Why health care innovation can’t happen without doctors’ insights – American Medical Association

Whats in the news:Recent reportsindicate that digital health companies struggleto findsuccess because, too often,their medical experts and technologists inhabit different worlds, fail to communicate effectively and end up making decisions that are at odds with each other.

Now the AMAs top digital health experts are advising health technologists to help them avoid these mistakes. In an article, How to Engage Physicians in Innovative Health Care Efforts,that waspublished inHarvard Business Review, these experts outlined the keys to digital health success and highlighted theAMA Physician Innovation Networkand the 900-plus companies and more than 11,000 users participating on the platform.

Why it matters to patients and physicians:There is no shortage of digital health offerings that promise to improve the patient experience, population health and health professionals work lives while cutting costs, notes the article, which was co-written bythe AMAs chief medical information officer MichaelHodgkins, MD,and Association digital health strategy executivesMeg Barron and Stacy Lloyd, MPH.

Thedigital healthefforts include apps, devices, augmented intelligence and data analytics, they added, noting that that, unfortunately,it is unclear how many of these options solve the right problems based on actual user needs.

That is why physician engagement is essential digital health successfor doctors, patientsandthe entire health system.And its also why the AMA created the Physician Innovation Network, which connects physicians, residents, and medical students to health technology companies and entrepreneurs, the AMAs experts wrote.

Whats next:Doctors and other users experience with thePhysician Innovation Networkplatform has offered key insights.Digital health companies hoping to succeedshould follow this hard-won wisdom, says the article.

Engage early and often.The AMA-Sling Health created theClinical Problem Database, for example, is a place where physicians share unmet needs in health care delivery and clinical medicine.

Obtain diverse perspectives.The views of one health system chief medical officer orphysician family friend are not enough.

Be respectful of time and expertise.If you schedule time with a physician to get input, stick to it.

Learn moreabouttheAMAs digital health leadershipto ensurethe physician perspective is represented in the design, implementation and evaluation of new health care technologies.

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Why health care innovation can't happen without doctors' insights - American Medical Association