Digital health adoption climbs rapidly among healthcare organisations, survey reveals

A recent study spearheaded by Xealth in 2023 underscores a significant shift towards digital health solutions among members of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). The survey, carried out from May to June, highlighted that an overwhelming 90% of CHIME members are now leaning into digital health strategies. This robust adoption rate prevails in spite of challenges such as fiscal constraints and limitations in staffing resources.

Delving deeper into the findings, a significant 81% of participants have seamlessly integrated digital health tools within their Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems. Meanwhile, a noteworthy 19.1% claim to have not only achieved EHR integration of digital health platforms but also set distinct objectives and performance metrics surrounding them.

Mike McSherry, at the helm of Xealth as CEO and co-founder, expressed his insights on the matter. “The healthcare sector is typically perceived as resistant to rapid transformation. Yet, the swift embrace of digital health solutions is a testament to its increasing relevance and potential. It’s heartening to observe the overarching endorsement from top-tier management in health establishments. The correlation between digital health strategies and both the growth in bottom-line and reduction in readmissions is becoming pronounced. As digital initiatives continue to evolve, we anticipate these figures to further accentuate.”

The survey also shed light on several pivotal insights:

• A large majority, 81%, perceive digital health as encompassing apps and platforms that can be downloaded and used in conjunction with a dedicated device. This is closely trailed by digital tools for patient education, such as downloadable PDFs and video resources (excluding clinical references), accounting for 71.4%.
  
• Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and stand-alone downloadable apps and platforms (which don’t necessitate a connected device) are recognised as integral components of digital health by two-thirds (66.7%) of those surveyed.
  
• An encouraging 76.2% of participants emphasised that their health systems witnessed a surge in patient involvement and interaction courtesy of enhanced digital health strategies. A considerable 47.6% credited the uptick in digital health tools for facilitating clinicians’ tasks and ensuring ease of operations.
  
• A positive fiscal performance coupled with decreased patient readmissions due to ramped-up digital health utilisation was confirmed by 14.3% of respondents.
  
• The primary drivers prompting health establishments to expand their digital health footprint were identified as increased funding from payers or employers (81%), heightened patient demand (71.4%), improved system compatibility and integration ease (66.7%), the establishment of clear CPT codes dedicated to digital interventions (42.9%), and the growing availability of clinical proof validating digital interventions (33.3%).

Interestingly, none of the participants identified a lack of endorsement from C-level executives or diminishing patient engagement as impediments in their digital health adoption journey.