Introduction
The global shift towards a digital healthcare system is seeing a major transformation in healthcare systems everywhere. The focal point of this transformation is a digital care plan, which will provide individualized care recommendations, in real-time, to both clinicians and patients. Digital care plans can also integrate into electronic health records (EHRs), unlike paper-based or fixed electronic templates and help improve patient-provider communication, adapting to the needs of the patient.
Although there is a universal recognition of its potential, the introduction of digital care plans is a challenging but also an opportunity in the context of hospitals. The technical, the cultural and regulatory obstacles that affect the adoption may impede it, but with appropriate strategies, these obstacles could be circumvented to deliver better outcomes and efficiency.
This article discusses and explains the possibility and obstacles to implementing the digital care plans in a hospital regarding the interoperability of the data, adoption by clinicians, cybersecurity, and patient engagement. It also outlines the strategies to meet the success of the personalized medicine solution integration in the existing EHRs.
👉 Discover more about digital care plans and its place in the digital health scenario.
Understanding Digital Care Plans
A digital care plan is a living technology-anchored path to treatment and recovery of a patient. It can be used by anyone in a care team: a physician, a nurse, specialist, a patient, or a family caregiver. Incorporating these plans within the currently used EHRs, the healthcare organizations will get a step closer to the vision of precision medicine in which care is provided according to individual needs.
The advantages are substantial:
- Improved Continuity of Care: Ensures all the providers use the same current information.
- Personalized Treatment: It makes recommendations based on a certain health conditions and progress.
- Enhanced Communication: Encourages cooperation within work across discipline-based teams
- Better Patient Involvement: Mindfulness empowers the patient in order to be able to become an active participant in the care process.
Although they have some benefits, institutions of care face a number of challenges trying to implement digital care plans across the board.
Challenges in Implementing Digital Care Plans
- Data Interoperability
Interoperability is one of the biggest obstacles to the successful implementation. Healthcare data can be stored in many different and siloed systems such as EHRs, lab databases, imaging systems and specialty care systems. Digital care plans cannot adequately operate in the absence of a seamless communication between these systems.
Key issues include:
- Proprietary based EHR systems that restrict the chances of third-party integration.
- Differences in the data standards (e.g. HL7, FHIR, SNOMED CT) between centres.
- Inconsistent patient identification data, that have impact on the complexity of record matching.
Example: A cardiologist can use one of the systems to monitor the heart whereas a diabetes specialist can use another. Without synchronization of these systems, the digital care plan will only include incomplete information with the chances of error being very high.
- Clinician Adoption
Another important issue is the clinician buy-in. The main cause of resistance to new digital workflows by many clinicians is related to:
- High incremented administrative burden.
- Obstruction in establishing routines.
- Very little training or confidence of using novel tools.
- Fear that they would have less face-time with patients.
Technology adoption in healthcare has experienced the most success when clinicians feel that the technology is saving them time and the quality of their care is improving. As long as digital care plans are viewed as a form of extra paperwork instead of useful tools, they will not be welcomed.
- Cybersecurity Risks
The data in the field of healthcare is one of the most significant and confidential types of personal data. Digital care plans have new vectors of assaults such as the ransomware, phishing, and insider attacks.
Cybersecurity Challenges include:
- Protecting encrypted data in-between systems.
- Authenticating strictly for clinicians and for patients.
- Fixing issues in 3rd Party Integrations.
- Being able to perform according to the data protection regulations (such as HIPAA in the US or GDPR in the EU).
Inability to secure any patient data not only compromises the trust but it can also lead hospitals to some hefty legal and financial ramification.
- Patient Engagement
The success of hospitals implementing digital care plans might rely on patient involvement, even in the scenario of the changes being adopted. Patients who do not possess a lot of knowledge about the technology, who do not have the internet access, or who do not trust the use of the digital solutions will not be able to use their plans well.
Barriers include:
- Digital illiteracy loopholes particularly among the older age groups.
- Poor accessibility to the disabled patients.
- Concerns about data sharing and privacy
- Poverty in the intention to use digital self-management tools.
Opportunities in Implementing Digital Care Plans
- Enhancing Data Interoperability
The standardisation of data exchange is establishing opportunities under which hospitals are defeating interoperability failures. Efforts like FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) are picking up momentum and it is becoming easier to interchange information between EHRs and third-party applications.
Hospitals that choose to use interoperable platforms can:
- Lower duplicates of procedures and tests.
- Offer whole views of patient health to clinicians.
- Authorise population level analytics for precision medicine.
- Empowering Clinicians
Digital care plans will have the potential to minimize the burden of administration but not to increase it-unless they are implemented in a meaningful way. These systems allow clinicians to save time spent on repetitive documentation and use decision-support tools to interact more with patients.
Opportunities include:
- AI based real-time risk alerts.
- Efficient workflows of multidisciplinary care coordination.
- Sustainability of confidence in using digital tools of clinicians via continuing education.
- Strengthening Cybersecurity Frameworks
Hospitals can change cybersecurity to an opportunity that may be achieved due to investment in the advanced protections. Modern solutions embrace more of the following:
- Zero trust security models.
- AI driven anomalous detection.
- Multi factor authentication to access system.
- Conduct penetration testing on a regular basis, train staffs.
When constructing effective defenses, the hospitals will not only ensure the protection of patient data but will also give their patients and staff peace of mind that their digital care plans are secure to utilize.
- Driving Patient Engagement
Engaging patients is one of the areas where a digital care plan can shine By adopting mobile applications, interactive dashboards, and personal reminders, hospitals will motivate changes in their patients and make them gain control over their well-being.
Examples of opportunities include:
- Gamification of care activities (e.g. monitoring daily steps or taking medications).
- Multilingual and non-discriminatory ways of approaching various peoples.
- Protected channels for patients with a direct inquire.
- Inclusion of wearable media to measure health in real-life.
Strategies for Successful Integration
Aligning with Existing EHR Systems
Replacing your current EHRs with digital care plans is essential and therefore the success of such care plans highly relies on their integration with the current EHRs. Hospitals should:
- Select platforms on open standards.
- Get the EHR vendors involved early into the planning.
- Test out pilot programs prior to large initial implementation.
Training and Change Management
The facilities would be better off using extensive training programs to make their employees familiar with the new tools. Leadership also needs to state that the role of digital care plans is to complement the clinical judgment, not to substitute it. There are peer champions and feedback loops, which can speed up adoption.
Regulatory and Ethical Considerations
Hospitals need to conform to healthcare regulations in their implementation. The use of data, informed consent, and privacy protections are areas that need to be brought up and discussed openly to capture the confidence of the patient.
Continuous Improvement
Digital care plans do not stand still Hospitals are encouraged to have in place systems where they continuously assess their processes, including input of all clinicians and patients and make adjustments to all tools to keep up with new standards and evidence.
Conclusion
Switching to digital care plans is one of those steps that can transform the process of healthcare delivery. Although interoperability, clinician adoption, and patient engagement are only a few of the many challenges that cannot be ignored, it is evident that they are not intractable. The strength of the individualized medicine can be attained as hospitals should use uniform data structures, invest in clinician support, emphasize on cybersecurity, and invite patient involvement.
In a nutshell, digital care plans are not only technological products but rather players that facilitate patient-oriented and data-driven healthcare. Hospitals that can effectively overcome the obstacles and transform care by taking the opportunities that the digital age offers will become more efficient in their operations and also alter the quality of care that patients are receiving.
