Reducing GTM in Healthcare with an In-House and Augmented Team Mix

Information technology is playing a deeper role in the evolving healthcare landscape. The need to keep up with new technological innovations, such as cybersecurity concerns, provider and patient user interface, and embedded data analytic tools, makes it challenging for companies seeking to enter the healthcare IT space or transform existing technologies due to the limitations that any single organization has in terms of knowledge, experience, and resources.

However, one can address deficiencies of in-house staff with technology development partners to build a winning strategy that overcomes these challenges and swiftly brings innovative products to market. This blog post highlights the benefits of augmenting your in-house information technology team with technology development partners to enhance your product and bring it to market faster.

The Importance of In-House Staff

The in-house staff members hold a crucial position in healthcare technology development because they are responsible for the long-term maintenance of any new information technology products. They already have working knowledge of existing in-house technology, including how it operates and its strengths and pitfalls. Furthermore, their familiarity with the company’s culture and mission can help ensure that the product being developed meets company standards.

Whether fostering an easy user experience or verifying high interoperability with various outside parties, in-house employees will make sure the developing product embodies the principles that the company promotes in terms of having an appropriate product-market fit. The ability of the in-house staff to display their passion and set an inspirational tone for the augmented team will allow the entire team to be more productive and cohesive. Ultimately, employees need to possess a deep understanding of the technology to provide excellent ongoing support for customers.

Benefits of Augmented Teams from Outside Firms in Healthcare Technology Development

The benefits of utilizing an augmented team like a consulting group in the development of new healthcare information technology are multifold and can be summarized in the following.

Access to Specialized Skills and Expertise

Developing and implementing new healthcare technology often requires a vast array of knowledge and expertise, such as front-end technology development, back-end technology development, cybersecurity, and interoperability of technology. A single organization frequently struggles to possess all these necessary skills. By augmenting your team, your organization can tap into skills and experiences that can be difficult to find, ensuring novelty for your product because it has been developed with specialized insight. For instance, consultants with experience with a certain brand’s electronic medical record can provide advice on ways in which your new product can be integrated with that medical record, drawing from their past experiences working on similar projects.

Flexibility and Scalability

Bringing in augmented teams for specific purposes allows organizations to allocate capital more efficiently. Rather than maintaining a team member on staff permanently, resources can be redirected toward other pressing needs. Furthermore, outsiders who have completed similar tasks in the past bring valuable experience and knowledge in terms of pitfalls that may be encountered in the long term to enable greater scalability and efficiency of the developing healthcare technology, such as challenges with energy consumption in large data analytics.

Reduction in Overall Cost

While hiring outsiders or consultants sounds expensive, augmenting the in-house staff with external partners can lead to cost savings for organizations in the long term. It eliminates the need for extensive training and support of additional team members, reducing training costs and benefits expenses. A hiring organization also potentially reduces the risk of failure and the costs associated with the trial-and-error method. These cost savings can be significant, enabling organizations to allocate resources more strategically.

Accelerated Product Development

Members brought in to augment your team often require less training in the specific skills and tasks that they will be working on due to their previous experiences with other organizations and projects. This leads to accelerated product development timelines because learning curves are shortened and risks of mistakes are lower, resulting in earlier revenue generation and potentially capturing a larger market share. Quicker time to market can also create value with improved brand equity and industry recognition.

Case Studies

Case Study 1: Upgrading, Optimizing, and Integrating Electronic Health Records System

By augmenting its in-house team with technology development partners, an organization can work to modernize its electronic health records system. This can especially be challenging in a tough labor market, where the knowledge and experience required to execute this is challenging.

One case study example is the Hutchinson Clinic, which needed support from a consulting group in 2018 while being short-staffed in the IT department. The augmented team was able to respond to IT ticket requests quicker and assist with upgrading the EMR in a timely, cost-effective manner.

Case Study 2: Design of Medical Device for Patient Monitoring

Organizations can collaborate with external entities to design cutting-edge medical devices for remote patient monitoring. The augmented team typically brings specialized knowledge in hardware and software engineering and wireless connectivity to accelerate the development process and ensure seamless integration within existing healthcare systems.

An example of this was Chile’s use of AccuHealth (a health management company) to use artificial intelligence-powered remote management of chronic diseases for public and private payers. AccuHealth implemented health coaching tools within technology that improved adherence to treatment protocols.

Case Study 3: Creation of Telehealth Platform

Through a partnership with technology development partners, an organization can adopt or create a comprehensive telehealth platform that provides patients with optionality in terms of how they receive care. An augmented team's expertise in user experience design and scalable technology infrastructure facilitates the development of a user-friendly solution that meets the evolving needs of healthcare providers and patients.

This was highly needed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, in which many healthcare-providing organizations were utilizing Zoom for virtual appointments, but there were initial concerns in March 2020 about Zoom security and transmitting medical information with the platform. Zoom sought to work with outsiders to better understand HIPAA compliance and as of February 2022, offers a business associate agreement that meets HIPAA minimum necessary standards.

Conclusion

Augmenting in-house staff with technology development partners provides numerous benefits for organizations seeking to develop or improve their healthcare information technology. By leveraging specialized skills, flexibility, and cost savings, organizations can achieve successful product development with a shorter time-to-market. The case studies discussed here show how an augmented team can lead to cost improvements and faster product-to-market times.

Embracing the power of augmented teams can propel your organization and its products toward greater success in the dynamic landscape of healthcare information technology.

Here at OtterSoft, we help healthcare technology providers drive innovation and integrate smoothly with legacy systems to keep things in motion, address the challenges of healthcare innovation, and seamlessly keep information in sync. Please get in touch with us today to see how we can help you overcome healthcare innovation challenges by strategically augmenting your team!