The present wave of technology innovations that are driving digital transformation in nearly every industry couldn't have come a moment too soon for the health care industry. That's because, on a worldwide scale, the health industry has been and is today the most inefficient industry by any standard in the world: 42 percent inefficient as a percent of total economic value. And unlike other industries – like retail, financial services, and manufacturing – the health industry has experienced a 0.6 percent year-over-year decline in productivity compared to a 2 to 4 percent productivity rise in those other industries. It's no surprise that, despite the best intentions of health reform, premiums continue their upward rise of 2 percent over and above our GDP growth rate year after year.

Holding Digital Transformation to "Triple Aim" Standards

But let's be frank: If we don't hold the definition of digital transformation to a higher standard, the proliferation of definitions and catchphrases will inevitably degrade the term "digital transformation" into yet another corporate cliché. To keep this from happening, we suggest defining digital transformation in health as "technology enabled care, health promotion and disease prevention that advances the triple aim in a mobile-first and trusted-cloud first world." For those who may not be familiar with the "triple aim," it's a transformational aim to achieve optimal balance of good health within a defined population, a positive experience of care by the people in the population, and a lower cost per capita of providing care for that population, preferably at a growth rate below the current rate of GDP growth.

This higher standard forces the important question, "What are the analog processes in health care today that, if digitized, would enable us to more quickly achieve better outcomes, with an improved patient experience, at a lower cost?"

3 Opportunities for Digital Transformation

We see three functional areas where analog processes still prevail – which makes these three areas particularly ripe for digital transformation to achieve the triple aim because these areas are labor intense, have many points of failure, and are highly dependent on brilliant but fallible minds. Digital transformation in these functional areas is likely to advance the triple aim with already trusted technologies. So, these areas deserve closer inspection:

Between-visit interactions: In a fee-for-value economy, the importance of what occurs outside the typical doctor-and-patient interaction is incredibly significant. For most people, the average time between doctor visits is 5,000 hours. Digital transformation will make it possible for consumers and their caregivers to interact with each other hundreds of times per year in new and innovative ways that will promote healthier living and faster recovery. Some of these "between-visit" interactions will involve virtual consults with human clinicians, nurses, and coaches, but many of them will be automated by the internet of things (IoT) apps, intelligent agents and CRM-driven communications. This means that our care team will be able to accompany us into the places where we live, work and play.

In a fee-for-value economy, the importance of what occurs outside the typical doctor-and-patient interaction is incredibly significant. For most people, the average time between doctor visits is 5,000 hours. Digital transformation will make it possible for consumers and their caregivers to interact with each other hundreds of times per year in new and innovative ways that will promote healthier living and faster recovery. Some of these "between-visit" interactions will involve virtual consults with human clinicians, nurses, and coaches, but many of them will be automated by the internet of things (IoT) apps, intelligent agents and CRM-driven communications. This means that our care team will be able to accompany us into the places where we live, work and play. Digitization of teamwork: This is about empowering interdisciplinary care teams to work together and communicate as if they were always in the same room or organization even when they're not. And instead of the physician being the center of the team, the patient or caregiver is now at the center of the team as an active participant in his or her own care. Digital transformation will blur the real and virtual worlds of patients and providers to break down the brick and mortar barriers that keep interdisciplinary teams from working across the care continuum.

This is about empowering interdisciplinary care teams to work together and communicate as if they were always in the same room or organization even when they're not. And instead of the physician being the center of the team, the patient or caregiver is now at the center of the team as an active participant in his or her own care. Digital transformation will blur the real and virtual worlds of patients and providers to break down the brick and mortar barriers that keep interdisciplinary teams from working across the care continuum. Business and clinical processes: This includes the many analog and labor intense processes of care delivery, health promotion and disease prevention. Machine learning, advanced analytics and community workflow platforms will automate care delivery and preventive processes, freeing clinicians to focus on the highest priority tasks and empowering them to do more in less time and with fewer resources than they could ever before imagine. Digital transformation will enable clinical expertise, processes and information to move easily, safely, cheaply and almost instantly.

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Technology Innovation Wave Will Move Analog Processes Toward Digital

Technology enablement has largely been left out of each of these areas because these analog processes have been difficult to digitize until now. They have been historically plagued by multiple points of failure and security or compliance risks. So why is this technology innovation wave likely to drive transformation when others haven't? Because it's possible to combine every technology component in the innovation: the power of mobility, the ubiquitous availability of trusted cloud services, machine learning, IoT, intelligent agents, cognitive computing and big data – to these three functional areas in ways we never could before.

You can see perfect examples of this across the globe. Take the father of three in Austin, Texas, who avoids blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy because he now receives a retinal scan while visiting his primary care physician, a workflow enabled by a trusted cloud. Or, consider the grandmother in Pakistan who receives the right diagnosis and treatment plan, thanks to remote monitoring technologies, despite her 100km distance from the closest board-certified physician.

Technology companies must set their sights on achieving the mission to make health and care personal, effective, and affordable for every person and every organization. We invite every stakeholder to join us and work collaboratively to achieve this mission and the triple aim.