How One Company is Helping to Drive Down the Cost of U.S. Healthcare and Improve Patient Outcomes
2019 Health Statistics published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) show healthcare expenditures in the United States are significantly higher than those in other developed countries. A 2018 Harvard study of 11 developed countries showed the United States had the highest healthcare costs relative to its GDP out of all 11 countries studied. Per capita healthcare spending was found to be almost twice that of other wealthy, developed countries.
Higher costs are not necessarily bad if they translate into better patient outcomes, but the OECD figures show that is not the case. The United States performed poorly for patient outcomes, even though the costs of healthcare are so high. Reducing the cost of healthcare is a major challenge and there is no silver bullet, but there are ways for costs to be reduced and for patient outcomes to be improved.
The Trump Administration is committed to reducing the cost of healthcare through executive orders and HHS rulings. In November 2018 an executive order – Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare – was issued which is intended to improve healthcare price transparency to increase competition among hospitals and insurers and drive down healthcare spending.
Another key area where costs can be cut is by eliminating wastage in healthcare. A great deal of money being wasted due to inefficiency, such as the continued use of outdated communications technology.
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The healthcare industry is still heavily reliant on communications technology from the 1970s. Advances are being made and new communications tools are being introduced, but oftentimes when new communications technology is purchased, it tends to be introduced in silos and healthcare organizations fail to achieve the full benefits. As a result, communications problems persist.
Communication inefficiencies are costing the healthcare industry dearly and that cost is being passed onto patients. Research shows communication inefficiencies cost a single 500-bed hospital around $4 million a year. The breakdown in communication is estimated to be a major factor in 70% of medical error deaths, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.
One company helping to cut the cost of healthcare is TigerConnect. TigerConnect has developed an advanced communications and collaboration solution that allows all members of care teams to communicate and collaborate quickly, efficiently, and effectively. The platform helps accelerate productivity and eliminates wastage, which allows healthcare providers to reduce the cost of healthcare. The solution has also been shown to improve patient outcomes.
The platform has been shown to reduce wait times in emergency departments, reduce the potential for medical errors, reduce the length of hospitals stays, and the platform helps improve staff morale, especially among physicians. The platform eliminates phone tag, allows all members of the care team to access the data they need to make decisions, and ensures proper patient handoffs, which is where the majority of medical errors occur.
The TigerConnect team is committed to solving pervasive problems in healthcare communication and continues to innovate and develop its solution to meet the need of healthcare organizations of all sizes. The platform has proven popular with healthcare organizations and the company has been enjoying a period of tremendous growth, according to 2019 figures released today.
The TigerConnect solution is the most widely adopted healthcare communications and collaboration platform in the United States and 2019 has seen the company expand its industry footprint further. More than 600 new clients have been added in 2019, including 100 new enterprise clients such as Geisinger, NCH Healthcare System, Penn State Health, University of Maryland Medical System, Einstein Medical Center, Cooper University Health Care, and St. Luke’s University Health Network. More than 6,000 healthcare organizations are now using the platform.
TigerConnect has also expanded its workforce to cope with the increased demand. Over 50 new members of staff joined the company in 2019. TigerConnect also created new leadership roles, with the appointment of former Vacasa CTO, Tim Goodwin, as its first Chief Technology Officer, former McKesson consultant Sarah Shillington as the SVP of client success, and former Expedia executive, Allie Hanegan as VP of People.
TigerConnect is now looking to make greater gains in 2020 and has launched several initiatives to accelerate growth. Ahead of HIMSS20, TigerConnect will be launching several major product and partner initiatives, the company will be aggressively marketing its solution toward new clients and will also be looking to expand its footprint with its existing customer base. TigerConnect has also confirmed it will be forming a client advisory group and will be leveraging additional forums to get feedback from users to identify areas where the platform can be further improved.
“As we look ahead to the next decade, we see nothing but greenfield opportunity to redefine the way healthcare teams, payers, and patients connect and collaborate. We remain steadfast in our mission to partner with care organizations of every size and type, providing them with the world’s most advanced collaboration technology to produce a vision of the future we can all be proud of,” said Brad Brooks, co-founder, and CEO of TigerConnect.
