As we start the brand new 12 months, we’re optimistic about our international battle towards the coronavirus pandemic. With vaccines beginning to be deployed world wide and our healthcare employees seeing vital aid on the horizon, we’re longing for what the longer term has in retailer. 

2020 was a 12 months in contrast to another. The pandemic served as a catalyst for the transformation of healthcare, supported by the adoption of recent, progressive applied sciences in months vs. years. We’re extremely pleased with the chance we’ve needed to assist our clients by way of this difficult time. Whereas the longer term is vibrant, there’s nonetheless a lot work to be carried out. 

Till we’ve got widespread entry and uptake of vaccines, our international group will proceed to battle with the pandemic and endure horrible losses.  Within the meantime, we are going to proceed working with our clients to handle the challenges of immediately whereas serving to to organize for a brighter future.  

Healthcare is going through international challenges

Bodily capability and the flexibility to scale scientific care assets for these impacted by the pandemic are vital priorities.  Healthcare organizations are doing no matter they’ll to ship care to populations globally, and know-how may also help.

Past the quick wants of sufferers through the pandemic, we’re anticipating to see long-term impacts globally on common inhabitants well being. Sadly, many sufferers have postpone care to keep away from high-acuity areas, hospitals, ERs, and supplier workplaces. A current research confirmed that analysis of six kinds of most cancers decreased by 46.4% through the pandemic. The results of delayed analysis is that sufferers current at extra superior phases and with worse scientific outcomes^[1].

On the identical time, clinicians are struggling beneath vital workloads, with a lot larger ranges of stress and anxiousness. This additionally goes for the IT employees that’s supporting the scientific surroundings. We should contemplate the function that know-how can play to assist alleviate clinician burnout, each within the near- and long-term. 

Not surprisingly, telehealth visits have skyrocketed this 12 months because of the elevated have to social distance and restrict publicity. Based on a current report by the American Medical Affiliation, “Physicians and different well being professionals at the moment are seeing 50 to 175 instances the variety of sufferers through telehealth than they did earlier than the pandemic. The report notes that 46% of sufferers at the moment are utilizing telehealth to exchange canceled in-person visits, up from the simply 11% of sufferers who used telehealth in 2019”^[2].

New alternatives to evolve

Whereas the pandemic has introduced large devastation, a number of constructive improvements have emerged, and using vital applied sciences accelerated. 

Sufferers and suppliers now have expanded entry to digital care, which incorporates functions like Webex for telehealth, inhabitants well being administration, administrative collaboration, care group coordination, and household visits. Digital care know-how makes healthcare extra accessible for all individuals, no matter their bodily location or entry to specialists and care suppliers. For suppliers, digital care may also help reduce burnout and reduce publicity threat, whereas enabling them to proceed delivering care to sufferers.

Because the variety of distant units elevated resulting from administrative employees working from dwelling, so did the exponential risk of cyber incursions. Healthcare has the best common price per breach of any trade immediately, averaging $6.54 million^[3].  Cybersecurity is top-of-mind for healthcare leaders as they scramble to safe community, internet, and endpoint connections. Higher, extra holistic cybersecurity methods for our healthcare suppliers imply that delicate affected person knowledge and digital connections are safe.    

The necessity to do extra with much less has additionally pushed innovation in delivering location providers in scientific environments.  Medical workflows are extra advanced now, and it’s extra necessary than ever to rapidly find medical units and gear.  New applied sciences leverage location knowledge to allow scientific operational effectivity, enhance affected person throughput capabilities, and monitor asset utilization.

Wanting ahead

Healthcare establishments are realizing that their investments in know-how are extra necessary now than ever earlier than. Not solely do new applied sciences allow them to ship care to sufferers wherever they is likely to be, however these applied sciences make it simpler and safer for medical doctors to go to sufferers with out risking publicity to COVID-19 or different contagious ailments. Based mostly on a current survey by Cisco and HIMSS, healthcare organizations will proceed to prioritize digital care options^[4]. 

The identical research exhibits that whereas suppliers are re-allocating budgets, they’re realizing that know-how should keep on the high of their checklist. In truth, the identical survey exhibits that mid-pandemic, there is a rise in spending on upgrading IT, in compliance, regulatory, and standardization necessities, in security and catastrophe restoration, and in Synthetic Intelligence. 

Most significantly, we suggest healthcare organizations take a holistic strategy to addressing the problems. There’s a want for quick response, however then for a longer-term technique to take care of elevated uncertainty, waves of the pandemic, the necessity to proceed serving sufferers and supporting a distant workforce.

As our worldwide battle towards the coronavirus pandemic wages on, we at Cisco need to reiterate our assist. We’re right here to your healthcare group and are dedicated to supporting you thru this pandemic. We’re extremely grateful for our frontline healthcare employees and applaud you to your nice work and sacrifice. Right here’s to a brand new 12 months, new improvements, and higher well being for all. 

Learn the most recent thought management from Cisco within the #HealthcareNow collection.

1. https://www.healio.com/information/hematology-oncology/20201001/sharp-declines-in-new-cancer-diagnoses-observed-during-covid19-pandemic
2. https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/digital/after-covid-19-250-billion-care-could-shift-telehealth
3. https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/options/industries/healthcare/security-and-compliance.html?ccid=cc001016
4. HIMSS Survey, Healthcare Know-how: Understanding New Priorities, U.S. and U.Ok., October 2020