Healthcare Executives’ COVID-19 Experience
Insights on Technology Challenges & Solutions
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, healthcare organizations are eager to learn from peers and find fast solutions to top-of-mind technology challenges. 19 executives from 18 healthcare organizations shared their status in addressing these challenges. The overarching theme? While healthcare organizations have found stopgaps in many areas, few have successfully implemented permanent solutions that serve a long-term strategy. This report details how organizations are faring against technology challenges today and—in acknowledgment that the future of healthcare is hazy for everyone—also provides links to technology-performance resources you may find useful and asks you to help peers make informed decisions by sharing your technology experiences.
Want to see full details?
Want to see full details?
Here is my information:
Learn More about the COVID-19 HIT Response
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, KLAS is sharing timely insights on healthcare organizations’ experiences with their healthcare IT vendors and key solutions.
Telehealth: The Biggest Problem & Most Frequently Addressed—in the Short Term
A little under half of respondents (8 of 19) say telehealth functionality or capacity has been their number one problem to solve during the early stages of the pandemic. The good news is that nearly all respondents have a workable solution, and the rest are in the process of implementing one. Several mentioned using consumer-facing products—e.g., Apple FaceTime, Google Duo, Zoom, or Skype—that enable organizations without existing telehealth capabilities to quickly ramp up and handle increased demand. While many solutions are suitable for this emergency purpose, solutions that serve a strategic, long-term telehealth vision are much scarcer.
To help organizations considering the long term, KLAS offers a number of telehealth and virtual care resources, including ongoing performance research, a COVID-19 Telehealth Guide, and upcoming reports (on topics such as telehealth solutions from ambulatory EHR vendors, telehealth vendors’ response to COVID-19, the larger telehealth ecosystem, and non-US telehealth solutions). To move telehealth forward, KLAS needs organizations like yours to share your customer experience; click here to schedule a call with KLAS.
“We used a few tactics. First, we used tools like Skype, Google Duo, and FaceTime as a stopgap. Then we expanded our Epic/Vidyo integration from urgent care visits to all visit types, including surgical and non-surgical specialties and all primary care. This let us replace the stopgap tools. We also implemented on-premises telehealth in the ER, ICU, and floors; that way, a provider can be in the same building as the patient but not in the same room, decreasing exposure and limiting PPE usage.” —CIO
Remote Patient Monitoring a Major, Persistent Challenge
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) has been another major technology concern during the COVID-19 crisis. However, 13 of 19 respondents say RPM is one of the technologies they have least enhanced during the pandemic. Only 4 organizations report having a workable RPM solution; these organizations have implemented new systems or expanded existing solutions. Eight organizations say their RPM technology problem remains unsolved. In 2019, KLAS published a report examining RPM vendor performance and changes to the RPM landscape, and KLAS’ upcoming telehealth ecosystem report will include insights on RPM technology. If your organization is using an RPM solution today, click here to share your customer experience insights.
COVID-19 Underscores Interoperability Needs
Four provider executives cited interoperability as their biggest technology challenge when trying to combat COVID-19. Common solutions to interoperability needs include using Epic Care Everywhere, CommonWell, and/or Carequality to connect to needed data. However, several still see gaps and want better data standards. To learn more about the status of interoperability in healthcare and EHR vendors’ performance in this area, see KLAS’ ongoing research and 2019 report on interoperability platforms, along with a 2019 update on how well vendors make outside data usable. Two more KLAS reports on interoperability are set to publish later in 2020.
EHR Being Leveraged for Real-Time Data and (in Some Cases) Analytics
Seven respondents say they have found a workable solution for getting real-time COVID-19 data from their hospitals. While a few leverage EHR dashboards to get the real-time data they need, most load the data from their EHRs into other software solutions (e.g., Microsoft Power BI and Tableau) to either house the data or build data visualizations.
Detailed Executive Survey Results
Technology
Command Center
Impact of Technology
Report Non-Public HTML Body
Report Public HTML Body
Topics
Report Topics
Clinician Efficiency and Personalization, Clinician Relationships and CommunicationThis material is copyrighted. Any organization gaining unauthorized access to this report will be liable to compensate KLAS for the full retail price. Please see the KLAS DATA USE POLICY for information regarding use of this report. © 2019 KLAS Research, LLC. All Rights Reserved. NOTE: Performance scores may change significantly when including newly interviewed provider organizations, especially when added to a smaller sample size like in emerging markets with a small number of live clients. The findings presented are not meant to be conclusive data for an entire client base.