What do frontline caregivers want from digitized healthcare?

Technology has proved to be a blessing for consumers who today have a plethora of care options and improved access to care. This is not the case with frontline providers who continue to suffer from burnout and fatigue.

During the early years of implementing electronic health records in hospitals, nearly 15 years ago, I recall an intensivist in the CCU warning that EHR systems are a disaster.

The reason? An inherent order form within the application prevented the physician from prescribing medicine in the dosage he required. Technology has its glitches, and all those who have been part of EHR implementations during those years will remember the challenges they have had to face.

Fast forward 15 years, and today, the electronic health record has become the central hub for all digital developments in healthcare. With the stabilization of the EHR systems, the demand to make healthcare more user-friendly has only increased.

The introduction of FHIR APIs and the interoperability ruling has further opened the market to a slew of consumer-friendly healthcare services that rival Uber and Amazon. The two decades of digital transformation have been expedited in the last two years due to COVID-19, which has made change management easier than it previously was.