The health care industry has lagged rather than led when it comes to adopting innovative tech solutions, said Amir Farhi, chief business development officer of WalkMe, a San Francisco-based digital solutions provider across multiple industries.
"Its approach to novel technology has been cautionary rather than jumping all in," Farhi said. "That has been the situation for the past decade or so."
In interacting with health systems, solution providers must consider the humans who use them because it's not just about the science, said Dr. Eric Dusseux, CEO of Bionik, a robotics and analytics solution provider for neurological conditions, based in Toronto. The solution has to address questions at the C-suite level as well as at the physician level, he noted.
Such questions could include: "Is this technology going to fill a capability gap that we have?" "How can we integrate this into our technology environment?" And "Is this company one we see as a long-term partner?" said Kristin Myers, chief information officer at Mount Sinai Health System.
There are so many new products on the market that it is difficult to advance even a few for feasibility studies and pilots, Myers said. With health systems already having so many in-house tech solutions, any new entrant must demonstrate it integrates well into the existing workflow, she added.
Return on investment considerations include not just financial ones, but also that of patient and provider experience, Myers said.
What about cutting-edge technologies that have yet to prove their worth, as might have been the case with Watson Health? For products that do not have a proven track record, a health system's ability to try them out depends on its willingness to take a risk with its financial resources, Myers said.
Bosco agreed, saying that even though Watson Health was IBM-backed, without its value clearly spelled out, the risk for adopting it was unpalatable for many.
IBM did not respond to a request for comment.
Bosco recalled examples of peers at smaller health systems or physician networks that would decline to undertake any new technological innovation unless there were a demonstrated positive financial return.
However, the health care industry cannot drag its feet when it comes to technological innovation, Farhi said.
"In five to 10 years, there will be a tipping point where it becomes risky for C-suite executives not to adopt cutting-edge technology in their workflow," he said.
Bosco anticipates a similar future. "At Northwell, there are certainly aspects of being an early adopter that are driven by strategic competitive reasons," he said. "We don't want to lose out to our competitors because they're innovating too."
Until then, health-tech solution providers need to hold on and take their small wins where they can, Farhi said.
"It will be about building relationships with one health provider at a time until the critical mass takes over," he said. "One day the industry will look back and wonder how it ever survived without these innovations in the first place."
