Roadmap to benchmarked transformation: Digital maturity models
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ccording to the Internet and Mobile Association of India-Praxis Global Alliance in 2020, India’s health-tech sector was valued at $1.9 billion—under 1 per cent of the healthcare industry. The health tech market is still nascent but set to grow at a CAGR of 39 per cent to reach USD 5 billion by 2023. As the sector matures it also has the potential to tremendously impact the health and well-being of the population at large. Increasingly, providers like hospitals and clinics are driven to leverage the power of information, technology and data analytics to better serve their patient populations. At the core of transformation, and a key factor for sustainability is the convergence of healthcare and technology which has the potential to create patient-centric models of care focusing more on well-being than care during illness.
The Indian Government’s renewed focus to achieve universal healthcare through the digitisation of health records and technological advancements to enable digital care will provide an impetus for healthcare providers to digitalise their services.
The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) has initiated the work on standards for digital health by setting a committee on digital health standards. The NABH Digital Health Standards aim to consider all relevant aspects of the application of patient interfacing technologies across the continuum of care (for Health & Wellness) applicable for outpatient, inpatient, and remote patient monitoring and will also consider standards with regard to legal obligations, interoperability and communication standards, privacy, and data security, remote monitoring, mobile apps, and other associated activities and fields.
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Digital Maturity Models are closely aligned with these domains and will serve as a useful tool for healthcare providers to assess the state of their systems and provide a roadmap for investment in strategic priorities. These models are the most widely used global framework- impacting over 830 million patients- and they provide prescriptive frameworks to healthcare organizations allowing for global comparability, benchmarking, and strategic clinical and financial improvement. The models provide the standards that assist regulatory bodies and healthcare providers in making lasting and sustainable improvements in efficiency, performance and care outcomes.
Digital Maturity Models were designed and developed- and are regularly updated- by HIMSS to measure the IT adoption maturity of healthcare providers as they advance their use of information and technology to deliver best-practice care outcomes. Each model represents eight distinct stages (Stages 0-7) measuring an organisation’s adoption and utilization of information and technology functions required to achieve a near-paperless environment that harnesses technology to optimize patient care. (see Inset 1).
Additionally, the HIMSS’ new Digital Health Indicator (DHI) measures progress toward a digital health ecosystem. An ecosystem that connects clinicians and provider teams with people, enabling them to manage their health and wellness using digital tools in a secure and private environment whenever and wherever care is needed. Operational and care delivery processes are outcomes-driven, informed by data and real-world evidence to achieve exceptional quality, safety and performance that is sustainable. With a focus on four key dimensions of digital health (see inset 2)transformation, the DHI offers health systems globally a roadmap toward engaging individuals in their care to improve outcomes and health system sustainability.
From an outcomes perspective, HIMSS Stage 6 and 7 organisations report reductions in medical errors, reductions in duplicate orders, improved readmission rates, higher operating margins, lower staffing costs, and higher bond ratings. To progress to Stages 6 and 7 with HIMSS Maturity Models, healthcare providers undertake measurement using the model. A Gap Assessment report is subsequently provided after a formal assessment that gives a baseline score and highlights gaps in the organization’s digital maturity. Strategic advice is provided by HIMSS Advisors and Strategists to help the organisation advance towards validation.
A baseline score of Stage 6 or Stage 7 has to be confirmed by Validation. Validation reviews and confirms the organisation’s progress and recognizes its achievements as a digitally advanced health system.
Over 7,000 institutions in 19 countries, 8 in the APAC region, have achieved the highest level of digital maturity validation- EMRAM or OEM RAM Stage 7. Furthermore, over 14,000 institutions in 53 countries, including 40 in the APAC region, have earned recognition as EMRAM or O-EMRAM Stage 6.
Amongst Indian health systems, Apollo Hospitals, Aster DM Healthcare and the Karuna Trust in Karnataka have all embarked on a journey towards advancing digital capabilities and benchmarking them globally using the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) adoption maturity levels of their facilities. All three organizations were recognized for their strong performance using various maturity models for their respective facility (ies). Aster DM received Stage 6 recognition for its inpatient EMRAM assessment in the UAE, Karuna Trust become the first healthcare provider in India to achieve Stage 6 of the Outpatient EMR adoption model at the Taverekere Urban Primary Health Center in Bengaluru and Apollo Hospitals Group became the first Indian organization to achieve Stage 6 validation in three maturity models namely, Infrastructure (INFRAM), Digital Imaging (DIAM) and Out-Patient EMR Adoption (O-EMRAM).
The journey towards digital healthcare transformation in India has just begun and with the right drivers of change that are emerging, the Indian ecosystem represents a leapfrogging opportunity for innovations in digital health and driving sustainable adoption at scale. HIMSS’s maturity models provide the strategic roadmap and global benchmarks toward transformation that is predicated on aligning people, processes, technology and analytics to achieve better outcomes.
About HIMSS
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is a non-profit, member organization committed to transforming the health eco-system through its expertise in research and analytics, global advisory services and thought leadership. HIMSS has served the global health community for more than 60 years, with focused operations across North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
Our members include more than 110,000 individuals, 480 provider organizations, 470 non-profit partners and 650 health services organizations.
HIMSS works with several governments on digital transformation initiatives at a national and jurisdiction level. These include Germany, France, Indonesia, Australia, Hong Kong, Turkey, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
