Survey: 75% of healthcare leaders dissatisfied with their digital health plans

Editor's Note

In a survey of 100 health system executives conducted by Sage Growth Partners in February 2022 and published in Panda Health’s Hospital Digital Health Technology Report: 2022, more than 90% of the health systems surveyed said “a strong digital health strategy is essential to improving clinical outcomes, boosting clinician satisfaction rates, and increasing productivity,” HealthLeaders April 28 reports.

However, “less than half” of respondents have a digital health strategy in place, and “less than a quarter are ‘very confident’ that they have the right strategy.” The survey found that only 6% have a “fully developed” digital health plan; 46% feel their plan is “moderately developed”; 16% said they haven’t developed any plan; and 31% say it’s “slightly developed.”

This illustrates “the chaotic digital health market that healthcare leaders are facing these days,” HealthLeaders noted. Here are other takeaways from the survey:

• 91% of health leaders surveyed already have a telemedicine platform in place (with the remaining 9% planning on adopting one within three years)
• 68% want digital care coordination/care journey orchestration tools
• 63% are looking to implement digital reputation management tools within the next three years
• 61% are looking for digital care navigators or website chatbots
• 47% are looking for financial clearance and price explanation tools
• 43% are looking for self-service patient scheduling solutions
• 41% want patient engagement tools
• 39% are interested in remote patient monitoring services
• 38% are eyeing self-service payments and estimates services.

Some consumers have expressed the desire to continue using digital health post-pandemic, and health systems are trying to develop the right digital strategy to meet the demand. “But creating a strategy…is not that easy,” HealthLeaders advises. See the full article below for recommendations on implementing a digital plan.