Squashing the Digital Transformation Buzzword

With a new year, new budgets, and new goals set, it’s not surprising if scaling “digital transformation” is in the plans for your team and healthcare organization. But while there’s so much buzz about digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI), the reality is that we’re still wrestling to clearly articulate exactly what digital transformation means.

At a forum of healthcare CIOs and senior IT leaders, the room grew energetic when asking what “digital transformation” meant at their organization. To some, the term was synonymous with “patient access,” though others expressed that this was short sighted. Others lamented that every facet of their job was digital – and hadn’t it always been that way? While some didn’t consider solving for tech debt as part of the digital transformation equation, others claimed it’s a foundational component. One leader shared the only reason it was a frequent topic of conversation was because the board was asking it, though there’s never been a shared understanding of what it truly means.

So – with all the chatter, how do we squash the buzz to create a common understanding within our organizations that we can act on now?

Do We Need a “Digital Transformation” Definition or a Construct?

While we take comfort in black-and-white definitions, the reality is that healthcare is complex and digital transformation in healthcare even more so. This complexity is due to the ongoing evolution of technology, regulatory landscape, and intersection among people and the tools we use. Instead of an exact definition, it may be more helpful to think about digital transformation as a construct, with attentions paid to components that allow your organization to enable people to manage health and wellness with the support of health teams.

Components of your digital transformation framework should consider foundational aspects, like infrastructure, interoperability, governance, and the additional catalysts that foster consumer engagement, user adoption, and innovation. Cohesively, your organization’s digital transformation definition should incorporate how it uses data to inform, iterate, predict, and guide digital interactions in pursuit of awareness, accessibility, adoption, equity, and other organizational goals.

As you hone a definition that makes sense for your organization, consider the following:

• Tailor for your organization: Work with a team on a definition that makes sense for your organization – not for someone else’s. Crafting a definition that is easy for your organization to understand will go a long way in ensuring everyone is on the same page and shaping your digital culture.
• Make it inclusive: Digital transformation isn’t just about the technology. Make sure you consider how people, technology, and data come together.  
• Create bias toward action: Transformation isn’t passive. Use a definition that inspires action among your clinicians, staff, and leaders.
• Don’t get stuck: What’s important is to get your organization talking about digital transformation – even if the conversation is about what it’s not. It’s expected that your organization’s definition may need to be revisited over time to reflect continued learning and insights.
  
  

Squash the Buzz(word) – Making Your Definition Work for You

To squash the buzz, you need to move beyond just defining and start putting your definition to work. If you’re unsure of where to start, consider the following:

• Use your digital transformation as the anchor to team and individual goals.
  
  Even if your corporate goals are set for the year, there’s a way to have your team and individuals look at how digital transformation enables them. If you’re using objectives and key results (OKRs), revisiting them quarterly is part of the practice. (Is setting audacious goals new to you? Learn how to measure what matters on your path to achieving them.)
  
  
• Focus on design.
  
  Actively use your digital transformation efforts to design consumer experiences, operational efficiencies, employee engagement, and new sources of value creation. Your transformation hinges on nailing the definition and design of your efforts – not solely implementing new technology and platforms, including AI. Focused effort on how an experience aligns with the definition of your transformation and goals sets the path for better organizational readiness and a smoother deployment.
   
• Don’t view your digital transformation as only acquiring and buying new tech.
  
  With emphasis on design, you will likely find that your organization already has much of the technology and platforms in place. You need to identify the additional features, capabilities, tech, and data that fill the gaps to address consumer and business needs. In many cases, turning on modules you didn’t know you had, and working closely with your vendor partners to understand the capabilities on their roadmap, can address your needs.
  
  
• Remain open to the dialogue.
  
  There may be disagreement or lack of enthusiasm around continued digital transformation efforts – no matter how great your definition and action. Build a cross-functional team willing to test, question, and apply the tenets of your digital transformation. This group will be able to foster dialogue that sets the change in motion. 

Be the Buzz!

It can be easy to get caught in the jargon of IT and transformation, and we’re all guilty of it. What’s clear is that it is incumbent on us as IT and digital leaders to frame digital transformation and digital health concepts in a way that people understand. Digital transformation isn’t a one-time event, but an ongoing process requiring investment and commitment.

Rather than getting caught up in the buzzword, let’s get caught up in ‘creating a buzz’ about what we’re doing to improve the quality, accessibility, and delivery of healthcare using digital technologies.

Last modified: 1/10/2024