Crossing the Chasm: Moving from Health 3.0 to Health 4.0
By Lauren Holloway, Director of Brand Advocacy
Since our inception on April 1st, 2012, we have witnessed firsthand healthcare's evolution. Over the years, we have positioned ourselves as one of the industry's leading population health management platforms and are uniquely positioned to help organizations make the leap from Health 3.0 to Health 4.0. As the industry faces new challenges, this shift represents a fundamental change in how care is delivered, managed, and experienced.
The Evolution from Health 1.0 to 3.0
To understand the transition to Health 4.0, we must reflect on how healthcare has evolved over time:
Health 1.0: This physician-centric model dating back to the 18th century and continuing into the 1920s, focused on the basic encounter between the doctor and patient. This model featured limited medical information, manual processes, and lack of preventative care which often led to late-stage diagnoses and costly care.
Health 2.0: Introduced in the mid-2000s, this model improved patient experience by utilizing technology to improve patient experience and collaboration between patients and healthcare professionals to provide a more comprehensive level of care. Technologies utilized include electronic medical records (EMRs), telemedicine, and mobile technologies. Patients were given more control over their medical information and were given online access.
Health 3.0: Post-pandemic, this model is characterized by digital solutions, personalized patient-centric care approaches, and the shift to value-based care. Using data to tailor the patient healthcare experience, it has introduced AI and machine learning to analyze health data and provide predictive analytics, improves communication processes between care teams and patients, and preventative care.
Key Tenets of Health 3.0: Challenges and Opportunities
While Health 3.0 has brought transformative change, several key challenges remain:
Data Fragmentation: Healthcare data is often siloed across systems, making care coordination difficult and time-consuming. Bridge solves this issue with its ability to seamlessly integrate with over 127 EHRs, 14 HIEs, and 80% of payers, creating a unified view of disparate patient information. Choosing companies like The Garage that empower healthcare organizations to break down silos and create a holistic approach to care, transforming each touchpoint into actionable patient care is imperative.
Interoperability: Many systems struggle to communicate effectively, resulting in duplicated or incorrect patient data. An average clinic holds up to 12% of duplicated medical records, and 14% of records consist of incorrect patient data. Other challenges include lack of knowledge, data inconsistency, compatibility issues, information privacy, vast amounts of data, human errors, and the need for systems maintenance. Having platforms like Bridge is necessary for seamless data exchange in a connected ecosystem, empowering coordinated, high-quality care.
Patient Engagement: While patient-centric models have gained traction, engaging patients has remained a challenge. With new technologies, providers can now easily contact patients with visit information, reminders, check-ins and gather health updates via RPM devices, and more.
What is Health 4.0?
Health 4.0 represents the future of healthcare - a fully integrated, AI-driven ecosystem where care is predictive, personalized, and automated. Patients become active participants in their care, guided by personalized data. Care delivery is tailored at patient-level, with precision medicine becoming mainstream. Precision medicine and smart technologies and platforms like Bridge are central to this shift, improving population health outcomes and reducing costs.
System Architecture Needed for Health 4.0
The transition to Health 4.0 requires a robust system architecture that includes:
Interoperability: Seamless data integration, using open APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), that allow open communication and data-sharing. Platforms that break down data silos and ensure all stakeholders have access to comprehensive, up-to-date information, enable a picture of patient health in real-time, critical for predictive care and personalized interventions.
AI-Driven Analytics: Managing large volumes of patient data is necessary to provide better patient care. Embedding applied intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing (NLP) that is capable of processing vast amounts of structured and unstructured data from various sources is necessary to generate insights that can be used to help prevent health occurrences. Choosing a partner like The Garage that utilizes these technologies equips care managers with the tools needed for proactive care interventions. In Health 4.0, predictive analytics will become standard, enabling providers to anticipate health problems so care teams can prevent unnecessary visits and lower healthcare costs.
Scalability and Real-Time Data Processing: A cloud-based infrastructure is necessary to handle the massive influx of data and offers more flexibility when it comes to scaling as more data sources are integrated. Moreover, these cloud-based systems give healthcare organizations the ability to access this health information anytime, anywhere which is imperative to the future of care delivery.
Patient-Centered Design: With its patient-centered design and user-friendly interfaces that enable real-time data access in addition to digital health solutions, patients are empowered to take an active role in managing their health. To achieve this, patient engagement tools like mobile apps, telehealth technology, and RPM devices must be integrated.
Cybersecurity and Data Privacy for Trust and Compliance: As the healthcare system becomes more connected, it is imperative to have strong cybersecurity and data privacy to protect sensitive patient information. Key components of cybersecurity and data privacy in Health 4.0 include data encryption, implementing strict access controls, regular audits, and the incorporation of blockchain technology.
The Future of Healthcare is Digital and Data-Driven
Health 4.0 represents a future of healthcare that is fully connected, predictive, and patient-centered. By partnering with companies whose platforms offer a digital-first, data-first approach, healthcare organizations can leverage the power of interoperability, AI-driven analytics, real-time data processing that empowers organizational scaling, and ensures safety and security of patient information. Leveraging this approach results in a positive transformation of healthcare delivery that empowers the Quintuple Aim – lower costs of care, better care for the patient, improved health of communities, sustainable service models for care teams, and equitable access for all.
