Writing a blog about the current state of healthcare IT is certainly a challenge. After all, in times of a global pandemic, what timeline truly defines “current state”? In this ever-changing situation, however, healthcare IT trends continue to emerge and reprioritize.
We see redefinition of business resiliency. We see urgency around infrastructure security. And we witness the impact on human beings from a patient perspective, from a clinician perspective, and more broadly, from a personal perspective as we are all tasked to combat the coronavirus pandemic with now-familiar messages. Stay at home. Social distance and self-quarantine. Keep away from older and at-risk friends and family members.
Business resilience
Business resiliency is truly a healthcare organization’s ability to adapt quickly to disruption while protecting its people, processes, systems, assets, and brand. Now is the appropriate time to ask critical questions of your own organization:
Is your healthcare organization’s IT department resilient and prepared to improve business outcomes?
Do you have continuity and disaster recovery plans in place?
Are you ready to implement, and do you have committed user adoption for sustainable, long-term telehealth or telemedicine solutions?
Can your back-office and non-front line healthcare workers work from anywhere or are they tethered to their desks and offices?
The world as we know it has fundamentally changed, and consumers (patients), workers (clinical or non-clinical), and healthcare organizations must ask and answer a new set of questions as a result.
Infrastructure security
The importance of a secure and frictionless infrastructure is mission-critical for healthcare organizations now more than ever. As front-line healthcare workers work valiantly to keep up with clinical demand and provide patient care, confidence in infrastructure security is of the utmost importance.
Nutanix commissioned a survey with Vanson Bourne to create the second annual Enterprise Cloud Index. The company looked specifically at findings among healthcare organizations, seeking to learn more about the impact of the cloud. According to this report, security and compliance rank as top factors driving cloud deployment decisions. And, hybrid cloud solutions are considered the most secure IT operating model.
Human impact
Feedback from healthcare workers continues to be emotional and is devoured by the rest of us as everyone feels compelled to assist. We hear the same recurring calls for help. Donate, pray, and hope. Donate masks, hand sanitizer, PPE, food, and money. Pray for providers, patients, for a vaccine, for a plan. Hope for relief.
Physical health is, of course, top of mind. Researchers and clinicians alike are urgently sharing data surrounding possible treatments and in-process vaccine trials. But, think for a moment about the effect on mental health as well. With increased anxiety surrounding economic and health uncertainties and severe isolation and self-quarantine requirements, healthcare organizations are bracing for an uptick in demand for mental health services.
Whether we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel or merely making inroads toward flattening the infection curve, only time will tell. But, one thing remains certain. The long-lasting effects of this pandemic (including pressures, volumes, and IT requirements to support patient care and clinical outcomes) will affect the healthcare industry for years to come. To learn more about how Nutanix is helping the healthcare industry, please visit nutanix.com/healthcare.
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