All dots connect to lead to one goal

‘There is a time and place for everything, and everything needs to be in place’.

?It’s the kind of advice parents give their children who forget to pick up their stuff after them. It also falls into the category of advice that fits almost every context.

?More than ever, healthcare benefits from it, and I’ll tell you why. Since the pandemic gifted us with a new set of binoculars that has us seeing into the future with unblinking focus, we have awakened to a slew of new urgencies — the need for speeded-up innovations, technology adoptions and a reworked interconnectedness with patients.

?These attributes define the time and place for everything in the new normal. But there is also the issue of everything in its place. As we keep pace with the rapid changes in the healthcare sector – let’s call them shiny new spokes – we also need to return to the basics of human engagement, which is the hub of the new wheel we are inventing.

?In other words, understanding the patient and their ecosystem must remain the immovable goal amidst this flux of changes brought on by technology and science.

?We see the onward march of the consumer-centric movement across domains, and the arguments for the patient as a consumer are valid. But it is no exaggeration to say that healthcare needs a more nuanced approach.

?We know the importance of Big Data, innovation, digitalization, and improved processes. Still, these need two indispensable converters to produce results: a clinician’s understanding of a patient and a patient’s involvement in their recovery journey. Without them, the entire basket of technology’s gifts to healthcare will end up without a handle.

?So, what are the dots to connect in the patient’s care ecosystem?

?A patient’s ability to correctly interpret the communication on their health, how they would like to be provided with this communication, their ability to integrate it into their lives, the challenges faced on this path and how they feel about the treatment process. Some would argue that the last bit is the most important, but I say it’s a part of the whole; if all the other elements are on track, the last bit will not stray from the pack.

?If a physician can read this pattern, the path to positive treatment outcomes becomes smooth.

In other words, we can achieve a high conversion rate of our patient-care goals and care delivery methods only if the patient puts them into action.?

?The nitty-gritty plays a significant role in this context. After all, what is understanding a patient’s needs? It is about knowing their habits, mind blocks, cultural outlook, values, and fears. This single-unit responsibility is the source code in healthcare; it comes with the territory.

?There are no assembly-line patients, only individuals, each with a medical and emotional need as singular as their fingerprint. Reading this fingerprint is the purpose of healthcare.

?We must employ the most advanced methods to assist us in this task, but, in the end, all the dots connect to make only one outline: the human figure.