How to reduce costs in the health sector through process optimization

Telemedicine, digital management of processes and tasks, big data, automation, Artificial Intelligence, and streamlining of work schemes to optimize customer service are some of the aspects that accelerated the modernization of the health sector in the last year. According to McKinsey Global, medical technology or MedTech will generate industry savings between 1.5 and 3 trillion dollars before 2030, thanks to the massive adoption of omnichannel tools that have optimized personalized care for patients.

One of the main technologies that accelerated its implementation belongs to Q-nomy, a provider that optimized the business process management (BPM) tools operated by ACF Technologies. BPM (Business Project Management) has enabled the medical industry to link systems, engage staff, and attract more clients by improving the quality of service-related processes. Here are seven changes that revolutionized the sector:

  1. Business agility

  2. Reduced costs and higher income

  3. Improved efficiency, now measurable and with higher productivity

  4. The ability to know what is happening in real-time

  5. Compliance and security

  6. Attention focused on the end customer

  7. Process standardization

According to McKinsey & Company, lockdown accelerated the adoption of these technologies in the medical industry, but it was the United Kingdom that drove remote primary care consultations, and these solutions managed to triple their demand between February and June 2020 in the United States, whereas telemedicine resulted in 65% customer satisfaction in the same period. Until last year, MedTech represented 10% of the income of companies in the health sector, but in five years the figure will increase to 50%, as long as they re-engineer their operating scheme.

Telemedicine will guarantee success for the health sector

The BPM methodology provides companies in the medical industry with a “10,000 foot high” view of their business model, due to the quality and precision of their information flow, which reduces any margin of error.

  • Business Agility is its main benefit, by providing companies with big data which is adjustable to the objective of the business model- a win-win between the commercial needs and the end customer.

  • Regarding reduced costs, fiscal performance improves by using available resources with minimal waste of time in marketing services, so overhead is optimized, and profit margins are improved.

  • In enhanced efficiency, the tool manages all processes from start to finish, so that the company can manage and take control of all the data it collects, and that will allow it to anticipate any circumstance.

To know what is happening in real-time, the protocol monitors and notifies all the threshold activities of the service, so that the health company can "see what is coming" and react in a timely manner since BPM is incorporated into its business model.

Meanwhile, patients will know in real-time about treatments and services with greater precision, as the medical staff will become more involved in meeting the needs of patients while meeting any expectations of company growth.

Regarding compliance and security, the processes will document employees and patients with a mechanism subject to review, which will happen without any problem, since the technology will support compliance with standard procedures, being able to ensure patients and medical staff a fluid, safe, and stress-free experience.

Customer-centered care lies in the methodology at the service of the patient, who is a vital part of the workflow while receiving exceptional and respectful service.

In addition, the standardization process enables BPM to execute key tasks for consistent results.

Among the solutions of this tool, it is worth highlighting that patient admission times and follow-up actions are improved, which will always be measurable in terms of staff performance, which encourages greater coordination with their daily tasks and will improve service times for patients.

Woman seen from above holding a tablet with an image of a doctor

Medical Technology puts the customer at the center of the business model

According to the Medtech leaders report by Deloitte Insights, executives of companies in the medical sector have considered that technology should prioritize the customer or patient experience and consider that hospitals must integrate functions into their services, such as digital consumer welfare, virtual care, remote monitoring, and fast and accurate medical tests. To achieve this, it is essential that the industry continues to improve the commercial channels of its chain of supply. Among other advances, the study points out:

  • 88% of medical leaders rated advances in technology as the top challenge for hospitals, above consumer spending, which is 63%
  • 50% of executives now prioritize the digital transformation of their medical services, and they take the big data and IT preparation of their staff into account

  • 69% of healthcare managers will focus on the digital readiness of their staff in the next five years

  • CEOs know they are prepared to address opportunities around personalized treatments (81%), curative therapies (69%), and digital therapies (63%); However, only 38% said they were ready to adopt Machine Learning and nanotechnology, as they argued that it requires a greater “digital maturation”

In addition, medical leaders reported that their key objective is to reduce costs by increasing their digital capabilities, with 31%, as well as advance in obtaining information for better execution in their commercial strategies (25%) and increase the demand for their products (25%). Profitability, through the patient, continues to be the main goal of hospitals, which see digitization as the best way to accelerate the commercialization of their services.

The BPM solution offered by ACF Technologies involves health personnel and attracts clients at the same time. The software links systems and transfers processes between the different business units streamlines workflow and ensures compliance with medical cases. The reports and alerts issued an on-time guarantee that health personnel is aware of the patient, which at the same time is the main KPI for hospitals.

The main features of BPM are: 

  • Optimization of service and patient care
  • Appointment scheduling through an advanced calendar
  • Automation of digital channel processes
  • Manages the processes of the entire organization
  • Improves the speed and quality of the processes related to the service
  • Total flexibility to adapt to any requirement of the institution

Even McKinsey coincides with the objectives of ACF Technologies since it considers that a planned omnichannel model promises to improve not only the commitment of medical personnel, but also the general quality of care, patient results, income, productivity, and satisfaction of employees. To seat the new changes in their business model, 80% of medical technology companies shifted their marketing expenses to digital channels in 2020 to communicate with potential clients about advances in healthcare.

Finally, the consultancy maintains that to create a fluid omnichannel experience, players in the medical sector must follow these elements: define the vision, design the engagement model, configure cross-functional implementation teams, build an analytics engine, develop a scalable technology plan, and prepare the organization for change.

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