Why Your Organization Needs to Prioritize Digital Transformation

Updated on December 15, 2020

Interview with Ryan Campbell, Chief Vision Officer at Verinovum

Digital transformation in healthcare is occurring more rapidly than ever, and for some, it can be hard to keep up. Cultural readiness is a significant factor. According to Gartner, 53 percent of organizations report that their organization has yet to face a “true test” of digital transformation readiness – a worrisome statistic as healthcare grapples with an onslaught of new technologies. We sat down with Ryan Campbell, chief vision officer at Verinovum, to hear more about his insights on digital transformation in healthcare, what the holdups are, and whether digital transformation ever really “finishes”. In a year chock full of challenges, your healthcare organization needs to be ready. Keep reading to learn more about the importance of digital transformation.

Where do you think healthcare is on the digital transformation timeline?

Digital transformation is in its infancy stage. Some fundamental strides have been made, but even those lack maturity. Even with those baby steps, digital transformation as it stands in healthcare today doesn’t even begin to address the layers of complexity involved in the numerous ways healthcare creates and consumes data types. Therefore variation is still a significant obstacle. The transformation cannot stop with digitizing and transferring data; transformation needs to create broad-based consistent value across the medical and business ecosystems within healthcare.

What are the holdups to digital transformation?

A significant holdup is the lack of tangible value to be gleaned from the significant effort digital transformation requires. It’s easy to throw money at a problem and forget about it, but the lack of actual business outcomes driving sustainable value remains an ongoing concern. Directionally, the healthcare technology industry seems to be moving toward aligning health outcomes driven by the medical community and financial outcomes driven by the business community. 

Realignment of the industry, while it’s moving through a technical transformation, is both positive and challenging. It’s positive in that the technological transformation can, in some ways, enable industry realignment. It’s challenging in that it creates a number of moving components and uncertainties for businesses to navigate. When you couple these challenges with the significant variation mentioned above and a slower than desired evolution and maturation of digital transformation, it isn’t surprising that many organizations are wary of the benefits of digital transformation in the short-term.

Does digital transformation ever really finish?

The evolutions of data and data processes are continuous, so the systems supporting these must also maintain the ability to evolve. The legacy systems of healthcare, as with almost every industry, have been unable to evolve effectively, and thus a transformation is necessary. 

The key to a successful digital transformation is ensuring we as healthcare leaders set the foundation for evolving over time.  It’s difficult for large legacy providers to see a clear path to reinvent themselves foundationally. They typically find themselves reusing the same methodology for as long as possible. A “rip and replace” transformation is expensive and time consuming. Understandably, many companies are unwilling to do it. However, in order to reach the other side of a digital transformation, we as an industry will have to face it. 

When is it time to stop?

This is where healthcare differentiates itself from other industries. Digital transformation will never “stop” in healthcare., Rather, healthcare will need to shift to where we can be the most impactful to support better outcomes and quality. It’s easy for people to say we should do everything we can to save a life or improve the overall quality of life of a patient or group of patients, but the effort to do that is usually far more significant than making the statement.  

The digital transformation process is an ongoing project that will help your organization succeed long-term. Your transformation process cannot end with merely digitizing and transferring your data if the clinical data you’re working with is incomplete. 

If you are struggling with digital transformation data challenges, Verinovum can help. Reach out to speak with our team about your business’ most pressing data-related challenges, and let us help you continue your digital transformation journey. 

About the Author

As Chief Vision Officer at Verinovum, Ryan acts as the primary interface between the executive leadership team and the Board of Directors, creating and driving corporate objectives and long-term strategies.

Prior to working at Verinovum, he ran operations for the Oklahoma HIE MyHealth Access Network. Ryan has 16 years of experience in managing various technology and operations groups in the wealth management industry and possesses a record of accomplishment in building highly effective collaborative teams, managing groups through transition and change, and resolving problems with innovative approaches by leveraging technology and strong process management.

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.