After an unprecedented year, healthcare CIOs must increasingly strive to create better, more accessible and more equitable digital experiences for patients and providers.

Health IT initiatives related to telemedicine and digital patient access will continue to be a focus in 2021This is a year in which we will make progress in digital health initiatives.

Patients have long sought easier and more convenient access to care and 2020 has become a testing ground for virtual access and care.

This push towards digital will be aided by new federal regulations that require health systems to implement standardized APIs that can seamlessly share data with other health systems and third-party mobile apps.

The pandemic has not only further revealed the power of digital technologies to connect patients and providers, but also the inequality of access to care. In 2021, building more accessible healthcare systems will make CIOs focus their health IT investments and strategies on health equity and patient engagement.

2021: IT investments in health

Through efforts undertaken to track and manage COVID-19, health and research institutions were able to connect with more individuals without access to adequate care.

Healthcare systems and public health agencies rely on contact tracing, a largely manual process for tracking and notifying people who may have been exposed to a disease, to control the spread of COVID-19.

In practice, tracking is not only used for mandatory quarantine measures, but to monitor patients and healthcare workers exposed to COVID-19.

In tracing the virus, the health system allows providers to interact with people who were not documented patients in the health system.

Thinking about improving access to healthcare in 2021

In practice, people were found who were in food deserts and disconnected from any health-related initiatives, being able to connect them to other areas of social service to help them from dying of hunger and without medical care

It wasn't possible to see these people in the health systems. Now they are seen and now they are being treated, and we may see a reduction in this sad scenario in the near future. How can we ensure that we use data and systems to ensure that healthcare is taking care of everyone without investment in technology?

Health equity will be a key part of the health IT strategy for 2021 and will ensure that there is \"right place, right time and right access for all\". This means putting a strong focus on the patient's digital access to healthcare and answering the question of "how do we deliver care equitably to all races and all social classes?".

The focus on virtual service will continue in 2021

Telemedicine will continue to be one of the main investments for healthcare CIOs in 2021. In fact, 2020 has emphasized the importance of virtual care for health systems and their patients.

Many healthcare systems wouldn't have used virtual meetings and video solutions if it hadn't been for the pandemic. One of the biggest technological surprises of 2020 was healthcare's adoption of consumer-facing tools such as video conferencing.

The fact that a consumer of technology has simple and easy access to a telemedicine visit has been a great benefit for healthcare institutions and providers - despite investments in traditional telemedicine platforms.

At the end of the day, everyone has a lot to gain from investing in healthcare IT.

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About Conversys

Conversys IT Solutions is a provider of Information and Communication Technology services and solutions operating throughout Brazil.

With a highly qualified technical and commercial team and a network of partners that includes the main global technology manufacturers, Conversys IT Solutions is able to deliver customized IT and Telecom Infrastructure solutions to clients.

We invest in our employees and partners and strive for a long-lasting relationship with our clients, because we believe that this is how we gain the skills and knowledge we need to innovate and generate value for the businesses in which we operate.