Innovation in the Crucible of Crisis

It is simply not possible in today’s world to talk about technology and healthcare without playing the acronym Scrabble or buzzword Bingo – AI, ML, RPA, NLP, Digital Transformation, Cyber Security, Blockchain, Interoperability, Chat Bots, Predictive Models, and the list goes on. Since the rules that govern these games change daily, there is no clear winner. It can be overwhelming to think about these emerging technologies when deciding what to spend time and money to implement. Back when things were ‘normal’, analytics and IT executives had the luxury of mapping out a long-term strategy, planning for capital, and building a technology and talent portfolio to support that strategy. 

While a high-stakes endeavor to be sure, there was not an innovation imperative that required lightning-quick decisions and implementations. We are now entering a new normal where this paradigm has shifted. The pressures of a global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, staffing shortages and capacity constraints have provided a sense of urgency to innovate. Now more than ever, we need to leverage emerging technologies to augment human decision-making, automate manual tasks and connect data sources. Traditionally behind the innovation curve, healthcare is playing catch-up.