CFOs need to see the clinical benefits of spending money on digital health solutions

From left, Anne Snowdon of HIMSS, Wonchul Cha of Samsung Medical Center, Mona Baset of Intermountain Health and oncologist researcher Siddhartha Mukherjee.

Photo: Susan Morse/HFN

ORLANDO - Health systems are caring for patients during a time of workforce shortages and patient demands for the same convenient options they get online from retailers.

Digital health funding that flowed during COVID-19 has slowed to a trickle, said panelists interview Thursday by Anne Snowdon, director of Clinical Research for HIMSS. Snowdon moderated, "Celebrating Our Passion and Our Purpose: Caring for Others in the Time of Turbulence."

To get executive buy-in on projects aimed at improving patient experience and clinical workflow, CFOs need to spend time where the clinicians work to view what happens and the benefit of digital solutions, said Siddhartha Mukherjee, an oncologist, cancer researcher and Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

First, Mukherjee said, the team wanting solutions must identify the pain points in the health system. The number one pain point is patient frustration with scheduling and other aspects of care communication, he said. 

Also, the digital health solutions should be interoperable within the health system. They're not, because the technology is held by the companies that sold the service. 

The other panelists, Mona Baset, vice president of Digital Services at Intermountain Health and Wonchul Cha, CIO for digital transformation at Samsung Medical Center, agreed on the need to get CFOs onboard.

Baset said she and the team are working on the business case for better online scheduling to have a more retail-like experience. The ROI is there through patient retention, she said.

Intermountain looks at things consumers find the most irritating, such as wait times, being on telephone hold and no self-service capabilities, she said.

Samsung uses a lot of technology, Cha said. The essence of operations stays in-house in the privately established Samsung Medical Center that was founded, he said, by " a very rich grandfather." But they also make budget and ROI points in making decisions, he said. 

Also, many systems think about the how and what of innovation projects. At SCM, they focus on the why and who through a multidisciplinary review, Cha said.

Baset said, "The amount of change that is occurring is at a level we're not used to."

Mukherjee said, "The CFO is ultimately the one that's going to make that dollar decision. I argue most CFOs see the world in a different way than doctors. Our job as information officers is to find out how the CFOs see the world. Until you find out, you'll never make innovation."

Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org

 
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