DevOps to Enable Digital Transformation for Business
In the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, organizations are under immense pressure to deliver innovative, consumer-centric experiences that meet the rising expectations of patients.
One of the clients of Gart Solutions, the healthcare provider, has embraced DevOps as a strategic enabler to drive critical digital transformation.
Head of Digital Transformation of this healthcare provider, together with us, has been at the forefront of this journey, leading the charge to modernize the organization’s technology practices and redefine how it engages with patients.
How Everything Started: From Quarterly Releases to Continuous Delivery
The digital transformation story began in 2022, when the organization faced significant challenges in delivering new features and updates to its consumer-facing digital assets, including its website and mobile apps. With releases happening only once a quarter, the team struggled to deliver updates and keep up with the rising expectations of their members.
“Our moment came when we were tasked with a strategy to change how we engage with consumers,” their Head of Digital Transformation explains. “The organization to innovate and experiment with new care models.”
Establishing a DevOps Practice: Iterating and Adapting
In 2022, Gart Solutions began establishing its DevOps practice, as a service provider and a partner in healthcare digital transformation. The team started by identifying inefficiencies and waste in their existing release process.
And today, the DevOps practice of this healthcare provider supports 17 team members, leveraging five pipelines to deliver an average of 80 code commits per day with releases 3 times per week – a significant improvement from the four releases per year they were managing prior to the transformation.
Transforming the Patient Experience Through Collaboration
The impact of the DevOps transformation extends far beyond the IT department. By enabling faster, more agile software delivery, the organization has been able to collaborate with its business partners in new and innovative ways, ultimately transforming the patient experience.
One such example is the work being done by the Head of Digital Transformation.
His team has been working closely with clinicians, technologists, and other stakeholders to reimagine the patient’s experience, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to create more intuitive and convenient interactions.
Enhancing the Check-in Process
In the traditional healthcare setting, the check-in process can be impersonal and inefficient, with patients waiting in line to fill out paperwork at a reception desk.
This healthcare provider has transformed this experience by introducing two key technologies:
- Express Check-in
Patients can now check in from the comfort of their own home, making payments, answering questionnaires, and completing the necessary paperwork before their appointment.
- Tablet-enabled Receptionists
Receptionists are now equipped with tablets, allowing them to roam freely and greet patients in a more personalized, less transactional manner.
“The receptionist is now free to roam around when patients come in, they’re able to greet them, help those who need physical assistance, and provide a much more interpersonal interaction.”- their Head of Digital Transformation said.
Enhancing the Exam Room Experience with Telemedicine
The exam room experience has also been transformed through the use of digital technology. Patients can now video-conference with family members, caregivers, and other specialists during their appointments, enabling a more collaborative and comprehensive approach to care.
Extending Care Beyond the Clinic – Telehealth and Remote Monitoring Solutions
The technology-enabled transformation extends beyond the clinic walls, with the organization leveraging telehealth and remote monitoring solutions to support patients in their homes and communities.
“Telehealth and telemonitoring have allowed us to keep tabs on our members and monitor their health,” the Head of Digital Transformation explains. “We aim to create an infrastructure to support more self-care, acute care in the home setting, and ways of connecting people to people because that’s what matters most.”
Fostering a Culture of Collaboration and Innovation
At the heart of this transformation is a fundamental shift in the way our client’s IT and business teams collaborate. The teams have been able to co-create innovative solutions that truly meet the needs of patients and providers.
This means taking a human-centered design and immersion approach to understand the needs and develop solutions to meet those needs. “Working in interdisciplinary teams, mashing up technologists, clinicians, operations, facilities, and design all towards a shared vision of a better experience for our members and providers.” – the client says.
This collaborative mindset has also extended to the way the IT team operates internally. CTO emphasizes the importance of fostering a “learning organization” culture, where teams openly share best practices and work together to continuously improve the DevOps practice.
- Embraced a “radical collaboration” approach, bringing together interdisciplinary teams to co-create solutions.
- Cultivated a “learning organization” culture, where teams openly share best practices and work to continuously improve the DevOps practice.
- Shifted the mindset to prioritize the needs of developers, providing them with the tools and support they need to deliver high-quality software.
Expanding the DevOps Footprint across the Organization
As Gart Solutions’ client continues to reap the benefits of its DevOps transformation, the organization is now focused on expanding the practice across the entire IT landscape, beyond the initial consumer-facing digital teams.
“We are going to spread this to the rest of IT,” Head of Digital Transformation says. “Our pharmacy systems, electronic medical record systems, and other systems of engagement need the transformation, and it will be our following steps to business transformation”.
Additionally, the team is exploring new frontiers, such as adapting the DevOps model to accommodate data teams, implementing ChatOps, and solidifying data security and compliance (SecOps) practices to bring more applications under the DevOps umbrella.
Learn from our other SecOps project of Security Consulting and Cloud Migration and ChatOps automation project.
Final Words from this Healthcare Transformation
The DevOps transformation at Gart Solutions’ client is a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and a relentless focus on the patient experience. By embracing a modern engineering practice and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, the organization has been able to deliver new features and updates with greater speed, predictability, and quality, ultimately transforming the way it engages with its members and the broader community.
The following steps of DevOps transformation will be:
- Expanding the DevOps practice across the entire IT landscape, beyond the initial consumer-facing digital teams.
- Exploring new frontiers, such as adapting the DevOps model for data teams, implementing ChatOps, and solidifying SecOps practices.
- Developing certification programs for DevOps engineers and training initiatives for business partners.
By leveraging DevOps as a strategic enabler, they are not only improving the patient experience but also paving the way for a more accessible, affordable, and equitable healthcare system.
Gart Solutions is your partner in navigating the journey of Digital Transformation in healthcare, helping providers swiftly adopt digital technologies and enhance patient outcomes.
Learn from another our cases in Healthtech.
Reach out to Gart Solutions today and get a Free Consultation and audit of how we can assist you in overcoming the hurdles of digital transformation in healthcare.
