HealthTrust offers intel around the value of tech-forward investments in healthcare
In healthcare, adopting and disseminating innovative ideas and technologies is often slow and challenging. Suppliers promote a number of seemingly must-have new products, which can be overwhelming for organizations to analyze and assess—especially when patient outcomes are at stake. To help healthcare organizations undertake the due diligence needed to move this innovation forward, HealthTrust leaders and Physician Advisors have their fingers on the pulse of emerging technology and offer members ways to effectively navigate the market.
Why is healthcare slow to adopt new tech?
As an industry, healthcare is typically reactive instead of proactive when it comes to technology. For example, when physicians ask hospital leadership to adopt a new device, it may trigger the hospital to conduct a value analysis to determine whether the presumed patient outcomes and product maintenance are worth the price tag associated with the acquisition and implementation of that technology.
“The biggest barrier to innovative technology is change and adoption, because healthcare administrators and service line leaders have to take a number of factors into consideration—driving transformative change, budget limitations and seamless IT integration,” says Chris J. Stewart, VP of Medical Device Management at HealthTrust.
Another factor they must consider is the evaluation process—including the patient benefits—and how to determine if a new technology is really new, or whether it’s an update to an existing technology. “The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is facing challenges in keeping up with the increasing volume of healthcare technology requests for approvals, especially in areas like digital health, artificial intelligence (AI) and medical devices. The rapid pace of innovation in these fields has put pressure on the agency to adapt its review process to ensure timely yet thorough evaluations,” adds Stewart.
HealthTrust Physician Advisor, Gary Siskin, M.D., is an interventional radiologist and chair of radiology at Albany Medical Health System in New York. “When you have a device that impacts health outcomes, it takes time to prove it works because you need to conduct clinical trials, analyze the data, then have it published and disseminated,” he explains. “Picture, for example, a device that costs $1 million that allows a patient to survive just one additional day. While extreme, this example shows that increasing cost without significant benefit is increasingly difficult to justify.”
The innovative technology space has gotten much more crowded over the years, says Christopher Page, M.D., a private practice anesthesiologist based in New York. Dr. Page is also a HealthTrust Physician Advisor. He has worked with and advised many startups and has also pursued commercializing his own innovative products. “It’s a lot more complicated than it was 10 or 15 years ago,” says Dr. Page. “Today, when a clinician or engineer has an idea, it is now cheaper and easier for them to drum up interest online and rapidly prototype something without necessarily knowing how to formally commercialize that product.”
Enthusiastic founders may not have the talent to pull off their goal and also enlist individuals with the right clinical or supply chain knowledge. It makes it much more difficult for hospitals and health systems to sift through and vet the ideas. “To do this requires time and a multidisciplinary approach, so that you don’t get overwhelmed and end up picking ideas just because the people pitching them to you are good salespeople,” he explains.
“Everybody always wants the latest new thing,” adds Dr. Siskin, who has spent much of his career developing, evaluating and implementing innovative medical devices. “Physicians are exposed to industry representatives, articles and meetings, and they’re always hearing about the latest tech. It’s common for them to feel like they’re being left behind if they don’t adapt.”
The value of today’s emerging healthcare technology
Technology in healthcare today is rapidly evolving and includes innovations such as AI, telemedicine, wearable technology, remote monitoring, robotic surgery and data analytics. These advancements are leading to more accurate diagnostics, lower infection risks, shorter hospital stays and more. From being able to perform more precise surgical procedures to spending less time on transcribing and data input, healthcare providers are finding efficiencies and improvements with these advancements.
To help members navigate this market, Stewart and the Medical Device Management (MDM) Team at HealthTrust look to understand and answer these questions: Is the technology going to lead to better patient outcomes, improved data accuracy or workflow optimization? What is the cost, and are there any cybersecurity risks? With HealthTrust’s vast reach, the MDM Team gains valuable insights from partners globally. If a new technology delivers only comparable or marginal improvements over existing solutions, HealthTrust collaborates with suppliers to manage premium costs. By leveraging scale, we can negotiate best-in-class pricing for our HealthTrust members. “We aim to understand the why,” says Stewart. “It’s one thing to describe a perceived outcome, but we need to verify that it’s proven.”
How hospitals can effectively evaluate & adopt new technology
Two approaches to evaluating new ideas have the potential to work well, explains Dr. Page. “One is putting a process in place that filters product suggestions up the chain of command to systematically reduce the number of ideas you move forward,” he says. A multidisciplinary group with various areas of expertise is essential to examine the devices in depth.
“The other approach I’ve seen is people who don’t necessarily have a lot of experience in doing this are coming up with things they think are problems and pushing them out into the world,” says Dr. Page.
A smarter way is to flip the script and ask clinicians what actual problems they are having and solicit solutions. “Hopefully, the institution already has an understanding of the problem, so they only need to listen to the individuals who come with useful solutions.”
Physicians leading the effort to bring in new technology must be able to speak to the reasons for wanting it. “Sometimes we get requests from physicians that are clearly coached by the industry,” says Dr. Siskin. “It’s important for physicians to take on the responsibility of writing the request and articulating why the addition of this product is important to the work they do.” Physicians will have more success if they know the answers to basic questions hospital leaders have, including how positive outcomes relate to overall cost.
Prior to a purchase decision, it’s important to get new technology into the hands of the end users. “Many times, the technology sounds great, but often when it actually gets into the physicians’ hands for use, they quickly realize the product is not that innovative and thus unnecessary for the hospital to have it,” explains Dr. Siskin.
“Technology that isn’t effectively adopted often goes unused, sitting in storage, gathering dust,” adds Stewart. If the physician who requested the technology retires or transfers to another facility, the hospital or ambulatory surgical center (ASC) should have visibility into their assets and move the technology to a facility that can benefit.
The bottom line
Beyond clinical outcomes, HealthTrust teams focus on understanding the broader picture of cost, quality and outcomes when evaluating new technology. “Is there a byproduct of the technology that requires measurement? Is there waste mitigation or cost avoidance? It’s not just about the initial capital expense; it’s about understanding total acquisition costs related to software upgrades, service, maintenance and IT integration,” explains Stewart.
In addition, outside of the acute care hospital, there are outpatient facilities, ASCs and physician offices. “Where is the most suitable place for this technology, and who will bear the cost of the investment?” Stewart adds.
HealthTrust works to distill information for the supply chain and facility operators to get these answers. The Physician Advisor Network at HealthTrust is on call to weigh in on new technology. Teams break down the protocols, value analysis, equipment, regulation and reimbursement, providing enough information to make it easier for hospital systems to make educated decisions.
“It ultimately comes down to cost, quality and outcomes. We present the information in a way that is clear and comprehensible,” says Stewart.
Learn more about how members can implement new technology by contacting the MDM Team.
Share Email AI, Diagnostics, Innovation, Medical Devices, Q4 2024
