Nederlands
Digitisation in healthcare is often presented as the much-touted solution to all pain points, but let's face it: it is often nothing more than old wine in new bags. In fact, CBS recently reported that a quarter of companies even notice no or very little impact from their digitisation efforts. Companies and healthcare organisations rush to put paper forms online, but in the process forget the essential: the process itself. It's not just about digitising existing processes, but embracing innovation, creating new opportunities, and delivering value beyond simply replacing paper with pixels.
Digitisation must be much more than just digitising existing workflows; it must bring new insights, make suggestions, and enable predictions. It must uncover missing information, eliminate inefficiencies and streamline the process for all involved. We must move away from simply automating old processes and instead strive to radically redefine how care is delivered and managed.
In the healthcare chain, we often see a lack of cooperation and integration between different systems. We need to embrace chain thinking and collectively strive to improve the entire process. From intake to treatment plan to reporting, every part of care must be seamlessly integrated. Reports must be more than just a checklist of set elements and goals; they must provide valuable insights and anticipate the needs of the patient as well as the provider and the insurer or health care office.
Implementing rule upon rule in an attempt to meet all requirements only exacerbates the already existing care burden. Even the most advanced automation cannot solve all the problems if we are not willing to rethink the fundamental way we deliver care. It is time to look beyond simply digitising old processes and pursue real innovation that actually benefits care.
