WELLINGTON; Aug. 19, 2020 – Healthcare organisations need to become more collaborative in creating new digital
healthcare experiences to help customers feel engaged, important and informed, according to research from Accenture
(NYSE: ACN).
Based on a survey of 259 payer and provider healthcare executives, the report — Accenture Digital Health Technology Vision 2020 — notes that the vast majority (85%) of executives believe that technology has become an inextricable part of the
human experience. Furthermore, 45% of those polled said that rapid advancements in new technologies and scientific
innovations are positioned to disrupt their industry.
“The intersection between digital technology and healthcare experiences has certainly accelerated with the COVID-19
pandemic, and leading the future of care will demand rethinking core assumptions about the intersection of people and
technology,” said Suraj Sowki who leads Accenture’s strategy and consulting practice in New Zealand. “People’s
perceptions of and relationships with technology are changing, and to adapt, healthcare payers and providers need to
redesign digital experiences.”
The research found that 69% of healthcare payers and providers are already piloting or adopting artificial intelligence,
which will enable fluid interactions between human and machines. Yet only 39% said they have inclusive design or
human-centric design principles in place to support human-machine collaboration.
In addition, more than two-thirds (71%) of the executives believe that robotics will enable the next generation of
services in the physical world, yet 54% believe that their employees will be challenged to figure out how to work with
robots.
“The use of robotics is especially exciting in healthcare, where need has no boundaries and workers are already spread
thin,” Suraj Sowki said. “But as robotic capabilities extend beyond controlled environments, healthcare organisations
will face new challenges around talent investments, data collection, and human-machine interaction and collaboration.”
The report argues that despite benefiting broadly from technology, people are expressing concerns about how and for what
it’s used. A majority (70%) of healthcare consumers polled as part of the research said they are concerned about data
privacy and commercial tracking associated with their online activities, behaviours, location and interests. The same
number (70%) of consumers also said they expect their relationship with technology to be more prominent in their lives
over the next three years.
With more than three-quarters (78%) of the healthcare provider and payer executives saying they believe that the stakes
for innovation have never been higher, the report notes that “getting it right” will require new ways of innovating with
ecosystem partners and third-party organisations.
“Virtual healthcare services became a necessity for many New Zealanders during the COVID-19 pandemic as efforts to slow
transmission of the virus sharply limited face-to-face visits with doctors and other professionals. This is a change of
historic proportions, and it gives healthcare providers across the spectrum an unprecedented chance to permanently shift
the default care model to virtual services for many medical needs.”
“Now is as good a time as ever for modernising the aging healthcare infrastructure in New Zealand. We should use this as
an opportunity to increase access to medical expertise through digital healthcare experiences and supplementary services
that a digital ecosystem brings, added Suraj Sowki.”
The full report can be accessed here.