“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”

– C. S. Lewis

To say this past year was tough on the US healthcare industry would be an understatement. A relatively innocuous start rapidly gave way to the global spread of COVID-19. By March, everyone felt its impact. The virus became a stress test, putting pressure on nearly every aspect of operations.

While it feels natural to focus on the negative events of 2020, doing so would be a disservice to the courage demonstrated by care providers across the nation. Without their tireless efforts and sense of duty, outcomes could have been far worse. From frontline care delivery to back-end business administration, we are thankful to everyone involved during these difficult times. We are also proud of our own employees who worked diligently to help facilitate rapid test deployment and create new methods for remote work and patient care.

As we continue to fight this pandemic into the new year, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the key lessons learned related to healthcare IT in 2020.

Accessibility is more than a convenience: it is vital. When lockdowns took effect in late winter, many organizations rushed to administer new technologies and policies to facilitate remote work and services. Administrative employees required secure access to view and transfer data and documents from home, while many providers and patients adapted to telemedicine and remote health monitoring. Despite urgent implementation schedules and learning curves, the industry overcame the challenges at hand. It was a valuable lesson to think beyond traditional workflows and embrace telehealth options to help expand general accessibility and maintain full business continuity.

Gaps in revenue cycle management cannot wait. Claims rejections and denials are never desirable, yet many offices have leaned on “good enough” for too long. While it may have been sustainable under normal circumstances to incur denial rates of more than 5%, and reimbursement times exceeding one month, these issues accentuated the financial strain imposed by the pandemic. As patients continue to delay treatments, evaluating new ways to improve revenue cycle efficiency, agility, and accuracy is critical. For many, this may include seeking the support of external billing and collections services.

Information accelerates confident decision making. The volume of data in healthcare has increased exponentially over the last several decades, leading many organizations to prioritize reporting and analytics. The ability to gather, organize, and evaluate info became a critical asset during the pandemic, enabling organizations to make decisions quickly and with a greater degree of certainty. Electronic health records, practice management, document management and imaging, and enterprise resource planning systems helped teams automate many business processes. This allowed them to accomplish more with less time and fewer resources. If there were ever any doubts about the value of these capabilities, they have been dispelled over these past months.

Empathetic communication is fundamental. On both a personal and professional level, we are reminded of how important relationships and social interactions are to well-being. The negative effects of isolation have been indiscriminate, taking a toll on healthcare workers and patients alike. To help mitigate depression and anxiety, providers are taking a more empathetic approach to care. This more holistic approach, combined with telehealth applications, have made it possible to build stronger connections with patients.

Early adopters have a leg up. Despite the relatively substantial progress the industry has made in adopting and integrating technology, there is still much that needs to be done. Don’t let your organization fall behind on important trends. Those who keep pace with these advances will be most resilient when confronted with new challenges. Early adopters often benefit from various automations of menial processes, allowing them to focus on the patients at the core of their business. Additionally, patients who are accustomed to the conveniences of consumer technologies will appreciate working with familiar technologies that can make their experience more enjoyable.

While most will be happy to have 2020 in the rear-view mirror, the experience has taught many valuable lessons and inspired rapid changes that may have otherwise taken years. As we look to a future beyond COVID-19, we must carry these lessons forward and invest more time and resources into HCIT and disaster readiness. Make 2021 a year of healing and new beginnings.

Thank you for your courage, care, and readership throughout the year. We look forward to our continued collaborations. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about our latest telehealth offerings, please contact us at Info@Quanum.com.