The Hospital of the Future Needs to Consider the Patient of the Future.

… Needs to consider the Patient of the Future.

A version of the ‘Hospital of the Future’ (HOF) is already here – a hospital utilising digital systems rather than analogue processes, having implemented some level of digital transformation.

The COVID19 pandemic accelerated the use of digital technologies including Virtual Reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain and 5G, but it’s also changed the mindset of patients in relation to their health.

The next version of the ‘Hospital of the Future’ needs to consider how digital technology can be used to enable a more patient-centric experience of healthcare. The HOF needs put the Patient of the Future at the heart of a digital strategy.

This article is a shortened version of a paper written by Aquitude Health. Download the ‘Hospital of the Future PDF‘

Patient Personas

At a macro level there trends emerging which began during the COVID19 pandemic. These trends will change the ongoing relationship between patient and healthcare provider into the near and medium future. We have identified several patient personas that present threats and opportunities to the HOF

Digitally Native Patients

The ‘Facebook Generation’ is in their 40s. Since 2005 patients have been able to inform themselves about healthcare and wellness via YouTube. Since 2010 over 116 million Fitbit devices have been sold. Digitally native patients expect the same experience from their healthcare providers as they do from Amazon or Instagram. Intuitive and seamless journeys enabled by technology.

They expect to be able to interact via WhatsApp or some other form of live-chat. They have been taught to expect that organisations don’t have opening hours or working weeks.

Globally Mobile Patients

Healthcare used to be local. Patients were subject to a kind of lottery when it came to receiving care. Even patients looking for care in the private sector were limited to local or regional options.

The hospital of the future is not guaranteed patronage by local patients. For some of these patients, there is the option to fly around the world for physical treatment. Before the pandemic ‘Healthcare Tourism’ was growing at over 21-32% per annum.

The pandemic also saw accelerated adoption of telehealth. As this technology becomes better and leverages trends like augmented, mixed and virtual reality, the HOF will be able to deliver care from anywhere to anywhere.

Wellness Cantered Patients

Enabled by instant access to in-depth medical information, these patients expect their healthcare providers to provide the most up-to-date information, treatments and advice. These patients expect their healthcare providers to be proactive and to provide access to preventative care.

Creating a Total Experience for the Hospital of the Future

The COVID19 pandemic accelerated the use of technologies including Virtual Reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain and 5G, but it’s also changed the mindset of patients in relation to their health.

As competition for patients and medical talent increases, there is a competitive advantage to be gained by focusing on Total Experience. PX is closely tied to the experience and mindset of Doctors and Nurses and staff who interact directly with patients, but PX is also closely tied to the decisions of policy makers, compliance officers, accountants and even IT.

Total experience considers how the policies, procedures and systems of a hospital impacts employees, patients, commercial outcomes and technology decisions.

The Employee Experience of the Hospital of the Future

Many healthcare organizations have been designed around doctors, though in recent years some medical professionals have been marginalized by administrators and accountants focused on financial outcomes.

Elsewhere, primary care workers are burnt out and undervalued. The experience of workers has been taken for granted. The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused global shifts in the availability of workers from other countries resulting in acute staff shortages.

The patient experience is largely driven by the human interactions. The whole organisation needs to understand the patient charter and what the impact of their decisions has on the overall patient journey.

Digital technology can be deployed to enable front-line staff to deliver a better experience. From reducing paperwork and administrative burden to providing dashboard style real-time information to help with decision making.

The Business of the Hospital of the Future

The threat of litigation and the complex value-chains relating to medical insurance have distracted hospitals from their primary purpose – delivering patient outcomes.

The ‘Hospitals of the Future’ that puts Total Experience at the center of every decision that they make – including technology decisions – will attract better talent, be more efficient (save money) and enjoy brand benefits. And of course, deliver outstanding patient outcomes.

We have discussed the threats to healthcare providers if they do not consider the patient of the future. Business is threatened by global brands who can deliver their trusted care remotely into any market. Business is threatened by negative reviews by patients and old-fashioned processes that were designed before digital solutions existed.

We have also discussed the opportunities for the Hospital of the Future to use patient experience as a differentiator, to attract medical tourism and export care remotely. Efficiencies may also be gained through telehealth.

The Hospital of the Future might have an entirely different business model based on NFTs and Tokenomics!

The Technology of the Hospital of the Future

Due to the suddenness of the pandemic, many digital technologies were rolled out in haste without any real strategy or consideration for patients or practitioners . In some cases, this led to innovation and in some cases, it led to exposing weaknesses elsewhere in the system.

In a highly regulated market like healthcare, rules that were developed in different times, restricted by analog processes and technology have not been updated. For example – rules to protect patient data and privacy were written when such data was kept on paper in filing cabinets.

If we consider the Patients of the Future and their end-to-end healthcare journey, we can identify some technologies that will be central to the experience. These range from the delivery of information and content to messaging platforms to the sharing of private information to the use of virtual reality headsets for the alleviation of pain .

In a Total Experience mindset, technology can also enable employees to deliver better outcomes. IoT based analysis of traffic movement throughout a hospital, blockchain based asset tracking or simple APIs that allow for private data to be shared for onboarding.

The following technologies will be central to the delivery of total experience in the hospital of the future:

• Internet of Things (IoT), from wearables to monitoring.
• Machine Learning & AI, from advanced diagnosis to virtual doctors and driverless vehicles.
• Blockchain, from asset tracking to records management and business models
• Mixed Reality, from training and simulations to metaverse hospitals and virtual companions

Conclusion

The ‘Hospital for the Future’ has a significant interplay between Total Experience and Technology. One is part of the other. The ability to deliver healthcare cost-effectively yet offer a great Patient Experience, will require a razor-sharp focus by healthcare institutions on managing Employee Experience, Patient Experience and Technology.

Being able to hand-hold patients and employees through the transition between the ‘analogue’ world of today’s healthcare to the digitally driven, virtual and globally-minded healthcare services expected by the Patients of the Future will prove to be a genuine competitive differentiator for healthcare institutions.