The Importance of Standardized Care Flows in Digital Health: An Interview with Rik Renard

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In this episode of Relentless Health Value, host Stacey Richter speaks with Rik Renard from Awell about the significance of standardized care flows in digital health. The discussion covers the impact these care processes have on patient outcomes, clinician efficiency, and the healthcare system's overall performance. Highlights include an overview of a survey conducted with Health Tech Nerds, revealing that while 84% of digital health vendors use care flows, only 16% are based on evidence. The episode emphasizes the need for real-time data integration, continuous improvement, and addressing clinician autonomy to ensure the effective and scalable implementation of care flows. Renard shares insights from experts like Dr. Ali Khan of Oak Street Health and the importance of transitioning from basic documentation to advanced, integrated systems.

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09:26 Why should clinicians care about care processes and care flows?

12:05 Why do care flows and care processes have a bad reputation?

12:31 What components does a good pathway include?

14:51 Why pathways need to be looked at as a process of continuous reconfiguration.

17:15 Who did Awell survey about care processes and flows?

18:42 How many clinicians were using care flows, and what did those care flows look like?

25:45 EP315 with Bob Matthews.

26:44 EP392 with Emily Kagan Trenchard.

28:21 EP412 with Robert Pearl, MD.

30:01 “Just document something.”

30:14 What was a shocking find from this care process survey?

31:06 Is AI the answer?

34:13 Why is it important to get the foundation of data correct before introducing AI?

34:51 How should employers use this information to vet vendors