Key Takeaways
- Healthcare workflow optimization now focuses on eliminating tasks or making them invisible to clinicians.
- Application rationalization is critical for health systems; 76% of CIOs recognize its importance, yet only 20% have implemented it.
- Streamlining workflows can reduce clinician burnout and improve retention by enabling more time for patient interactions.
Shifting Focus in Workflow Optimization
In recent years, the approach to workflow optimization in healthcare has transformed from simply speeding up tasks to enhancing connectivity across the entire care continuum. Now, the goal is to eliminate unnecessary tasks or render them invisible to clinicians, as noted by Will Mobley from Honeywell. This shift aims for better clinician and patient satisfaction, ultimately leading to improved clinical outcomes.
The Role of Application Rationalization
Application rationalization has emerged as an essential process for health systems. It involves a structured, data-driven evaluation of existing applications to decide what to retain, consolidate, or retire. Tamara Elias from ServiceNow emphasizes that this process should begin with usage data, ensuring that critical functionalities for clinicians are preserved. Despite its importance—highlighted by a recent CHIME survey indicating 76% of CIOs deem it vital—only 20% have an application rationalization program in operation.
An illustrative case is Trinity Health, which has successfully retired over 740 redundant systems, forecasting savings exceeding $100 million. Similarly, Emplify Health has eliminated more than 30 applications, yielding $3 million in direct cost reductions. ServiceNow’s AI platform addresses application overlap by integrating existing systems across biomed, IT, facilities, and clinical operations into a cohesive workflow, enabling requests to be directed to the appropriate systems without clinicians needing to engage with multiple applications.
Optimizing Workflows to Address Burnout
Amid staffing shortages, some healthcare systems have turned to apps to compensate for system deficiencies. However, excessive screen time for clinicians, coupled with the need to navigate multiple systems for a single patient transition, complicates their workflow. Elias highlights that the frequent switching between systems—often poorly integrated—contributes significantly to clinician burnout.
As Mobley observes, the dual pressures of clinician burnout and staffing shortages have made workflow optimization a strategy for retention and efficiency. A study published in JAMA showed that adopting ambient AI technology significantly decreased ambulatory burnout rates from 51.9% to 38.8% within just 30 days.
Innovative tools, such as Honeywell’s voice-enabled workflow technologies, are being implemented to alleviate these challenges. By capturing conversations and automatically populating electronic health records (EHR), clinicians can reduce manual documentation efforts, allowing them to dedicate more time to patient care. As noted by Mobley, such solutions are crucial for keeping clinicians engaged in their work by minimizing administrative burdens.
This evolution in healthcare is aimed at fostering systems that prioritize clinician efficiency, satisfaction, and ultimately better patient outcomes, showcasing a marked shift toward more integrated and supportive work environments.
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