Patient Needs Driving Increased Adoption of Digital Technologies in Healthcare

The healthcare industry is becoming more patient-centric. The shift to value-based care and consumerism is gaining momentum with the growth of personalized services and digitally enabled, low-cost care delivery models that improve the patient experience. Healthcare providers must expedite their adoption of digital technologies to align with these emerging industry trends. Digital services providers can aid in this task.

Avasant’s new Healthcare Digital Services 2019-2020 RadarView^TM report covers emerging trends of the healthcare industry for both payors and providers. The report is a comprehensive study of digital services in the healthcare industry, including top trends, analysis, recommendations, and a close look at the leaders, innovators, disruptors, and challengers in this market.

This report assists healthcare organizations in developing their action plans and identifying key global service providers that can expedite their transformational journey. We also forecast the direction of digital services in healthcare over the next three years.

Avasant evaluated 37 providers using three dimensions: practice maturity, partner ecosystem, and investments and innovation. Of those 37 providers, 22 are recognized as having brought the most value to the market over the past 12 months.

The RadarView methodology recognizes service providers in four categories:

• • Leaders: Accenture, Cognizant, IBM, TCS, and Wipro.
  • Innovators: Atos, HCL, Infosys, and NTT DATA.
  • Disruptors: CGI, DXC, Genpact, Infinite Computer Solutions, Mphasis, Sutherland, and UST Global.
  • Challengers: EXL, Capgemini, Hexaware, Tech Mahindra, Unisys, and WNS.

These four categories are illustrated in Figure 1 from the full report:

“Over the next three years, digital technologies such as intelligent automation, IoT, analytics, and artificial intelligence will be the drivers of change in the healthcare industry,” said Pooja Chopra, Avasant’s research leader. “Mature service providers with industry-specific knowledge and niche healthcare companies with right digital levers can accelerate the process.”
The full Healthcare Digital Services RadarView 2019-2020 report includes the following recommendations for healthcare organizations:

1. Digitize chronic disease management and proactive interventions to contain cost:
   • Deploy population health management, wellness management, and lifestyle-assistance solutions to prevent, delay the onset, and control the severity of chronic diseases.
   • Invest in digital technologies such as wearables and remote-monitoring devices to mitigate the onset of medical conditions through proactive interventions and preventive measures.
2. Accelerate the shift to value-based payments and negotiate out-of-network coverage:
   • Partner with providers to fund preventive care projects, wellness management programs, and remote care to drive adoption of value-based payments.
   • Leverage reference-based pricing while pursuing negotiations with out-of-network providers to take advantage of discounted health services.
3. Reassess cybersecurity as the ecosystem embraces interoperability:
   • Perform a comprehensive assessment of technology architecture and the integration of new nodes and networks as the ecosystem advances to full-scale interoperability.
   • Perform regular threat and vulnerability audits for data and applications and strengthen endpoint, network, infrastructure, cloud, and transaction security.
4. Reimagine patient experience by leveraging technology:
   • Invest in chatbots and virtual assistants to assist patient processes that are ancillary to treatment, such as completing forms, scheduling appointments, and sending reminders.
   • Leverage digital channels to better reach patients via remote care and to give them visibility into costs, understand their options for care, provide them with financial counselling and improve their outcomes.

The full report also features detailed RadarView profiles of the top 22 service providers along with their solutions, offerings, and experience in assisting healthcare enterprises in their digital transformation journey. This report also highlights how the service provider landscape has evolved, not only in terms of categorization but also in the way they are investing in developing talent, building their capabilities, expanding their geographic coverage, and strengthening their partner network.

This Research Byte is a brief overview of the full Healthcare Digital Services 2019-2020 RadarView^TM  report. The full report is available at no charge for Avasant Research subscribers, or it may be purchased by non-subscribers directly from our website (click for pricing).