Making smart healthcare technology decisions: Four questions to ask.

By Bruce Cohen, M.D. 

Medical Advisor, Calm Waters AI

As the former administrative leader of a large provider group, I was continually inundated with meeting requests from prospective vendors eager to present the best and newest technology solutions to my problems. I will freely admit that healthcare delivery is chock full of operational and logistical “problems” that need fixing. Administrative costs are skyrocketing in conjunction with decreasing reimbursement. It doesn’t take much financial acumen to realize that this situation is unsustainable, and we must find ways to leverage technology to assist us. 

So, how do we figure out which of these “pain-point solutions” to explore? This is not as easy as it sounds. It requires work for the leadership and technology team to determine if a technology offering merits further investigation. After countless Zoom meetings with technology startups (inevitably, it seems, with founders who are my children’s age,) my head was spinning and I was distracted from my day job. While visions of owning equity in an early startup and becoming the next tech unicorn are interesting, let’s get back to reality and a few key principles to follow as you evaluate potential solutions: 

1. 1. Where and how is this technology being used? This is probably the most important initial question. Get specific information about use in your specialty, andspecialty and get references to check later if you go further down this path. 
   2. How is this technology protected from a cybersecurity standpoint? Engage your IT security team to help determine if connecting with this company puts your organization at risk.  Make sure that the potential technology partner discloses their liability protection and sets standards that must be followed. Healthcare cyber protection should be in your thoughts day and night. Your exposure risk often occurs through the organizations with which you connect. Don’t ignore this one. 
   3. How does the technology interface with your current IT/tech platform? This could be your EMR/practice management system, scheduling platform, or other aspects. Many promising ventures fail because their connectivity fails to deliver what was promised. Make sure you explore this issue upfront before obligating your organization contractually to any vendor’s system. 
   4. What is the company’s future? Has ownership changed since its inception? A change of control of the technology company soon after implementation can affect service levels, strategic priorities, and overall satisfaction for the client/user. Making an accurate assessment early on can be difficult. Still, this issue needs to be on your radar screen before you commit a lot of resources to a project or relationship. 

 If you and your team focus on these principles initially and do not discuss contracts, equity, or pricing, you can quickly weed out a large portion of the technology companies courting you without much investment of your time beyond an email or short introductory call. If you can develop a systematic process to get a more in-depth analysis of the answers to the questions in the key principles, you will be more effective and not send your team on time-consuming wild goose chases. You will also protect your current business and shareholders and, hopefully, still find some excellent opportunities. While you risk missing out on a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” a disciplined approach to innovation and exploration will be very successful.  Good luck with your exploration. 

Bruce Cohen is a practicing orthopedic surgeon and former CEO of OrthoCarolina.