Health organizations are embracing emerging technologies, but most consumers want more

Accenture has announced results of a new report that found as digital becomes increasingly more critical in all aspects of healthcare, organizations must master a new set of emerging digital technologies to deliver convenient and effective care. According to the report, Accenture Digital Health Technology Vision, nearly all (94 percent) of the 221 health executives surveyed said they believe emerging technologies have accelerated the pace of innovation over the past three years.

However, while technology investments have progressed, healthcare organizations must do more to meet rising consumer and employee expectations for when, where and how they experience care. For example, three-fourths (77 percent) of health executives believe their employees are currently more digitally mature than their organization, resulting in a workforce “waiting” for the organization to catch up.

The report argues that a combination of emerging technologies known as “DARQ” - distributed ledger, artificial intelligence (AI), extended reality (XR) and quantum computing - will spark a step change in becoming healthcare’s future digital foundation. More than two-thirds (68 percent) of executives believe DARQ will have a transformational or extensive impact on their organizations over the next three years, and most (89 percent) are currently experimenting with at least one DARQ technology.

The Accenture Digital Health Technology Vision report is derived from Accenture’s most-recent annual technology report which predicts key trends likely to disrupt business over the next three years. Among the findings from healthcare executives:

·   Of the four DARQ technologies, 41 percent believe AI will have the greatest impact on their organization over the short-term.

·   38 percent of health organizations have already adopted XR across one or more business units, the most of any DARQ technology, creating new, immersive ways for clinicians and consumers to experience and engage with the world around them.

·   87 percent of healthcare executives agree that the integration of customization and real-time delivery is the next big wave of competitive advantage.

·   82 percent agree 5G will revolutionize healthcare by offering new ways to provide products and services.

·   86 percent believe that consumers’ digital demographics are increasingly becoming a more powerful way to understand their customers.

·   68 percent agree that within the next three years, every employee in their organizations will be empowered with access to a team of bots to accomplish their work.