What You Need From Healthcare IT Consulting

Healthcare is a complex, multi-faceted industry with various competing interests, from operations to strategic goals to workforce management, all leading to the ultimate goal of great patient care. An engine that makes all of this go is technology, itself fluid and constantly evolving. Take, for example, generative AI, which until the release of ChatGPT in late 2022 was essentially an experiment behind closed doors but now is being widely adopted in all sectors, including healthcare. 

Healthcare facilities are flush with technology, from back-office software to the systems that connect remote workers to the myriad wireless devices that deliver patient care. Keeping up with all this is nigh impossible, triggering the need for healthcare IT consulting. The expertise that healthcare IT consultants deliver can lift a burden off overworked IT administrators and hospital CEOs, giving them the peace of mind that their technology is running correctly, is secure, and is in line with strategic plans. 

Healthcare Consulting Requirements for IT 

Finding the right partner is critical. A recent report found that 75 percent of health system executives believe generative AI can help remake the industry for the better. Unfortunately, only 6 percent have an established AI strategy in place. This is one instance where a healthcare IT consultant can make a difference. 

That said, finding the right fit is a challenge. It’s a big market that is expected to grow almost 20 percent a year into the next decade, and there are a lot of consultants to choose from. Here are some qualities to look for in healthcare IT consulting firms: 

Technical and Industry Expertise

The IT needs of a healthcare facility are broad, complex, and always growing. They span infrastructure, software, the cloud, and the Internet of Things. It’s crucial that a healthcare IT consulting firm comes in with the experience to address all these points. What services do they provide? What hospital systems have they worked with, what did those partnerships look like, what projects have they undertaken, and what experience do their team members bring to the table? They need to answer those questions to your satisfaction. 

Specialised Services

Healthcare environments have unique requirements, and a healthcare IT consultant needs to be able to meet them. What is their background implementing electronic health record (EHR) systems like Epic or software like HL7? Hospitals have their share of legacy systems and modern technologies. What services do consultants have for identifying what stays and what goes? Those systems may need to be integrated to interoperate seamlessly. What about services for reaching at-home workers or remotely monitoring patients?  

Customisation and Flexibility

Similarly, there may be situations that crop up where specific software capabilities are needed or infrastructure needs to be architected in a certain way. Can the healthcare IT consulting firm develop the custom software needed to meet the demand or bring in the systems that can do the job in the space available? 

Security and Compliance

Healthcare facilities have become a prime target for ransomware and other attacks. They hold a lot of sensitive information, use a lot of wireless devices, and are seen as having poor cybersecurity measures in place. A recent survey found that 78 percent of healthcare organizations experienced a cybersecurity incident last year, and 60 percent said breaches had a moderate to substantial impact on their ability to deliver patient care. 

None of that is good for an industry that needs to comply with numerous regulations, from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). A healthcare IT consultant must be able to conduct risk assessments, design secure IT architecture, and deliver employee training to improve security awareness, which would close off many attacks and better ensure compliance. 

An Eye on the Future

The IT world is evolving rapidly, and healthcare facilities need to adapt. Hospitals don’t have the resources to keep up with what’s coming, so healthcare IT consulting firms need to bring the expertise in such areas as AI and automation, the cloud, IoT, and digital transformation for patient care. They need to ensure that remote monitoring of patients is in place and working, that at-home workers are connected, and that operations are streamlined through modern technologies. 

End-to-End Support

What hospitals need from healthcare IT consulting is a partner, someone to work with them to ensure all the IT assets within the organization are helping them be more efficient, to create the best working conditions for doctors, nurses, and other employees, and, above all, to deliver the best patient care they can. Healthcare facilities in 2022 suffered through the most difficult financial year since before the pandemic. They need help in the form of healthcare IT consultants who have the resources and skills to address every aspect of the IT environment and leave the running of the hospital to the executives and doctors. 

Alignment Between Technology and the Mission

Every healthcare organization has a strategy and goals they want to achieve in the short and long term. Technology is crucial to being able to deliver. If the organization’s strategic goals and the technology roadmap are out of sync, there are inefficiencies, patient care suffers, and money is lost. In healthcare IT consulting, the company must be able to understand the hospital’s goals and tell you the technologies and IT services they’ll put in place to help you reach those goals. If they can’t, keep looking. 

Everything You Need in a Healthcare IT Consultant

Elxo can bring all of this and more to the table. We have extensive experience in healthcare IT consulting and can ease the path of patient care by helping healthcare systems and practitioners meet the demands they face efficiently and completely, whether it’s guiding patients through their complex health journeys, creating a technologically strong working environment in which doctors and others can thrive, or streamlining operations to ensure a healthy financial picture, we can meet your healthcare consulting requirements.  

We do that with powerful consulting, custom and low-code software solutions, and a spirit of partnership that improves patient satisfaction, reduces the pressure on frontline staff, and saves healthcare providers money. Contact us to learn more.