Digitization to Prepare for Post-Pandemic Bounce Back

As healthcare leaders prepare and strategize for the post-pandemic world, one thing has become abundantly clear: digital transformation is critical.

According to a recent Accenture report, 81% of healthcare executives say the pace of digital transformation for their organization is accelerating and 93% report that their organization is innovating with a sense of urgency and call to action this year.

But where do you begin? For Kristi Cawley, VP Sales, Skilled Nursing at Brookdale Senior Living Communities, the first step was automating data. Data collection has always been vital, but without visibility into the data and integration with other systems, it’s hard to extract insights or form a strategy around it. Kristi wanted to digitize the facility’s processes, from pre-admission to billing.

Manual processes leave room for error

The truth is that many healthcare facilities continue to rely on manual and paper-based processes, which, as you can imagine, create huge risks.

Not only does stray paperwork increase the risk of HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) violation, but it also creates internal billing issues and threatens the entire resident admission process.

Brookdale Senior Living Communities solved these problems using Document Manager, which automates document management and reduces the manual effort it takes to create and complete personalized documentation. Since it’s a digital-first solution, it also allows for HIPAA-compliant eSignatures to ensure the safety, security, and privacy of each patient.

How to get people on board

Implementing new technology in an organization that has been operating in the same way for decades is a challenge. So how did Kristi do it? Here’s what worked for the Brookdale community:

• Host one-on-one sessions with individual users
• Create Zoom tutorials and quick reference guides 
• Designate ‘super-users’ to provide peer-to-peer training

According to Kristi, each of these tactics encouraged employees to have ownership and engagement with the new solution, making them feel more comfortable from the get-go. This approach also enabled users to flag areas that weren’t working and ask for extra attention when needed.

Improved outcomes  

Document Manager and other interoperable, digital solutions enable organizations across the healthcare network to gain visibility into daily processes to highlight what’s working, and, more importantly, the broken areas that need to be addressed. Using these tools, we can bring an end to unnecessary risks caused from manual processes and disparate systems.

Digitization empowers long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) facilities to be prepared for the post-pandemic rebuild process. For Brookedale Senior Living, when admissions return to normal levels, the community will be ready with a more streamlined process and the knowledge that they can invoice and collect data appropriately. This will allow them to continuously improve process efficiencies and, eventually, make the complete shift away from paper.