Technology Fatigue is Real for Clinicians - How to Avoid it

Although the state of healthcare has always been a true reflection of how advanced (or primitive) a nation’s economy is, the ongoing pandemic has put the healthcare of global economies under immense strain. With doctors and healthcare professionals still struggling to deal with surging death rates and new strains of the Coronavirus, it has been a long and unending battle for the frontline warriors. 

The many reasons for technology fatigue 

The healthcare sector has long been relying on technology systems to carry out operations while constantly striving to meet evolving regulatory and healthcare needs. And although technology is helping take a new approach to healthcare, for an industry that is already pushed to the limit, technology fatigue further adds to the woes. 

Here are some ways in which technology restricts the ability to provide quick and seamless care: 

• The presence of several siloed and monolithic healthcare systems that are poorly integrated 
• The need to send several back-and-forth emails and messages to peers to get the required information and to patients to communicate updates on health status
• The lack of standardised workflows that force healthcare professionals to do the same repetitive tasks day-in and day-out
• The endeavour of gathering data stored in prescription notes, lab reports, clinician’s files, LOB systems, and EMRs
• Poor security and compliance levels that make meeting HIPAA and other regulations a real struggle 

Ways to avoid technology fatigue 

Although the healthcare industry has been indispensable to every nation, the pandemic has made us all realise how the sector is actually the backbone of the world. Yet, despite how critical it is to deliver quick and timely care, the industry struggles with technology fatigue because of how indigenous their IT ecosystem is. 

Here are some ways in which modern technology can help avoid technology fatigue: 

1. Remote patient management: As advances in telemedicine unfold, remote patient management helps healthcare organisations in delivering proactive ‘out-of-hospital’ specialist care. Such a remote care model allows patients to get diagnosed and treated – without having to leave the comfortable confines of their homes. At the same time, using modern technology, healthcare professionals can keep track of individual patient journeys, intervene when needed, and ensure patients bounce back to normal health quickly. 
2. Seamless digital communication: With healthcare organisations expanding beyond geographical boundaries, enabling seamless digital communication between different professionals, teams, and locations is critical to accelerating care outcomes. Advanced digital communication between healthcare teams as well as patients can allow for seamless sharing of medical or treatment records. Such communication can help doctors stay abreast with the latest symptoms, test reports, and treatment graphs while simultaneously building trust, nurturing relationships, and improving patient experience as well as health outcomes.
3. Automated workflows: Automating workflows is another great way of minimising manual work, reducing errors, and increasing the capacity and efficiency of healthcare workers. Automation can help streamline and standardise high-volume workflows across different programs, systems and data silos – allowing for better communication and document exchange. In the long run, it can help improve clinical workflows, reduce admin burden, and thereby improve team productivity and efficiency.
4. Customisable platforms: Despite the fact that every healthcare organisation strives to provide quality care, there is never a one-size-fits-all approach. Since no two organisations (or even departments) are the same, it makes sense to use highly customisable technology platforms which can be adapted to different therapeutic areas and stakeholders. Using a cloud-based platform that is purpose-built for effective care management means different teams can configure different features according to the specific needs of the department they work in – leading to a quicker turnaround, and hence quicker and better care outcomes. 
5. Security and compliance: The highly regulated industry that healthcare is, it often makes security and compliance a hassle for clinicians. Using systems that aren’t compliant puts the entire organisation at risk while making personal patient data vulnerable to attacks. Using modern healthcare systems that are built using GXP-approved processes and fully compliant with regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR, and NHS-DSPT means healthcare workers can stop worrying about security and compliance issues and drive all their focus on treating patients. 

In a world where technology is known to alleviate daily tension and trauma, the presence of siloed, non-integrated legacy systems causes immense technology fatigue for clinicians. To prevent technology from adding to clinician's load, healthcare organisations need to embrace remote patient management, enable seamless digital communication, automate workflows, and implement customisable platforms that are compliant with industry-specific regulations. Such an approach can not only help professionals in overcoming the stress that comes with their job; it can also make technology an asset to the long-term success of the healthcare organisation.