Balancing Technology and Human Touch: Rethinking Productivity in Healthcare

Healthcare needs to embrace new technology to drive productivity and deliver, especially given the global labour shortage and growing demand. The promise and potential of technology is huge. However, we need an honest conversation to acknowledge the importance of the ‘human touch’ and the fact that technology, without the right dedicated focus and investment on employee experience, can be perceived to make things worse before they get better.

The UK Government has announced a game-changing ￡3.5 billion capital investment in the NHS to boost productivity through technology, AI and digital innovation. As Dr. Tim Ferris states: “If put to use, AI is a core tool […] and has arrived just in time: while the components of better, more efficient care have been known for decades, AI enables practical solutions that will lower unit cost and support the patient and provider decisions, leaving more time for the human aspects of caring.”

There is huge potential to harness technology investments to create a lasting step change in productivity.? When deciding where and how to invest in technology solutions, there must be a clear focus on creating supportive environments for healthcare teams. Technology should enhance and simplify patient care.

Productivity in healthcare needs to be rethought but not necessarily redefined. Healthcare providers are often overloaded with productivity measures and our thinking shows a dedicated focus on employee experience and solving short term workforce solutions, could be the key to unlocking productivity improvements. The focus should be on creating value, improving patient outcomes and balancing technology investments with the ‘human touch.’

?

Technology can sometimes be perceived to make things worse before it gets better

For all the promise that technology brings, it also brings challenges. It takes humans time to adopt change and adapt habits. Healthcare is no different. Let’s be honest about that, and invest not just in the technology, but in the employee experience too. Despite intentions of technology freeing up time for patient-facing work, technology investments to date can feel like they are adding to workload and complexity, especially in the short term. For example, electronic patient records (EPRs) have undoubtedly improved the sharing of information to drive productivity and quality of patient care, especially in comparison to paper-based systems. But to be most effective, clinical teams need to be involved in co-creation and training, ensuring workflows and business processes are considered as part of design and people are given the time to go through the ‘change curve’ of adoption to see the benefits.

Healthcare organisations must reassess how they invest in AI, digital and innovation to ensure that technology supports people’s efforts. By focusing on implementation, education, training and clinical engagement, we can ensure people and technology are working together to get to ?enhance patient care and ultimately increase productivity.

?

People and technology need to work together

When deciding where and how to invest in technology solutions, there must be a clear focus on ensuring that it enhances work. To solve this paradox, healthcare organisations need to “reorganise and reconnect the people and technology together to actually do the job”, Kaveh Safavi , Global Health Lead, Accenture. The The Health Foundation report concluded that staff feedback is asking for three simple things to help them be more productive and deliver safer, better outcomes for patients: effective use of EPRs, better staff communication and ambient voice technology to reduce administrative burden.

The harmonisation of the human and machine is key if organisations are to free up time for their people, which in turn can improve access to care and drive productivity. How this freed-up time is invested needs to be a conscious choice.

Staff need supporting now more than ever

The healthcare system is under more pressure than ever before (see Figure 1), and the reality is that staff do not always feel like they are succeeding in meeting the needs of patients. This relentless pressure is leading many to feel that their efforts are futile – causing too many to take burnout leave or leave the healthcare system altogether. In a drive for technology adoption and productivity we can’t ignore the human factor. What we all value most when vulnerable and in need of healthcare is someone to hold our hand and technology alone won’t do that. We need to free up our frontline teams to have the time to do the things that matter most to them and to their patients.

UK Healthcare Statistics, Monthly operation statistics – Jan24, 2023 national results

In 2023 the largest reason for taking sick days amongst NHS staff was stress, anxiety and depression (24%). Female staff make up the backbone of the NHS and they’re more likely to take sickness absence due to mental health issues than men

In 2023, more nurses left the NHS because of work-life balance rather than retirement, with work-life balance tripling as a reason for exiting the profession in the last decade

There is sustained demand for mental health services, with five million patients accessing care in 2022/23, an increase of more than one million in five years

Only 32% of staff said there were enough staff at their organisation for them to do their job properly

?

How can healthcare organisations invest in technology and drive productivity?

1.?????? Optimise existing technologies

Productivity gains will come from maximising the benefits of technologies already in widespread use. To achieve this, organisations must first establish a strong digital core by integrating data, increasing interoperability and integrating clinical workflows, before further investments in new technologies are made. Put simply, we must invest in NHS systems that talk to each other and support the safe sharing of patient data across primary and secondary care settings.

Interoperability remains a challenge, with 61% of clinicians seeing it as a key barrier to digital tool adoption. These frustrations have been brought to life in the Health Foundation’s Report, where UK healthcare staff have been unable to access notes and test results from other providers when using EPRs, leading to time-consuming efforts to track down patient information and even clinical safety risks.

With optimised EPRs, clinicians will be able to universally access patient records. Patients will have access to their own personal records, enabling them to self-serve for various needs, such as managing appointments and obtaining prescriptions; driving the ever-needed push to preventative medicine and self-care.

Although EPRs have become increasingly complex, emergent technologies offer solutions to alleviate some of these burdens. For example, Ambient Voice technology is proven to generate clinic letters, discharge summaries, and care notes to similar if not better standards than human intervention. This innovation will free up significant time for healthcare staff to spend time on things that matter most and only a human can do.

2.???? Partner with staff from ward to board to drive adoption

Clinicians are embracing technology as part of their practice, however 39% believe that technology is not effectively integrated into their workflows. We must ensure that in driving productivity, the full breadth of the healthcare workforce is engaged throughout the service design process and workflow implications of any new technology-led initiative.

To sustain the success of any new technology-led initiative, leaders must put mechanisms in place to put people at the heart of improvement and change. Whether that is assigning a ‘champion’ to gather insights from stakeholders across the organisation or creating user panels to collect feedback. Healthcare leaders and boards should ensure clarity on technology priorities to focus on the pieces that help fix the biggest problems. This will ensure technology supports staff from board to ward to do their job better, and build buy-in, commitment and adoption.

Balancing national consistency with local innovation is tricky. We need to recognise that frontline clinicians understand their patients and specific social and community contexts. We should empower local innovation while ensuring adherence to national guidelines and best practices. This approach should be embedded through fostering a culture of sharing and collaboration across the healthcare system, from board to ward.

3.???? Engaged workforces are more productive and deliver better outcomes for our people

At the heart of healthcare systems lie people who are exceptionally skilled, but can feel underpaid, overstretched and stressed.? As we look to equip them with the tools and technology to do the best job possible, leaders need to put people at the centre of the transformation and even challenge the concept of transformation itself. Maybe a better way to look at this is, in fact, reinvention; more engaged workforces are more productive, they deliver better outcomes for patients resulting in increased access to healthcare and better overall safety measures.

Healthcare leaders should lean in to identifying the drivers of engagement. By developing a data and insight-led view, they can equip the workforce with targeted new skills and the right tools. Research has demonstrated a significant relationship between engagement and both safety culture scores and errors/adverse events. By investing in people and amplifying their voices and purpose, technology can be placed in the hands of employees best positioned and inspired to make meaningful changes. The NHS mission statement emphasises ensuring compassion in care, responding with humanity and kindness to a person’s pain, distress, anxiety or need, improving lives and enhancing people’s experiences with the NHS. Applying a similar approach to the employee experience in healthcare will foster goodwill, and whilst challenging to quantify, is critical to a more productive healthcare system. Repurpose freed-up time to the benefit of your people and patients

While we know that effective use of technology will free up time, what is important to consider, is how this time is repurposed on activities we all value as patients. Frontline leaders must work with staff to ensure time is used effectively: from higher quality patient consultations through to having more time for themselves to think, develop skills or look after their wellbeing. If we focus on the technology to make our workers’ lives easier and allow them the freedom and support to invest their time in the activities they know will drive better outcomes for patients – we all win.

Creating space for continuous learning and supporting career progression is key, particularly when 28% of clinicians see a lack of time to train as major barrier to using technologies effectively. Staff, no matter their role, will need to build a new set of skills to develop digital literacy and learn how to interact with technology to get their work done, and in turn innovate from within. Health systems must define these skills and establish development programmes to support staff on this journey.

Moving forwards

Regardless of the election outcome we are likely to see investments in technology to drive productivity. That is good news. Technology does drive opportunities to free up staff time to reinvest, when implemented well with a ‘human touch’.

Healthcare organisations are facing a pivotal but exciting moment. In the face of huge pressure comes an opportunity to rethink what ‘driving productivity’ means for staff and the healthcare they provide for patients centrally and locally.

Repeating the same methods will not be effective; healthcare organisations must, and generally want to, continue to embrace technology and innovation but be mindful in what to prioritise to meet the needs of their people and patients. Leaders must work to reconnect people and technology to get the most out of what has already been invested in, amplify the voices of their people, and invest in future progression from innovation to adoption.

The promised ￡3.5bn investment in technology, if delivered with a ‘human touch’, has the potential to pave the way for a more sustainable, effective, healthcare system. Technology can free up time for staff, create capacity, reduce pressure, and ultimately enhance the quantity and quality of patient care. We need to temper this with recognising the size and scale of demand in an often already fatigued workforce. The solution must go beyond merely equating technological advancements with increased productivity; it must place employee experience at the heart.

Accenture collaborates with leaders across healthcare globally to address productivity and workforce challenges which are facing their people.

Let us know what resonates with you and reach out if you would like to discuss further what next steps your organisation can take to support your people on the journey to reinventing healthcare.

?

Sam Knollys, Health Strategy and Consulting Lead UK, Global Health Team, Accenture

With special credits to: Amy Haskins Eleanor Sutton Alexander L. Ellen Kapochkin