Solving 5 Key Healthcare Challenges
Healthcare Challenges Overview
The healthcare landscape is constantly evolving, with challenges ranging from continuity of care to mergers and acquisitions. Large health systems are increasingly prioritizing the digital patient experience as part of their operational and strategic goals. This white paper explores key strategies to help you adapt to the changing needs and expectations of patients.
Key challenges addressed:
Patient Outcomes
Patient Expectations
Choice & Personalization
Healthcare AI
Mergers & Acquisitions
Patient Outcomes Overview & Challenges
Improving patient outcomes is a primary goal for every healthcare system, with hospitals now reimbursed based on clinical results rather than the volume of services.
“CMS has set ambitious goals for transitioning the healthcare industry to value-based care, which reimburses providers based on the clinical outcomes they achieve and not simply the volume of services they perform.”
Source: netsuite.com
Challenges
Shortage of Qualified Professionals: The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortage of 37,800 to 124,000 physicians by 2034. (source)
Nursing Shortages: A 2022 study by the NCSBN found that more than 610,000 experienced registered nurses intend to leave their jobs by 2027. (source)
Data Overload: The average hospital system produces 137 terabytes of data per day, with up to 80% being unstructured. (source)
Outdated Infrastructure: Many healthcare systems struggle with antiquated tools and processes, leading to inefficiencies.
Administrative Burdens: Increasing documentation requirements take time away from direct patient care.
Patient Outcomes Solutions
Digital Solutions to Improve Patient Outcomes
Streamline Processes: Use digital technology like propensity modeling to diagnose and treat conditions earlier.
Enhance Communication: Improve patient-provider communication channels for timely access to information.
Addressed System Gaps: Identify systemic issues using data insights to improve care coordination.
Standardize Best Practices: Implement digital best practices to ensure consistent quality care across the patient journey.
Case Study
University of Texas Medical Branch reduced hospital readmissions by 14.5% relative reduction in their 30-day all-cause readmission rate by leveraging advanced analytics to improve the timeliness of data and inform decision-making. This resulted in $1.9 million in cost avoidance.
Are you struggling to improve patient outcomes? Meet Augusto Digital, the leading digital solution integrator in healthcare focused on improving patient outcomes through:
Consulting
Growth Marketing
Data Insights
Set up a discovery call with Augusto to learn more about how we can help you improve patient outcomes.
Patient Expectations Overview & Challenges
Patients today expect their healthcare experience to match the convenience of other industries. Modern, patient-centric care is essential for meeting these rising expectations.
Challenges
Repeated Questions: Patients dislike answering the same questions or undergoing redundant tests.
Wait Times: While primary care wait times dropped from 4 weeks in 2017 to 3 weeks in 2022, patients still expect faster service. (source)
Billing Confusion: Patients expect transparency and clarity in healthcare billing and payment processes.
Inconsistent Communication: Fragmented care pathways leave patients feeling lost and ignored.
“Why can’t healthcare move as fast as other industries?”
— Common patient sentiment
Patient Expectations Solutions
How to Meet and Exceed Patient Expectations
Improve Digital Engagement: Create user-friendly portals for patients to access services and information.
Stay Connected and Communicative: Utilize remote monitoring, messaging, and check-ins to make patients feel valued and engaged throughout their care journey.
Remove Redundancies: Streamline workflows to eliminate repeated tasks, enhancing patient satisfaction.
Provide Easy Access to Data: Enable seamless and secure sharing of patient data through integrated systems and applications.
Simplify Billing and Payment Processes: Implement digital solutions to simplify medical billing, making it easier for patients to understand and manage their healthcare expenses.
Mobile Health (mHealth): Leverage mobile apps that allow patients to manage their health and well-being, such as medication tracking, health monitoring, and virtual consultations.
Increase Transparency: Simplify billing and improve communication around healthcare costs with modern digital tools.
Offer a Guided Journey: Help patients understand their healthcare journey through clear and accessible digital tools.
Case Study
Augusto partnered with Coordinista to develop a scheduling platform for traveling nurses, optimizing their time for patient house visits and improving patient-provider communication.
Choice & Personalization Overview and Challenges
Personalization and choice are key as healthcare systems compete with urgent care clinics and retail healthcare services.
Challenges
Overwhelming Number and Choices: With so many options available, patients are choosing healthcare providers based on the quality of their experience, not just the care itself.
Access to Care: 100 million Americans face physical or financial barriers to accessing primary care. (source)
Competition from Urgent Care: Urgent care clinics are growing at a 7% annual rate, (source) with 80% of the U.S. population living within a 10-minute drive of one. (source)
"By 2023, the number of urgent care clinics in the U.S. grew from 6,400 in 2014 to over 11,000."
Source: cnn.com
Choice & Personalization Solutions
Enhancing Personalization in Healthcare
Personalized Treatment Plans: Leverage data analytics to create customized care plans for patients. Optimize Digital
Experiences: Customize websites and portals to ensure patients can quickly and easily access the services they need.
Data-Driven Insights: Use patient data to tailor marketing campaigns and provide relevant wellness programs.
Case Study
At Augusto, we specialize in enhancing the customer experience by working closely with healthcare systems to personalize their websites. This makes it easy for visitors to quickly find what they need. We also guide organizations in leveraging internal data insights to create targeted, personalized marketing campaigns that improve patient engagement and satisfaction.
Healthcare AI Overview & Challenges
AI is transforming healthcare by enabling greater personalization and improved patient outcomes, but adoption remains a challenge.
Areas that are being impacted include:
Clinical decision support
Diagnostic accuracy
Operational efficiency
Predictive analytics
The global AI in healthcare market is projected to reach $45.2 billion by 2026.
Source: wifitalents.com
Challenges
Lack of Expertise and Staff: Many healthcare systems lack dedicated AI teams or sufficient staff to implement and manage AI tools effectively.
Regulatory Compliance: Staying compliant with AI regulations, particularly around data privacy, remains a complex issue.
Automation Bias: Over-reliance on AI-generated data or decisions can lead to automation bias, where human oversight is diminished.
Patient Acceptance: Patients may be hesitant or distrustful of AI-driven healthcare solutions, which can affect the adoption and success of these tools.
Healthcare AI Solutions
Enhancing Personalization in Healthcare
Automate Administrative Tasks: Free up resources by automating scheduling, claims processing, and other mundane tasks.
Enhance Decision-Making: Leverage AI for better diagnostic accuracy and predictive analytics.
Stay Compliant: Ensure AI solutions align with regulatory standards for data privacy and security.
Marketing Communications: Use AI to increase efficiency with marketing campaigns for more customization.
Data Insights: Utilize AI technologies to quickly process and analyze vast data sets for better-informed decisions.
Diagnostics and Patient Triage: Use predictive analytics to improve care delivery and operational efficiency.
Case Study
Augusto provides custom AI solutions, including automation, chatbots, and data insights, helping clients integrate AI into their healthcare systems. We organize workshops to brainstorm how your healthcare system can get the most out of AI. We’ll provide a plan with guidance, governance and ensure team buy-in.
Mergers & Acquisitions Overview & Challenges
Mergers and acquisitions present opportunities for growth but also pose challenges related to system integration and patient care.
Challenges
Integration Complexities: Merging disparate systems and processes can lead to inefficiencies that negatively impact care quality.
Patient Satisfaction: Studies show that patient satisfaction often declines after mergers due to information gaps and inconsistent care.
Unaligned Operations and Protocols: Merging organizations frequently face misaligned protocols, which can disrupt both operations and patient experiences.
In 2023, there were 65 hospital mergers (source), up from 53 the previous year, with 12% being “mega mergers (source).”
Mergers & Acquisitions Solutions
Seamless Digital Integration for M&A Success
Streamline Digital Presence: Consolidate websites and CMS platforms into a unified, branded experience.
Optimize Content: Reduce and organize digital content to ensure clear navigation and SEO optimization.
Align IT Systems: Integrate EHRs and administrative systems for a seamless patient experience.
Align Clinical Protocols with Best Practices: Ensure clinical procedures are standardized across merged organizations to maintain consistent and high-quality care.
Harmonize Admin Policies: Unify administrative processes, systems and policies to streamline operations and reduce inefficiencies post-merger.
Case Study
During the merger of three healthcare organizations, Augusto streamlined their digital presence by consolidating multiple websites into a single CMS, reducing content from 17,000 to 300 pages, and executing a full brand refresh.
Website Consolidation: Merged multiple sites into one cohesive platform with a new CMS.
Content Optimization: Reduced content by 98% through SEO research and a strategic redirect plan.
UX & Project Management: Reorganized the UX team for efficiency and delivered the project on time, handling full content development and management.
About Augusto Digital
Augusto Digital partners with healthcare organizations to drive digital transformation and innovation. Our team works closely with your internal teams to streamline system technologies, enhance operations, and improve patient experiences. We offer consulting, UX design, software development, and IT support, delivering custom software solutions that leverage AI, mobile, web, IoT, data analytics, and dashboards to create seamless, automated processes and immersive digital experiences.
Together, we set the pace for innovation in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.
Augusto Has Answers for You at the Right Stage
We understand that every healthcare organization faces unique challenges. We listen to your concerns, customize a plan tailored to your needs, and provide solutions at every stage of your digital transformation journey.
Unblocking Projects and Driving Progress
If your projects are stalled or facing obstacles, we can step in to help unblock them and drive measurable progress, ensuring your initiatives stay on track and meet their goals.
Augusto Flywheel
We take a holistic approach, starting small, adding value, and growing trust through success. The Augusto Flywheel starts with your vision at the center. It is built on continuous engagement and acceleration, empowering your team to overcome challenges and achieve their goals. By delivering value at every stage, we ensure your team drives growth and innovation.
Services in the Augusto Flywheel
Examples of our Work
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