The Opportunities Offered by Digitizing Clinical Pathways

Abstract

Across numerous industries and sectors, digitization is a fundamental change process. In the healthcare sector it is already affecting how hospitals operate, and will continue to do so in the future. It can add value by facilitating communication and documentation, supporting the automation of processes and providing new opportunities—for example in regard to better patient aftercare. Numerous digital solutions are already available—however, not many of these are actually established in daily clinical practice, mainly as a result of certain key challenges, like the complexity of medical and technical processes, limited funding and the fact that digitization requires change within the entire organization. Nevertheless, experience from extensive work with clinical practitioners shows that these challenges can be overcome and that digitization can improve both the quality and efficiency of care—ultimately resulting in a positive impact on hospitals’ financial performance.