Karen Hay, digital transformation leader of global public health at Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), said government agencies looking to expand access to health care services and mitigate public health challenges should advance digitization.
“Digitization helps health workforce challenges as well as addressing the service backlog and supporting expanded access,” Hay wrote in an article published on Carahsoft’s website.
“Digital service delivery is far more efficient, freeing up clinician time to deliver health care in-person for patients who are unable or unwilling to access services digitally or when virtual encounters are not the most appropriate channel,” she added.
Hay noted that digitization could provide agencies with real-time data to better identify gaps, enhance digital services and inform the development of new policies and programs.
Public health agencies should maintain patient privacy and security and adopt a human-centered design approach by conducting focus groups as they pursue digitization.
Hay discussed how New Zealand’s health ministry transformed a cloud-based platform originally meant for the country’s bowel screening program into a contact-tracing system during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
