Next-generation cloud solutions provide a connected, digital health system that allows hospitals to deliver efficient, value-based care.
Healthcare providers all over the world are faced with multiple challenges, including escalating costs and an increasing demand for chronic disease management for an aging population. Global health spending is projected by Deloitte to reach a record high of $10 trillion by 2022.* In today’s experience economy, empowered patients are also putting pressure on healthcare organizations, with a desire for convenient point-of-care options and value-added services, including home diagnostics and health information sharing.
At the same time, the healthcare industry is dealing with a Big Data explosion: Electronic health records (EHR) contain an unprecedented amount of structured and unstructured information, and patient data is coming from thousands of different mobile health (mHealth) apps and medical devices. Legacy systems with no path to interoperability are forcing healthcare providers to use multiple disparate systems to see the full picture of a patient’s health, while data breaches and a risk-averse mindset prevalent in the healthcare industry are slowing the adoption of new digital tools.
According to Cerner, “Healthcare is too important to stay the same.” For a hospital to ensure financial viability and address evolving patient needs, it must reimagine processes and adopt innovative business models that promote connected health and patient empowerment. Hospitals are looking for digital transformation strategies and solutions that can enhance the value delivered to patients through personalized care, an improved patient experience, and, most importantly, better patient outcomes.
Joining Forces to Help Shape the Future of Healthcare
SAP and Cerner are two companies on the forefront of digital innovation and are co-developing a next-generation cloud-based EHR and patient management solution. The joint solution aims to address key healthcare provider pain points by applying innovative technology to support and deliver first-class medical care and help ensure better patient outcomes. The vision is to enable the Intelligent Enterprise for healthcare globally and to seamlessly deliver value-based care.
Cerner and SAP have been partners since the 1990s. The Cerner i.s.h.med solution, which is the only hospital information system fully integrated with SAP solutions for healthcare, is celebrating its 25-year anniversary this year, already delivering significant value to around 700 hospitals in more than 35 countries as of today. Recently, a number of healthcare organizations in Latin America, South East Asia, and the Middle East went live with the solution, with expectations to improve the quality, safety, and operational effectiveness of their healthcare services. Based on SAP technology, the next-generation cloud-based EHR and patient management system is the expansion of this successful partnership.
Cerner was the ideal co-development partner for SAP. “At Cerner, we’re continuously building on our foundation of intelligent solutions for the healthcare industry,” says Pascal Gilbert-Jeantet, vice president of Business Development and Strategic Global Alliances at Cerner. “From the beginning, we have innovated at the intersection of healthcare and information technology. We are creating a future where the healthcare system works to improve the well-being of individuals and communities.”
Next-Generation EHR and Patient Management Solution
The new solution is designed to digitally transform core hospital processes, improve care collaboration, facilitate smart medicine, and personalize care. Patients will become more central to the process in order to enhance their overall experience. The hospital will be able to extend the patient journey from before the patient is admitted to after discharge.
For example, as part of the pre-admission process, an online pre-registration and patient self-check-in component will digitize the capture of health information, helping to reduce administrative burden and shorten patient waiting times. Accurate and updated information coming from the patient will also support expediting claims processing, adjudication, and reimbursement.
In accounting, the new solution will provide intelligent and automated capabilities that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to simplify and streamline patient billing, automating as much as 80 percent of billing, payment handling, and case-cost analytics.
As you would expect from a modern cloud-based solution, the value can be realized step by step, following the completion of single modules. Cerner and SAP will provide new functionality along care venues, allowing customers to start into the “new world” by enhancing their current solution.
Both companies believe in the innovation power of open ecosystems and industry standards because the seamless sharing of health information is critical to assisting professionals provide first-class medicine and care. Therefore, the next-generation solutions incorporate HL7 FHIR, and both Cerner and SAP are committed to accelerating healthcare interoperability by promoting and contributing to healthcare industry standards.
Improving Lives with Intelligent Solutions
This new solution set supports SAP’s larger mission to help the world run better and improve people’s lives. SAP is uniquely positioned to address fundamental challenges that healthcare enterprise customers face — from operational efficiency to an improved patient experience.
With a comprehensive set of leading and integrated technologies, SAP remains committed to not only hyper-automating business processes, but also to helping differentiate organizations with innovative systems that intelligently connect people, things, and businesses.
Martin Kopp is global general manager of Healthcare Providers at SAP SE.
*Deloitte 2019 Global Health Care Outlook
