Henry Adams, Country Manager of InterSystems recently shared an informative opinion piece with us delving into the significant of innovation in healthcare, the obstacles faced and the importance of effective change management strategies.
We felt it necessary to get a more in-depth view of InterSystems’ data software platforms and gain more insight as to how their solutions is improving the work processes of healthcare providers.
Here is what he shared with us in a recent interview:
What are the key innovative tech solutions that InterSystems offers healthcare providers?
We offer to large healthcare enterprises and software houses the following:
InterSystems IRIS: Is an extensive software data platform that incorporates a high-performance database, an interoperability engine including healthcare standards and extensive analytics capabilities. The product’s reputation is reflected in its inclusion in the Gartner quadrants for in-house and cloud-based data platforms and in numerous other industry analyst reports. The InterSystems data platform products manage over 1 billion healthcare records worldwide.
InterSystems HealthShare: HealthShare is a healthcare data platform for exchanging data between healthcare organizations. Its Master Patient Index provides a unified view of a patient across the healthcare system. HealthShare also offers Analytics, Patient and Care Group portals, and Provider Directories while allowing existing systems to remain intact. It follows privacy and security rules for cloud or in-house-based deployments.
InterSystems TrakCare: TrakCare is a top healthcare information system used globally by major healthcare providers and governments. It offers comprehensive administrative, clinical, and revenue cycle management capabilities, managing over 400 million patient records across 28 countries. It is used by the largest of healthcare delivery enterprises such as governments and large private hospital groups.
How does InterSystems support healthcare partners in overcoming resource shortages and delivering exceptional service and solutions?
InterSystems excels in supporting healthcare partners to overcome resource shortages and deliver exceptional service and solutions through using InterSystems ARIES.
Our ARIES implementation methodology is specifically designed for healthcare environments, ensuring effective governance, clinical quality, and rapid solution deployment.
With top-ranking global support infrastructure recognised by Gartner Peer Review reports, our commitment to excellence is reinforced.
Collaborating closely with client teams, our proficient clinicians and implementation experts ensure seamless implementations across clinical and non-clinical domains.
Moreover, we provide extensive online, on-site, and classroom training resources, further enhancing the capabilities of our partners. InterSystems ARIES allows us to pave the way for successful outcomes in the healthcare industry.
What strategies would you recommend for addressing the challenges of change management in healthcare organisations?
This is a significant challenge, as many senior healthcare executives have traditionally focused on operational delivery and traditional performance metrics. To address change management challenges, an organisation needs to adopt a comprehensive approach with strong leadership and open communication.
Involve and empower frontline staff, considering cultural sensitivities. Provide ongoing training, start with small-scale changes, and celebrate successes. Anticipate resistance and use data-driven decision-making. Foster collaboration with partners, ensure sustainability and flexibility and prioritise continuous evaluation and improvement.
Our approach to change management for enterprise healthcare projects involves using InterSystems ARIES as the foundation.
The ARIES methodology has been developed by InterSystems, based on their forty years of experience working with partners and large healthcare organisations.
This methodology is specifically designed for healthcare and includes a strong emphasis on defining requirements in the initial/ pre-sale, project requirements, and post-implementation phases to support the change management processes which include doctors, nurses, and allied professionals.
This ensures that patient outcomes improve and that operational efficiencies are achieved.
These types of projects have a lasting impact on organisational culture, and they are not simply changes associated with new technically advanced equipment.
How does InterSystems best support healthcare organisations in managing the transition to new technologies without compromising professional autonomy among senior staff?
InterSystems supports healthcare organisations in managing the transition to new technologies while upholding professional autonomy among senior staff through various effective strategies.
Firstly, InterSystems places great emphasis on collaborative engagement with key stakeholders, including senior staff, throughout the technology implementation process.
This involves actively seeking their input, addressing concerns, and incorporating their expertise into decision-making.
Secondly, InterSystems offers comprehensive training and educational resources to ensure that senior staff are well-equipped to adapt to the new technologies.
By providing tailored training that respects their experience and knowledge, InterSystems helps senior staff embrace the changes with confidence. Additionally, InterSystems’ user-friendly interfaces and intuitive systems are designed to minimise disruptions to existing workflows, empowering senior staff to retain control over patient care while leveraging the benefits of new technologies.
Overall, InterSystems’ approach fosters a supportive environment that respects professional autonomy and enables a smooth transition to innovative healthcare technologies.
Could you provide an example or two of successful healthcare change programs that were supported by InterSystems’ solutions?
We have recently achieved success with Care Connect’s adoption of InterSystems’ HealthShare Unified Care Record and HealthShare Patient Index. This has transformed healthcare in the region by providing professionals with seamless access to crucial patient information.
The exchange went live in early 2020 and provided a range of services with the necessary consent, privacy and security considerations, such as POPIA compliance. This also means that the HIE could facilitate co-operation with the public and private sectors, especially with the advent of NHI.
CareConnect SA uses HealthShare and Health Information Exchange to improve private sector health outcomes through collaboration with Netcare, MediClinic, Life Hospital Groups, Discovery, Medscheme, and Momentum Fund Administrators.
Trifour Health utilises the InterSystems IRIS for Health data platform. Their Trimed EMR product is built on IRIS and has been implemented in over 120 hospitals across SA, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Ghana.