Healthcare Digitalization: Deloitte Survey's Key Trends And Recommendations

This year, Deloitte US – an international advisory firm – published a comprehensive review of their healthcare industry study regarding the current trends and expectations of the related organizations' executives. Their survey includes respondents from Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US, and most of its points include digital innovations as a game-changer trend in the modern world.

Let's review the study's crucial points.

Global Tendencies

Surprisingly, US respondents appeared to be more conservative regarding their expectations about the role of digital transformation in their practices. Thus, 52% of non-American healthcare organization executives think this trend will significantly impact their organizations' development strategies compared to 30% of American representatives.

Among those who recognize the importance of digital transformation, a few particular trends are impacting their organization's development strategies the most:

• 88% of respondents – the adoption of virtual health, digital tools, and connected care delivery (key factors in improving the treatment process).
• 87% – increasing and escalating cyberattacks (main threat for digital health data safety)
• 81% – proliferation of generative AI (may be used as an assistant in diagnostics, drug development, and other healthcare areas)

The bulk of respondents are using or planning to use generative AI in their organizations, and 43% of those who integrated technology already reported that they experienced an investment return. The Deloitte research particularly highlights the importance of gen AI in the two main branches of the clinic's work:

• Administrative tasks: AI can automate reminder messages and calls, manage data, schedule and business analytics, and cut work time and expenses.
• Diagnostic assistant: some AI algorithms can help analyze CT scans, X-rays, and other visual data, assisting clinicians in finding a particular health issue.

Key strategies in healthcare digitalization

Also, the Deloitte forecast contains a few recommendations regarding how to maximize the impact of digital technology on the facility:

1. Modernize data and core technology infrastructure. All digital tools require well-formated digitalized information without a large number of unnecessary copies and unreaded files. Practice digitalization requires you to integrate data from different platforms to work effectively in your facility.
2. Migrate to a cloud. Cloud-based services are much more practical, considering that they do not require extensive computing capabilities from your hardware to process information, guarantee data safety, and have a lot of other advantages.
3. Reinforce cybersecurity measures. Besides the practical benefits, healthcare digitalization also bears additional risks, such as cyberattacks and data leaks. Thus, it's crucial for healthcare providers to minimize the probability of such an emergency.

Still, healthcare digitalization is not limited only to data-management systems and AI tools – there is an extensive environment of cutting-edge solutions, improving each aspect of the practice. For dental specialists and practice owners, we have a comprehensive review of such tools from a prominent expert in digital dentistry – Dr Khalil Karam – who described its recent trends and key achievements that you should consider if you decide to upgrade your facility.

Also, you definitely should take a look at the other articles on our Newsfeed regarding the topic of high-end technologies in dentistry:

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