Introducing New Technology to Skeptical Care Providers

In the following years, U.S. industries are poised to experience a changing of the guard. The majority of baby boomers will retire in the next decade. Their roles will be taken over by millennials (Generation Y), a digitally native generation that is familiar with modern technology.

Generation Y must develop empathy and prepare for the challenge of bringing tech disruption to the workplace. Millennials must introduce new technologies, without intensifying the anxiety of skeptical care providers.

With innovation occurring at a rapid pace and scale, it is more important than ever before to gain dexterity with this soft skill.

In this post, we will explore: 

• Tech disruption augmented by millennial decision makers in healthcare
• Hurdles to technology adoption
• Balancing technology adoption in healthcare

Technology Advancements Led by Millennials

The healthcare industry is experiencing rapid innovation, driven by a young generation of passionate tech enthusiasts. Healthcare is seeing tech-savvy emerging leaders in strategic roles, who yearn to leverage advanced tech in their healthcare organizations. 

Advanced technologies are deployed to streamline clinical processes and care team communication. The objective of Generation Y is to develop, adopt or implement new systems to enhance the patient experience.

Resistance to Adopting Emerging Technology in Healthcare

Even with a significant leap in tech adoption, there is still resistance to new systems in the areas of clinical communication and medical workflow.

Transitioning to new technology can be seen as a steep learning curve. Moreover, it is perceived to be an area with no significant impact on patient care. This misconception is especially prevalent with senior members of the care team. Seasoned members have been in healthcare for years and are resistant to change. They do not want to ditch technology and processes that have been around for decades.

It is not uncommon to hear statements such as, “New tech will prevent me from providing timely patient care,” or “Pagers do the job right and I have gotten used to them.” Millennial project managers must address these common beliefs, as it is crucial for successful tech adoption and implementation. 

Presenting the Overarching Value

Millennial buyers and project managers tend to get excited when introducing new tech to optimize workflows. However, this excitement is almost one-sided in healthcare. As discussed, some practitioners are against anything that would come between them and patient care.

Project managers must build trust and communicate the value of the proposed technology. It is important to discuss how the new tech would streamline clinical workflows and help mitigate inefficiencies.

Introducing Features One Step at a Time

Advanced technology, such as clinical communication and collaboration (CC&C) systems, must be introduced and made available for testing. Simply put, young project managers must start a conversation and empower skeptics to test the functionalities of the new solution. Once skeptics are comfortable with the system, chances are that they would realize its true value and become open to exploring other functionalities.

Technology Ease of Use

Besides being valuable to patient care, the new medical system must also be easy to use. If the solution offers easy and seamless adoption, it is more likely that seasoned practitioners will be receptive to test the waters.

OnPage: Simple, Easy and Value-Driven

Healthcare is realizing the importance of streamlined communications, powered by modern technologies. OnPage is an example of an innovative technology that has made an immediate impact on patient care.

Organizations are replacing pagers with OnPage’s advanced CC&C system. OnPage provides configurable on-call schedules, HIPAA-compliant messaging, live incident statuses, persistent mobile alerts and more.

Care teams use OnPage for the following purposes:

• Encryption—communicate via encrypted, secure text messaging between internal staff, external providers and patients.
• Access control—create and manage users with varied permissions.
• Alert notifications—bypass the silent switch on all mobile devices and bring persistent, critical alerts to the forefront.
• Track messages—with statuses for “sent,” “delivered” and “read” messages and enterprise reporting.
• Manage schedules—configure on-call schedules for multiple individuals and groups.
• Set up escalation criteria—the next on-call doctor receives the alert if the first is unavailable.
• Send attachments—OnPage supports media files, enabling teams to add medical images and voice attachments to text messages.
• Live call routing—direct patient calls to the on-call physician’s mobile device.
• Data protection—remotely wipe sensitive patient information if a mobile device is confiscated.

Finding the Balance Between New Tech and Value Creation

As boomers adjust to retired life, and millennials take over strategic roles to build a modern healthcare system, it is imperative that Generation Y is equipped with the soft skills needed to introduce and implement new medical technology. Transitioning from legacy to advanced technology helps enhance clinical processes and care team efficiency.