The patient experience post COVID-19 – A Cognitant Whitepaper
Our friends at Cognitant have put together the following Whitepaper on the patient experience in the NHS post COVID-19 (coronavirus). Download the full whitepaper using the link below.
Executive Summary:
Healthcare services have been on a slow but steady course of transformation until now. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of our services and has accelerated radical change.
As we emerge from this global emergency, what will the next version of healthcare look like? Will we slide back to the “old normal” or will we find a “new normal” with innovative ways of managing health and illness?
Our overarching learning is that we need to continue down the path of introducing technology-enhanced health services which can help front line clinicians react quickly, adapt to future challenges and deliver care in better ways to revolutionise experiences for patients and the public. In this paper, we benchmark the current patient experience and consider the prospects for change emerging from our learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic. We have also studied innovation and developments from across the world, with the notable shifts coming from the USA and China.
Clinicians, patients and industry leaders have provided insights from their experience of healthcare and their predictions for the short and long term. In exploring what the future may hold for the patient experience, is it important to look at what actions are both feasible and realistic with the resources and technology we have today.
With steady change and progression during the past 20 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has showed that we need more than evolution, we need radical transformation. With the help of industry leaders and patients, we have explored how healthcare might look in the future. We identify three vital areas of change, each of which will revolutionise the way that citizens manage their health and engage with healthcare services. Interestingly, although artificial intelligence will be a part of all of these areas, it’s not necessarily the most important technological development.
While COVID-19 is disastrous on numerous levels, we have also learned very quickly how to deal with a sudden pressure on the system, and we cannot revert to the old ways. We need a mindset where we go with change, adapt accordingly, evolve and never go back.
Dr Murray Ellender, GP and CEO of eConsult
Dr Ellender believes that face-to-face consultations are not always needed or the best solution, and we have seen that other options, such as asynchronous, phone and video consultations as strong alternatives.
These can also get the job done, while saving face-to-face clinician time for when it is most needed.