BPM solutions can help healthcare providers and facilities better manage their technology and operational needs, but as the industry continues to evolve the changes are bringing about challenges at a rapid pace.
In healthcare today, technology is everything. It enables the highest quality of care and promotes stronger communication between doctors and patients. However, in order to maintain a basic standard of quality with that technology and enable growth at the same time, medical providers have to focus on managing their healthcare IT processes more efficiently. These changes will be essential for improving the healthcare market as a whole, while helping facilities keep up with new trends and regulations, such as the federal EHR mandate.
In his book, "Where does it hurt? An entrepreneur's guide to fixing healthcare," Jonathan Bush, CEO of Athenahealth Inc., covered several topics where he thinks the healthcare industry needs assistance through innovation. Bush notes that new business models, updated payment strategies and new technology that improves the patient-doctor experiences are just the top if the iceberg, and while many facilities are starting to embrace these solutions, much more is needed to influence the change in the healthcare industry that it needs.
"Now is the time to break down barriers and disrupt the system, so we can bring the same efficiency, innovation, and customer service that we expect in every other part of our lives," Bush noted in a press release for his book.
Taking healthcare to a new frontier will require, by necessity, improved business process management throughout the industry. Without advanced BPM solutions, hospitals will struggle to optimize their use of new technologies and this innovation that Bush and many others are advocating. Scott Cleveland, a contributor to ebizQ, noted that this will start with business process analysis for how to improve processes and where the biggest changes are needed, but it will also rely on the rate of innovation in healthcare technology to act as the catalyst for improvement.
Ultimately, investing in advanced BPM solutions and the adequate technology to make significant changes will quickly provide its own ROI as consumers flock to the providers that are making the biggest changes. New opportunities, and the offering of choice to patients, will play well into the needs of the modern healthcare industry.
Director of Corporate Communications
