"Tech isn't just the pure solution," says CFO Mark Flakne.
Last month Mark Flakne became the new chief financial officer of Included Health, a provider of healthcare navigation and virtual care. With the implementation of more advanced care technology, Flakne says new tech tools, regardless of the challenge they're brought in to solve, must focus on the patient experience above all else. But with pressures to reduce costs while bettering clinical outcomes, telehealth and virtual care implementation can get complicated.
Telehealth 2.0
There's no doubt healthcare has come a long way in regards to technology, particularly with the adoption of telehealth and virtual care. More and more health systems are implementing automation, A.I. and other tools that can help clinicians focus on direct patient care instead of administrative tasks.
While these advancements have been helpful, there is still a long way to go in order for the industry to begin implementing them in the most beneficial way. Health systems cannot focus on them as a one-stop solution, says Flakne. CFOs must make strategic decisions when deciding which type of tech they need to invest in to overcome the specific challenges in their organizations.
"Tech isn't just the pure solution, and I think that part is key, being very selective on what tech solutions do you deploy to really have a seamless experience for the member." says Flakne. "Because [patients] shouldn't realize they're using the technology. They should just get the outcomes and the experience that they want."
Aiming for seamless integration with a patient focus is what allows health systems to be able to provide whole-person care, a chief focus for Included Health.
"That integration of this system is to be able to provide holistic care to the members," says Flakne. "To me, this really gets back to what a lot of people may refer to as ‘telehealth 2.0,' but it's really bringing that navigation with the virtual primary care together and all the other services and wrapping the patient around delivering care as they need it, when they need it, where they need it."
"I wanted to see how technology could transform the patient experience," Dr. Ami Parekh, chief health officer of Included Health, previously told HealthLeaders. "While we have used a lot of technology in healthcare, I don't think we've really pushed the limits on how transformative it can be from a member experience perspective, as well as from the outcomes it can deliver."
Sustaining Trust
While technology holds immense power to transform the patient experience, health systems shouldn't be too hasty, says Flakne. The proper implementation of technology isn't simply shelling out the funds to acquire it. This process comes with education, governance, and practice. Each of these components plays into a greater, seamless patient experience.
"People have somewhat jumped on the tech bandwagon, I'm sure we've used chat bots that don't work and can't understand you, and so I think technology is really cool and there's a great opportunity, but it's not just jumping into it. It's thinking through ‘how does it become seamless?'"
While it may be an exciting time for healthcare tech, health systems must be careful of how they step into it in order to sustain the trust of their patients.
"How does it happen behind the scenes?" says Flakne. "Because when it doesn't work, I think we've also seen people lose trust in it."
Marie DeFreitas is the CFO editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
CFO Mark Flakne gives some insights on how the healthcare industry should implement new technology.
CFOs must carefully consider their tech investments to ensure these tools play into the organization's specific needs and goals.
Health systems must not move too fast too soon on tech and virtual care or risk losing the trust of their patients.