Don't Overlook The Low-tech Solutions That Can Help Your Company Add Value

Technology has the ability to solve some of our most difficult health-care issues, and hospitals and health systems are leading the way in implementing care management platforms.

Artificial intelligence is being used to diagnose sickness, and robots are being used to do surgery. They're looking into gene therapy applications and new pharmaceutical breakthroughs. They may even be able to build 3-D organs on demand in the near future.

These improvements drew attention at the Interactive Health and MedTech track at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival earlier this year, when many talks focused on medical technology's potential to change how we receive and deliver care.

However, despite all of the enthusiasm, tried-and-true, low-tech solutions — solutions that hospitals and health systems are using to increase value in their businesses — receive relatively little attention. Low-tech alternatives show a lot of promise, especially in this challenging financial climate.

They're adaptable and have a wide reach. They might be used in any size hospital. They're also reasonably priced. They do not necessitate a substantial financial commitment. They're made to be simple in appearance. They're also tech-light, relying only tangentially on already-existing technology. They will not necessitate the purchase of new or expensive equipment.

Finally, they're human. To work, they require human engagement and connection, which will improve care coordination and integration in the long run. Practical tools are constantly used by hospitals and health systems of all types to deliver value.

Hospitals, for example, have discovered the importance of a simple, low-tech practice of being attentive of where they allocate limited resources. Russell (Kansas) Regional Hospital, a critical access hospital, focuses on strategic investments to increase energy efficiency, which has resulted in a 43 percent reduction in energy use over a three-year period, saving more than $120,000 per year.

Hospitals have also undergone significant transformations by providing patients more control over their care. The Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas has started a program that allows select patients to self-administer long-term antibiotics rather than relying on medical experts. Parkland was able to make the most of its limited resources by eliminating inpatient stays for patients who could be treated at home.

Hospitals and health systems have discovered that collaborating with other organizations to address social determinants of health has shown considerable results. When the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System in Chicago teamed up with the Center for Housing and Health to help chronically homeless people move into totally independent and permanent housing conditions, their health care costs dropped by 42 percent on average. These individuals were 35% less likely to visit the emergency room, where care can be extremely costly. More of them began to visit clinics on a regular basis.

Other low-tech options can be as simple as scheduling more time for patient appointments. According to studies, 80 percent of diagnoses can be made solely simply on the patient's story. 1 Making time for people to open up to physicians and share their tales is a low-tech opportunity that is really helpful.

Additional low-tech alternatives that hospitals may imitate and scale with minimal expenditure include group appointments, telephone care, and video-assisted instruction mixed with telephonic group assistance.

While high-tech inventions receive a lot of attention, it's vital not to overlook the low-tech answers that are right in front of us.