Embracing Digital Transformation: The Healthcare Industry's Technology Paradox

by Gabriel Tick, CEO, Opifiny Corp.

The healthcare sector has consistently been at the forefront of technological advancement. From leveraging the first computers in clinical research to the development of groundbreaking tools like artificial hips and laser knives, medical innovation has always pushed boundaries to help improve our lives. Despite this cutting-edge spirit, many medical practices remain anchored to outdated administrative approaches such as the continued use of fax machines to send important documents to regulators and insurers.

Physicians today are eager to explore the latest therapies and surgical devices, reflecting a robust culture of vision and adaptability within medical practice. Paradoxically, these same professionals often cling to obsolete administrative systems and platforms. Manually completing specialist referrals, insurance claims, and forms like an Attending Physician Statement (APS) slows the process for everyone, leading to delays in seeing specialists, processing insurance claims, and doctors getting paid for their work.

This reluctance to transition away from these older methods raises two questions: Why are tech-friendly medical professionals all over the world hesitant to update their administrative processes, and what techniques can healthcare providers use to overcome any hurdles to implementing new technology? 

The Psychological Barrier 
For many healthcare professionals, avoiding administrative upgrades stems more from psychological resistance than practical considerations. The stress of change — and the potential disruptions that replacing outmoded systems could bring to a medical practice’s workflow — is just one understandable obstacle. This reluctance leads to a situation where practices continue to use legacy administrative procedures even when more efficient digital solutions are available. In this mindset, change only occurs when systems become irretrievably broken.

Learning new technologies may seem daunting, but this should not prevent medical teams from pursuing change. Despite being willing to learn new life-saving techniques, many doctors worry about their teams adapting to modern software, afraid that doing so could unsettle well-established processes. Furthermore, some medical practitioners are concerned about the integration of new technology leading to confusion or errors. These fears, though legitimate, should not prevent progress, particularly considering the robust security and streamlined operations offered by most modern platforms.

Today’s administrative software platforms are designed to minimize risk while providing numerous benefits such as improved patient satisfaction and lower operating costs through streamlined operations. Unlike fax machines or snail mail, digital platforms are often more intuitive and align with today's tech-savvy workforce. These systems are designed to simplify complex interactions, using personal access codes instead of passwords, and even automating correspondence with third parties.

Although a very real concern, fears over compromised patient data create another barrier to innovation. However, encrypted cloud-based systems actually offer a higher level of protection against unwelcome access and tampering than traditional methods.

Three Steps Through the Barrier
Even if the arguments for adopting new administrative software are intelligent and reasonable, it is difficult to break through a psychological block with reason alone. Resistance to change is an emotional problem and requires a solution that takes emotion into account — even doctors who know they need to change with the times may feel reluctant to step out of their comfort zone, and that reluctance keeps them working late on paperwork and waiting too long to hear back from all of the folks they need to connect with, including insurers, specialists, diagnostics offices, regulators, and more.  

Here are three steps to help healthcare providers overcome their resistance to new technologies and make their lives easier — and their practices more efficient:

1. Identify the source of reluctance: Doctors should examine possible reasons for their aversion, listing out each and determining if it's logical. Looking up the new software to see if this is a problem for other users, or if it actually resolves many of the issues, is worthwhile, as is looking up other software platforms or technological products to see if they create these problems. In most cases, the evidence will clearly indicate that new technological solutions are a net benefit for any medical practice.
   
2. Talk it out together: The entire medical practice should sit down as a team to discuss reasons for and against adopting a new software tool. Everyone can air their own concerns and see if anyone shares them, or if anyone has a good counter to those concerns. The team should go through the possible tech solution's information, performance statistics, and case studies with the group to see if that helps everyone embrace the potential of the new upgrade. If necessary, the person most opposed to the upgrade should play the ambassador for the product: by teaching the rest of the team why a new upgrade is a good idea, they'll also be working through their own reluctance.  
3. Prepare for the change: Join the rest of the team in learning all about the new tool, including how to install, integrate, and use it to the best effect. Host an onboarding session with the product's sales or training team. Not only will this directly counter fears about the new software slowing down performance and taking too long to learn, it will dispel other worries and get everyone excited about the potential of the new software so the office can hit the ground running as soon as it's installed. 

Ultimately, the better medical practitioners understand how to use new technology, the more they will embrace that technology in every aspect of their practices. Not taking steps to confront psychological barriers will only make the reluctance to upgrade last longer. 

Built for the Future: Time to InnovateThis reluctance to move beyond the familiar often stems from inertia and fear of the unknown. Even basic research will show that the digital systems available today are built to be user-friendly, efficient, and secure. Embracing these platforms means adopting a holistic approach to innovation that spans the entire practice, not just the medical side of the organization.

The healthcare industry has a proud tradition of technological innovation, but it's time to extend this spirit to administrative practices as well. Innovation is about embracing change and improvement in all facets of healthcare, creating an environment that is responsive and attuned to the needs of both patients and practitioners. The path forward is clear, and it will lead to a more modern and effective medical community.