Elevating Healthcare Efficiency Through Digital Tools
The healthcare industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the rapid advancements in digital tools. Implementing these technologies, alongside strong ethical and technical safeguards, offers healthcare professionals a path to amplified productivity, improved patient care, and career enhancement.
Numerous studies in recent years have underscored the potential of digital technologies for healthcare professionals. An umbrella review published in The Lancet Digital Health is one example, demonstrating the positive impact of these tools on all practitioners and clinical efficiency and patient access to care. Researchers have also documented benefits, including expanded service reach, heightened job satisfaction, efficient task execution, and streamlining of administrative processes.
“Digital technologies hold immense potential for healthcare professionals,” declared Israel Júnior Borges do Nascimento, a professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as well as the study’s initial author. Borges do Nascimento, a consultant to the World Health Organization on digital health, and a cardiology specialist, further asserted that there is already strong evidence that technological literacy and the adoption of digital tools bring multiple benefits to clinical practice.
Digital health technologies encompass a vast array of tools, ranging from telemedicine and remote monitoring devices to mobile applications and electronic medical records, including clinical decision support systems and artificial intelligence (AI) tools. According to Borges do Nascimento, mastering these tools is becoming an increasingly significant advantage for career progression in medicine. “Doctors who effectively adopt and leverage telemedicine, telehealth, and AI in their practices will develop a different, high-value professional profile.”
Beyond the obvious advantages of improved patient access, the benefits stretch far beyond this. Telemedicine, for instance, assists with clinical decision-making by enabling doctors to consult specialists quickly and efficiently, even when they are in remote locations. “People often think of telemedicine solely in terms of remote patient treatment, but it’s much more than that. Telemedicine allows us to relay treatment modifications to the patient effectively, promoting long-term, integrated patient care,” explained Borges do Nascimento, himself the author of numerous analyses on the influence of digital health tools.
Borges do Nascimento believes that AI tools, when correctly implemented, can assist clinicians in many ways. Several AI systems, globally, are specifically designed for healthcare professionals. However, general-purpose platforms, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, can also be adapted for multiple professional uses. Such adaptation requires proper configuration and, most importantly, attention to ethical and privacy concerns. Borges do Nascimento particularly emphasized privacy concerns in the use of AI in healthcare, and underscored the importance of deleting or omitting any data that could potentially identify a patient. To make sure that AI models deliver tasks accurately, he suggests the use of the advanced settings of those tools, which allow for precise control over their processes.
Enhancing Organization and Productivity
Technology also benefits organization and efficiency in other aspects of professional life. Organizational tools can assist in defining priorities, creating realistic schedules, and concentrating on the most important tasks. A structured routine and environment can also assist in reducing work-related anxiety and stress.
Judith Piza Varandas, a master’s in international management and partner at Setter, an investment bank based in São Paulo, pointed out that time management represents a common challenge across many fields today. “We tend to equate productivity with the number of tasks completed throughout the day. However, being productive doesn’t mean being busy all the time; it’s about executing tasks efficiently – even dedicating less time to them,” she advised.
In addition to critically assessing the priority level of commitments, Varandas suggested a simple yet effective strategy: Schedule time in advance for the completion of important tasks. This way, tasks don’t get pushed out by meetings or bureaucratic matters that could potentially be rescheduled. “Another strategy I recommend is reducing the time spent in meetings. Whenever possible, I try for shorter and more focused meetings. For example, if a meeting was scheduled for an hour, I check if we can resolve it in 45 minutes,” she explained. “This 15-minute gain allows me to take a small break between commitments and tasks, preventing working nonstop.”
Automation of repetitive tasks such as scheduling meetings and sending confirmation emails and reminders, is another important step. This provides professionals with more time to focus on activities that need their undivided attention.
The calendar automation platform, Calendly, is particularly popular in this area. By synchronizing personal and work calendars, users can generate a personalized link to a page showing their available meeting times. Those accessing the link may select the most convenient meeting date and time. Furthermore, meeting links can be generated automatically, with the option to include multiple team members.
Varandas also recommended other tools that positively affect productivity:
- Trello, Todoist, and similar task management tools help organize daily demands, making it easier to prioritize activities.
- Slack: This corporate communication tool utilizes AI to organize messages, suggest interactions, and integrate various apps into a single environment, thus contributing to productivity and team collaboration.
- Fireflies.ai: This platform automatically transcribes meetings conducted on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, generating meeting summaries that facilitate effective follow-up.
AI tools are regularly introducing new options. Beyond products specifically designed for productivity and organization, general platforms may be applied for various professional purposes. The best-known of these is ChatGPT, which can function as a virtual assistant. “It’s great for organizing notes and producing meeting summaries. A useful practice is to take a photo of your handwritten notes and ask for a summary of each meeting,” Varandas recommended.
By integrating technological solutions into their daily routines, professionals can optimize their time, minimize repetitive efforts, and focus on what matters most. This leads to greater efficiency and balance in their work routine.
