Using CHIME’s Most Wired report to market HIT solutions

It’s April. You know what that means.

Along with melting snow, blossoming trees and taxes, it’s that time of year when healthcare provider organizations across the United States participate in an annual review of their digital health capabilities and usage in preparation for the CHIME Digital Health Most Wired (DHMW) survey. With more than 40,000 healthcare entities profiled in last year’s survey (to include approximately 40% of US hospitals), the DHMW survey is a “big deal” for hospital/health systems CIOs.

It should also be a “big deal” for health information technology (HIT) marketers too.

For HIT marketers, understanding the latest research findings detailing the adoption and utilization of digital health technology within US healthcare organizations (HCOs) is not merely advantageous — it’s imperative. From shaping product development to refining marketing messages, comprehending the nuances of digital health technology adoption in provider settings is key to staying ahead in a dynamic and competitive marketplace. And that is exactly what the annual DHMW benchmarking report offers HIT marketers, insights that can be used in positioning products and solutions to resonate in a complex healthcare delivery ecosystem.

As we head into the 2024 DHMW survey season, here are just three simple observations from the 2023 survey that are relevant to HIT marketers and that the DHMW team will be following in this year’s survey:

1. The market’s use and demand for digital health continues to be strong.

As HIT benchmarking surveys go, the DHMW survey is unique. The DHMW survey is a dynamic instrument survey with items used to assess a provider’s digital health performance changing somewhat from year to year. As a result, the digital health criteria used to recognize high performing organizations becomes more demanding each year as the market itself changes.

Despite raising the digital health performance “bar” year over year, the average DHMW score (a reflection of digital health performance) not only continued its upward trajectory over the past five years but jumped up rather remarkably in 2023. This accelerated increase in the market’s digital health performance suggests providers widely recognize the need to advance their digital health capabilities and usage to remain relevant. As such, the “fear of missing out” (FOMO) presents as a very real driver for providers and is something HIT marketers could/should tackle in their messaging efforts.

2. Digital health solutions used in the care of patients are increasingly intersecting with consumer technology.

To ensure market adoption and satisfaction of their devices, the consumer tech industry has done a fantastic job in prioritizing user experience. Albeit restricting the number of clicks required to activate a task or simplifying interfaces, the frictionless processes of these technologies have set a standard by which other technologies, including healthcare technologies, are judged.

Indeed, consumer technologies are making their way into healthcare settings. From 95% of HCOs allowing employees to use their own personal smartphones/smartwatches in the care of patients to 31% of HCOs supporting the use of employee-owned voice activated devices (e.g., Echo Dot; etc.), the prevalence of these devices in the care of patients is expected to increase as these devices gain market share. Given the intersection of consumer and health technologies, HIT marketers should ensure their technologies support and are positioned to deliver care in ways that delight users.

3. HCOs are receptive to the promise of advanced analytics and AI.

Workforce shortages and burnout are clear and present dangers for HCOs. Fortunately, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced analytical interventions promises to ease these challenges by gaining operational efficiencies. While many HCO leaders have adopted a limited/cautious posture to AI’s use at this point in time, the simple fact is that over 70% of HCOs use AI to some degree (most commonly for clinical workflow purposes). These numbers are expected to skyrocket as costs, use cases, and other concerns are addressed. Accordingly, HIT marketers should monitor the market’s adoption and use of AI in the DHMW survey, and apply these learnings to their product and solution positioning efforts.

HIT marketers and the 2024 survey

The three observations listed here are just a sampling of the vast array of information gleamed from the annual CHIME DHMW survey relevant to HIT marketers. As we head into the 2024 survey many questions persist: Will the use and demand for digital health technologies and solutions continue? How will the influence of consumer technologies manifest themselves in care settings? Will HCOs leaders lean in/pull back on the use of AI solutions in clinical care? The best that can be said at this time is, “Stay tuned.”