how we can make that possible.
The exciting thing with virtual care is that this is possible. Plus, if we get the data earlier, we can treat problems earlier and lower costs.
If you want to check out the rest of the discussion, you can access the full recording of “What’s Next for Virtual Care?” for free.
