Technology Assessment: What It Is and Why You Need It

This is the second blog in a series that shares guidance and insights on healthcare technology assessment and why it is vital to your digital health transformation journey.

Check out the first blog: How to Lead Change for Digital Health Modernisation: 6 Proven Strategies.

Introduction to Healthcare Technology Assessment

A robust technology assessment is crucial for any healthcare organisation aiming to modernise its operations and enhance patient care. KLAS Research reports that although consideration across integrated care systems (ICS) is frequently at the forefront of discussions, most final decisions were made by trusts that had no enterprise EPR in place. The consolidation and standardisation required for meaningful progress of a modernisation initiative is exactly why a healthcare technology assessment is so essential.

A healthcare technology assessment comprehensively evaluates an organisation’s current technology landscape. It encompasses understanding the existing capabilities, identifying gaps, and planning for future technology adoption and integration. This process ensures that your healthcare institution is well-prepared to meet the demands of modern healthcare delivery, improve patient outcomes, and operate efficiently.

What are the Fundamentals of a Healthcare Technology Assessment?

A healthcare technology assessment is a systematic process that involves the following key components:

• Technology Maturity: Assess the current state of your technology to understand its capabilities and limitations. Identify the existing gaps and what technology can help your clinicians and patients achieve in the future. For instance, how could an advanced EPR system improve clinical workflows and enhance patient data accessibility across various departments?
• Readiness Assessment: Evaluate your organisation’s preparedness for adopting new technologies, including workforce skills and infrastructure. Determine the most effective ways to train clinical teams to utilise technology fully. Consider new approaches to ongoing learning that could help providers balance patient care and technology adoption.
• Roadmap Development: Create a clear, step-by-step technology adoption and integration plan. For example, integrate electronic patient records (EPR) with laboratory systems to reduce manual data entry and improve accuracy.
• Resource Planning: Identify the necessary resources, including staff, training, and financial investment. Plan how you will handle flexible staffing needs that will arise with digital transformation efforts. Develop processes to manage IT support so that providers experience minimal disruption to patient care. Could outsourcing certain IT functions improve efficiency and allow internal staff to focus on patient-facing activities?
• Governance Model: Establish a framework for decision-making and oversight. Involve clinical and operational leaders in short-term projects and ongoing technology optimisation. Create a structure that helps document decisions for business continuity and prevents colleague burnout. Consider how a clinical governance board can provide oversight and drive continuous improvement.
• Budget Considerations: Plan for initial investments and ongoing costs. Include various departments and leaders in budget planning processes for a holistic, cross-collaborative effort. Strengthen relationships to reduce surprises and mitigate risk. For example, engaging with financial officers early can help secure funding for critical projects.
• Long-term Strategy: Develop a sustainable approach to operational support and maintenance. Plan how you will scale your IT support model, such as implementing AI-driven helpdesk solutions to provide 24/7 support and reduce downtime.

How Does It Work?

The process of conducting a healthcare technology assessment involves several stages:

1. Initial Review and Stakeholder Engagement: Engage key stakeholders to understand their perspectives and requirements.
2. Data Collection and Analysis: Gather data on existing technologies, workflows, and infrastructure.
3. Technology Inventory: Create an inventory of current technology assets, applications, and vendors.
4. Gap Analysis: Identify gaps between current capabilities and future needs.
5. Recommendations: Develop recommendations based on the assessment findings.
6. Implementation Planning: Create a detailed plan for implementing the recommended changes.

Why Do You Need a Healthcare Technology Assessment?

Common Use Cases

1. Strategic Planning: Align technology investments with organisational goals.
2. Resource Optimisation: Ensure that resources are allocated efficiently. Healthcare organisations can reduce costs and improve response times by streamlining IT support processes.
3. Risk Management: Identify and mitigate risks associated with outdated or unsupported technologies. Implementing robust cybersecurity measures to protect patient data from breaches.
4. Compliance: Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards. Adopting GDPR-compliant data practices to safeguard patient information.
5. Cost Savings: Identify opportunities to reduce costs through consolidation and standardisation. For instance, migrating to a single, unified EPR system to eliminate redundancies.

Ultimately, the healthcare technology assessment aims to understand your healthcare organisation’s current state, determine consensus around future state objectives that support provider satisfaction, patient safety and clinical outcome goals, and outline a strategic plan to achieve meaningful progress.

What are the Key Components of a Healthcare Technology Assessment?

Inventory Management

An accurate inventory of your technology assets, including hardware, software, network components, and other digital tools, is fundamental. Understanding what you have is the first step toward identifying areas for integration, standardisation, or improvement.

• Integration: Ensuring that different clinical systems, EPR, and third-party applications communicate effectively.
• Standardisation: Reducing variability to streamline health and care operations and reduce provider and patient experience complexity.
• Improvement: Upgrading or replacing outdated technologies to enhance performance and security. Healthcare technology reliability is paramount to patient safety and overall clinical team satisfaction.

Application and Vendor Rationalisation 

Do you have overlapping applications or redundant vendors? Rationalising your applications and vendors can lead to significant cost savings, streamlined operations, and reduced risk.

• Overlap Reduction: Identifying and eliminating duplicate applications.
• Cost Efficiency: Negotiating better terms with fewer vendors.
• Streamlined Operations: Simplifying the technology landscape to improve manageability.
• Risk Mitigation: Reducing the number of vendors to lower the risk of security breaches and compliance issues.

Data Platforms and Integration Opportunities

A crucial aspect of the technology assessment is evaluating your data platforms and identifying opportunities for integration. This includes:

• Data Storage: Assessing the adequacy of your current data storage solutions.
• Data Security: Ensuring robust data protection measures are in place.
• Data Integration: Facilitating seamless data exchange between different systems.
• Data Analytics: Leveraging data to gain insights and drive decision-making.

Data Services as a Managed Service

Considering data services as managed services can be a game-changer in modernisation efforts. Managed data services can help you:

• Achieve Modernisation: Keep your technology stack up-to-date with the latest advancements.
• Enhance Security: Ensure that state-of-the-art security measures protect your data.
• Improve Efficiency: Free up internal resources to focus on core activities.
• Cost Management: Benefit from predictable costs and scalability.

For digital health technology to provide value, the applicable data must be connected and appropriately accessible. Ongoing management and integration of clinical health data will produce the insights and advancements healthcare demands for improved patient outcomes, regardless of the technologies involved.

Why CereCore International?

At CereCore International, we have extensive experience in conducting healthcare technology assessments. Our work with healthcare organisations like Surgery Partners in the US has proven our capability in IT due diligence, EPR (EHR) current state and readiness planning, and workflow optimisation efforts. We understand the unique challenges healthcare providers face and are dedicated to helping you navigate the complexities of digital health modernisation.

A healthcare technology assessment  is a vital step toward digital health modernisation. By understanding your current technology landscape, identifying gaps, and planning for future needs, you can ensure that your organisation is well-equipped to provide high-quality patient care and operate efficiently.

Consider exploring our ebooks and other resources for more insights and detailed guidance.

Contact us today to learn how we can help you achieve your digital health modernisation goals.