Emerging Technology to Streamline Project Delivery for Healthcare Organizations

Tim Calhoun

Managing Director

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Many healthcare organizations implement technology to enhance patient care or consumer engagement. However, implementing new technology is also a powerful strategy for improving operational efficiency, streamlining project delivery and prioritizing collaboration. These improvements can lead to cost savings and more satisfied patients, making technology a worthwhile investment.

Read on to discover various emerging technologies within healthcare that can help your business complete projects, stay competitive and provide quality care.

What Is Project Delivery in Healthcare?

Healthcare project delivery refers to planning and executing projects for healthcare organizations. Projects can include initiatives that improve facilities, processes, technology, systems and services. The goal of project delivery is to implement projects that modernize your business, improve communications and decision making, improve quality and timeliness and help you provide improved patient care.

Successful project delivery can streamline business operations, reduce compliance risk, save employees time, improve service offerings and provide quality care to patients. However, the success of a project lies in its implementation. With the right tools and processes, you can deliver projects on time, within budget and with minimal disruptions. Technology is a key factor in achieving this outcome.

Current Challenges in Project Delivery for Healthcare Providers

Despite the necessity and benefits of healthcare projects, businesses often face many challenges throughout the project delivery process. Some of these include:

  • Project complexity: The sheer scale and scope of some healthcare projects can make delivery challenging. Miscommunication can happen when coordinating various departments, resulting in delays and failure to meet project objectives.
  • Regulatory compliance: During project delivery, healthcare providers must comply with rules, regulations and standards. The number of regulations and how often they change make staying compliant challenging.
  • Stakeholder coordination: Healthcare providers must receive buy-in from several stakeholders before beginning a project. Managing each stakeholder's expectations and coordinating with them throughout project delivery can be difficult.
  • Budget constraints: Healthcare projects often have large budgets and resource requirements. Acquiring funds and allocating sufficient resources for projects are two of the biggest project delivery challenges.
  • Need for data: Project success often relies on the collection of accurate and timely data. Without it, tracking project progress and determining goal alignment becomes a challenge. Outdated systems and technology are often to blame for data issues.

Emerging Technologies in Healthcare

Emerging technology is any technological innovation that is gaining traction but has yet to realize its full potential. This includes current and old technology that people are discovering new applications for. Your business can take advantage of the following emerging technologies to overcome project delivery challenges and streamline project management.

1. Telemedicine and Telehealth

Telehealth broadly refers to remote health services that use communication technology to enable long-distance provider and patient contact. A subsection of telehealth is telemedicine, which doctors use to provide virtual care to patients. Telemedicine and telehealth are revolutionary for patient care, as patients can receive medical services regardless of bad weather, mobility limitations, poor access to healthcare and other obstacles. 

Telehealth technology and software make offering patients remote services a breeze. This technology allows your staff to collaborate and work from various locations. It can speed up administrative processes related to these services, saving them time. Most telehealth software also includes integrated data management tools. Staff can quickly collect and analyze essential patient information, and patients can access a portal to view their important information quickly and easily. 

Telehealth also allows specialized physicians to connect with and assess patients who may be experiencing a medical emergency. For example, neurologists from around the country use telehealth to assess possible stroke patients quickly and efficiently without making them wait for a physician to be available in person.

2. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Artificial intelligence (AI) can simulate human thought processes. It encompasses various subsets, including generative AI and machine learning (ML). AI is most beneficial in healthcare for quickly analyzing large data sets that would previously take a long time to assess. The time savings alone help healthcare providers reduce the administrative burden on staff and encourage them to use data to make more informed decisions.

AI is also beneficial for project delivery. Most AI and ML solutions can analyze historical data and provide accurate predictive analytics. Predictive analytics allow you to predict future events or trends, such as staffing needs, patient admissions and resource utilization. With this information, you can identify and address project delivery challenges or disruptions before they occur.

3. Project Management Software

Project management software is a must for healthcare project delivery. This software is designed to make creating project plans, managing resources and tracking progress simple. Most project management software provides a centralized place for project timelines, tasks, budgets and objectives. With everything in one place, all stakeholders have access to the same up-to-date project information.

Project management software often has built-in communication tools that facilitate team collaboration and prevent human error related to communicating with various providers. Improved communication and collaboration can eliminate confusion, reduce conflict and increase the chances of project success. 

Software can often integrate seamlessly with other healthcare systems to enable seamless data transfer and streamline workflows.

4. Internet of Medical Things and Wearable Technology

The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) refers to medical devices — with sensors and software — that collect data and communicate with each other over a network. IoMT often refers to wearable devices patients can use to track health and fitness data. The device can send this data to a patient's healthcare provider, allowing them to monitor their health remotely

For example, some devices can monitor irregular heart rhythms to decrease hospital stay and help prevent readmission. Wearable devices can also be used in hospital settings to assess a patient's vital signs and automatically upload them to their chart. This saves time and allows for closer monitoring.

Beyond patient monitoring, healthcare providers can also use IoMT devices to manage resources. Smart devices can attach to medical equipment and other resources, allowing you to track their status and location. Having access to real-time patient and resource data is pivotal to project delivery. It enables staff to make informed decisions quickly, increasing efficiency and reducing the chance of mistakes that often derail project timelines.

5. Electronic Medical Records

Gone are the days of physical medical records. Today, healthcare professionals can use electronic medical records (EMRs) — also called electronic health records (EHRs) — to record and store patient data in the cloud. In addition to saving staff time, EMRs protect patient data and help practices comply with privacy laws. 

The digitization of health records benefits patients because it means their information is readily accessible and sharable, which can contribute to more accurate and timely diagnoses. For healthcare providers, EHRs are vital to efficiency and on-time project delivery. Having easy access to data allows staff to easily create, access and share patient information. Digital health records can also integrate with other systems, improving workflow, cross-departmental communication and care delivery.

Why Trust ProspHire to Implement New Technology?

ProspHire is a leading national management consulting firm dedicated to transforming healthcare businesses. We specialize in optimizing project delivery and implementing new technology. Our team consists of certified Project Management Professionals, Six Sigma Green Belts, Scrum Masters and Product Owners. We'll work closely with your business and its stakeholders to understand expectations, tackle operational challenges and meet long-term goals.

Don't just take our word for it — check out what our clients have to say. One of our clients recently required assistance with their care management system. Their old system involved manual processes that were time-consuming and inefficient. The ProspHire team conducted a current state assessment and collaborated with key stakeholders to establish the requirements for a new care management system.

Our partnership resulted in their first multistate clinical software platform. Thanks to automated workflows, enhanced analytics and a better member experience, they saw improvements in their overall efficiency.

Collaborate With ProspHire Today

We work tirelessly to provide consistent and reliable results for all our clients and look forward to doing the same for your business. If you're ready to implement new technologies and achieve your organizational goals, fill in our online contact form. A member of our team will be in touch to discuss your requirements further.

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https://www.prosphire.com/services/government-markets-required-documents/

https://www.fcc.gov/general/telehealth-telemedicine-and-telecare-whats-what

https://www.iso.org/artificial-intelligence/what-is-ai

https://www.prosphire.com/blog/the-importance-of-system-integration-in-healthcare/

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https://www.prosphire.com/contact-us/