Trends to Look Out For
- Patient IT Support: Telehealth virtual visits saw as much as a 4,500% increase in usage during the summer of 2020. As organizations rapidly deployed telehealth solutions, a new challenge arose: supporting the IT needs of their patients. Organizations are now faced with helping patients navigate things like web browser updates, internet connectivity and other technical issues. Many organizations do not have the support structure to handle internal IT issues as well as that of their patients.
- Balancing of Support Models: Many healthcare systems are looking for solutions to manage the entirety of their IT support. Balancing needs for high volume/low complexity issues like Tier-1 password resets with Tier-2 and Tier-3 high complexity/low volume issues like EHR break-fixes can prove difficult to align organizationally. Full spectrum solutions will become increasingly prevalent as organizations look at streamlining their support models.
- COVID-19 Vaccination Reminders: Many organizations are likely to leverage their Managed Services partnerships to assist in the necessary communication to patients for COVID-19 vaccinations. Because multiple versions of the vaccine will require two injections, patients will need to be reminded to have their necessary follow-up visits within the right timeframe. Managed Services platforms provide significant potential in helping manage those communication channels with patients.
Innovations to Know
- AI-Driven Call Centers: Several organizations are working on the use of AI to drive call routing efficiency. AI can help provide automated answers based on the reason a person is calling based on limited information. It can also route to specific agents based on call history or other targeted reasons for calls. Hopefully, this moves us away from getting lost in complicated phone tree options!
- Managed Services as a Strategic Direction: Support has traditionally been viewed as a necessary component of any IT endeavor. However, viewing support as a strategic pillar of an organization’s overarching direction can help boost ROI. This approach could allow health systems to more dynamically staff their entire support model based on demand and become more nimble and less reactive to unforeseen challenges.
Learn how managed services can help your organization meet the needs of the future. Contact our experts today.
Andy Palmer, Pivot Point Consulting Director, EHR & Managed Services, has over 14 years of leading EHR implementations, strategic initiatives and community extension projects. He has extensive experience planning, managing and delivering projects across a broad spectrum of healthcare organizations, including academic medical centers, pediatric hospitals and large multi-state organizations. With a specialty in Revenue Cycle IT design, clinical integration and operational workflows, Andy excels at leveraging an EHR’s capabilities and using data to drive strategic decision-making. As the Director of Pivot Point Consulting’s EHR Practice, he ensures the highest quality consultants are partnered with every organization.
