Digital Health Top Concern of Leading Health Care Institutions

Leading health care institutions are concerned about the impact of digital health, but see artificial intelligence as beneficial, according to a survey conducted by The Doctors Company of 47 of the nation's top providers and medical societies

Results of the annual survey were announced at the Executive Advisory Board meeting, a national summit of nearly 100 representatives of industry-leading organizations brought together by The Doctors Company to address some of the most pressing issues in health care. To pinpoint what concerns these leaders have and generate meaningful conversations, participants were surveyed prior to the summit.

Among the key findings are the following:

• In rating the impact technologies are having on risk, health care leaders see artificial intelligence as the front-runner in reducing risks, while they view online media as the riskiest technology, as it was in 2018.

• Tracking quality metrics, required by Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, continues to be the most important item for these organizations, as it was in 2018. However, communication between physicians and patients moved to number two in importance, replacing burnout. This may reflect the concern that digital technologies, such as EHRs, are impacting communication between physician and patient—as reflected in the Future of Healthcare Survey of more than 3,400 physicians.

• A majority of top health care providers are devoting increased resources to data security and have instituted data security protocols and training, indicating their concern that health care leads all industries in cybersecurity breaches.

"The concerns expressed by our nation's health care leaders show the growing impact of digital health care," says Richard E. Anderson, MD, FACP, chairman and CEO of The Doctors Company, who announced the survey results at the meeting. "Our data reflect these issues. EHRs continue to have a negative impact on the doctor-patient communication. Telemedicine, retail medicine, and health care apps are changing the way many people access health care. It remains to be seen how this will affect medical outcomes and malpractice litigation."

"As the nation's largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, we are pleased to continue our dialogue with healthcare leaders," Anderson adds. "We will make good use of these valuable insights as we fulfill our mission to advance the practice of good medicine."  

— Source: The Doctors Company