Future-proofing health care: The role of clinical informatics

Clinical informatics has emerged as a major discipline in shaping the future of care delivery with the expansion of technology across the healthcare industry. Organisations are harnessing technology more than ever to enhance clinical care, support financial resilience, streamline workflows, reduce administrative burdens and participate in quality and payment programmes; however, it is crucial that the industry does not repeat mistakes from the past with the integration of technology.1,2 This paper explores the changing healthcare landscape, and the crucial role clinical informatics plays in future proofing the system and supporting the quintuple aim with its unique training across medicine, technology and process improvement. There are several best practices and considerations for technology integration, including governance structure, problem identification, team roles and responsibilities, measuring what matters and considering the end-user experience early and often. Additionally, the amount of data being generated across health care today also requires careful handling to minimise risk and protect privacy and security. Organisations that have prioritised these concepts and led with the lens of clinical informatics have seen impact across programmes that leveraged technology for care delivery. Value has been generated through clinical outcomes, patient experiences have improved, access to care has increased and value-based care arrangements have seen success.3 Clinical informaticians are uniquely positioned to guide processes that require the right mix of understanding across people, process and technology to thrive in the ever-changing healthcare environment.4 This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.