Accelerating Data Usage: Three key findings from The CHIME Digital Health Most Wired Report

Healthcare technology infrastructure may still be responding to challenges raised by the increased use of telehealth during and after the pandemic, but IT investment appears to have become targeted under one overarching concept:  Accelerating Data Usage. That’s according to the CHIME Digital Health Most Wired Report (DHMW).

The report analyzes survey findings regarding the digital profiles of approximately 40% of US hospitals. The varied array of healthcare organizations (HCOs) included in the 2023 DHMW survey is an attempt to be reflective of the current US health system landscape. The three main categories of HCOs surveyed include acute hospitals, ambulatory clinics and long-term/post-acute care facilities. This year marks the 24^th edition of the report.

The survey asserts that before the pandemic, HCOs were primarily making IT investments to comply with regulatory requirements such as Meaningful Use. Today, the focus of HCOs' IT expenses has largely shifted from data capture and storage capabilities to improving outcomes. In this environment, manipulating and extracting value from data emerges as a critical step towards achieving improved operational and clinical outcomes, and is manifested in three distinct categories. 

1. Enhanced data outputs: Healthcare data is being collected and stored at unprecedented rates, with HealthTech reporting that the amount of data generated by HCOs has been increasing at a rate of 47% per year. As a result, HCOs are implementing advanced analytics (machine learning, predictive analytics) to enhance data utility. According to the 2023 DHMW survey over 80% of HCOs reported the use of advanced analytics. However, the survey reported that HCOs often use different advanced analytics across separate locations and departments, which can lead to less than seamless data integration across a given organization. Healthcare leaders reported that AI is where they have seen the greatest progress and improvement in recent years. Promising use cases include documentation improvement, imaging, patient scheduling, revenue cycle management, care management, usage of big data to improve diagnostics and reduced length of stay.
   
   Nearly one-third of healthcare costs are associated with administrative tasks. By using AI to automate many of these tasks, HCOs can improve their bottom lines — while improving outcomes. However, the general public is not entirely comfortable with the use of AI in patient care, yet, 60% say they would feel uncomfortable if their healthcare provider relied solely on AI to diagnose diseases and recommended treatments.
2. Expanded data inputs: The survey reports that today’s patients are seeking more personalized and convenient healthcare experiences. In turn, technology companies have released patient-generated health data solutions. From fitness trackers to mobile health apps and remote monitoring devices, these consumer technologies are democratizing access to health-related information. They can help empower individuals to actively participate in their own health management, facilitate remote care delivery and enable healthcare stakeholders to make informed decisions based on real-time data. HCOs are creating hospital-at-home programs to conserve healthcare resources. Key technologies that enable this include remote patient monitoring, telemedicine, and support for enhanced clinical team coordination The convergence of these technologies reflects a fundamental shift toward a more patient-centric and data-driven healthcare landscape. As HCOs work to converge patient-generated health data, data security and interoperability, they are seeking to deliver more effective, proactive and patient-centric care — all while giving patients a larger role in managing their health. For those who are furthest along in deploying technology to support these strategies, two areas of focus have been measuring the effectiveness of these patient engagement strategies and adjusting to achieve desired results.  
3. New roles to facilitate elevated data direction: With so many complex priorities, versatile data sets and emerging technologies, the role of healthcare chief information officer has grown increasingly complex. To effectively shepherd the usage of data, specialty roles have been created. The 2023 survey highlights numerous instances where new specialty leaders emerge for areas such as cybersecurity and analytics. In some cases, these new roles still fall under the oversight of the CIO, but some HCOs still need to clearly define roles and responsibilities in relation to the CIO. As specialized leadership positions are created for data direction, it is increasingly important to establish clear boundaries and relationships, ensuring that each newly created role can most effectively contribute to a given HCO's overarching digital health strategy. This evolution reflects the dynamic healthcare landscape; the advancement of technology coupled with more specialized leadership is reshaping the leadership structure at many HCOs.

How Spectrum Enterprise can help

As a sponsor of this survey, Spectrum Enterprise understands and fully supports that the enduring goal of healthcare professionals is to improve outcomes and clinical and patient experiences. We work with your team to achieve your goals with a customized, scalable, technology infrastructure. Spectrum Enterprise can meet your HCO wherever it may be in its digital transformation efforts. We can partner and plan in a truly collaborative manner to help each organization achieve its specific desired state of interoperable infrastructure. 

For more than 10 years, we’ve partnered with 115,000+ healthcare organizations to provide technology and communication solutions. See how to drive efficient HCO interoperability, and find out why 8 out of the top 10 health systems in the US rely on Spectrum Enterprise for their technology solutions.

You can download the complete CHIME Digital Health Most Wired Report here.

About Chime

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers (CIOs), chief medical information officers (CMIOs), chief nursing information officers (CNIOs), chief innovation officers (CIOs), chief digital officers (CDOs), and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 5,000 members in 58 countries plus 2 US territories and over 190 healthcare IT business partners and professional services firms, CHIME and its three associations provide a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate, exchange best practices, address professional development needs, and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and care in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.