Survey Finds Majority of Healthcare Organizations Adopting Digital Health

A recent survey by Xealth finds that over 90 percent of College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) members have adopted digital health strategies, despite barriers to adoption such as financial pressures and staff resource restraints. The Xealth survey was conducted between May and June 2023.

According to survey findings, the majority (81 percent) of respondents have integrated digital health applications into their EHR workflows, and about 1 in 5 (19.1 percent) stated they had achieved advanced EHR integration of digital health applications with defined goals and metrics. 

Mike McSherry, CEO and co-founder of Xealth, a leader in enabling digital health at scale, said, “In an industry that is notoriously slow to change, digital health has been relatively fast at reaching a tipping point. This research shows the opportunity with digital health. It is gratifying to see widespread C-level support and health systems beginning to tie bottom-line growth and reduced readmissions to digital health. We expect that percentage to grow as digital programs mature and establish best practices.” 

Additional key findings of the survey include: 

·      81 percent define digital health as downloadable apps and programs with a connected device, followed closely by patient education, pdfs and videos (not clinical references) (71.4).

·       Two-thirds (66.7 percent) named remote patient monitoring (RPM) and downloadable apps and programs (no connected devices) as digital health.

·       More than 3 in 4 (76.2 percent) respondents stated their health systems have experienced increased patient engagement due to increased digital health adoption. Nearly half (47.6 percent) of respondents noted clinician ease of use due to this increase.

·       Respondents are seeing a better bottom line and reduced readmissions (14.3 percent) from increased digital health adoption.

·       More payer-  or employer-funded programs (81 percent), patient demand (71.4 percent), improved interoperability and ease of integration (66. 7 percent), clear CPT codes for digital interventions (42.9 percent) and more clinical evidence (33.3 percent), were top motivators in health systems expanding digital health.

·       No respondents named C-level support or patient engagement as barriers to adoption. 

An infographic detailing the survey results can be found here: www.xealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Infographic_CHIMESurvey_2023-07-5-copy-1.jpg.