During the early stages of the pandemic, healthcare organizations had to be creative, resourceful, and quick to respond to new challenges. Their response led to innovative technology solutions that helped address some of the challenges presented by the pandemic. Recently, leaders in innovation and technology from the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Health and Human Services discussed the major challenges and changes facing the healthcare sector. Among these were how technology may be used to combat a future health crisis and how healthcare agencies can continue on the innovative pathway to improve healthcare and healthcare services. 

These digital transformation efforts have fundamentally transformed the healthcare industry and how providers care for patients. Healthcare agencies have used technology like artificial intelligence (AI) to empower data-driven decision making in order to better respond to health crisis.  

However, healthcare agencies are still grappling with the effects of the pandemic. For example, the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has seen a major increase in telehealth calls from 2000-4000 per day prior to the pandemic, to over 30,000 calls daily.  While technology innovations have allowed the VA to handle the increased call volume, the focus has shifted to securing these calls and the patient data collected. 

During the webinar, Seth Kindley, Pure Storage’s Principal Data Architect, discussed how building a foundational infrastructure will enable more robust data security. “Security has been thematically one of the biggest things [agencies are focusing on].” Kindley said. “It’s important to have an infrastructure that is power efficient, effective, and secure. These are the biggest foundational qualities that will set agencies up for success.” 

Once the right foundation is in place, agencies can add to the capabilities of their data storage infrastructure by modifying the standard operating procedures or adding capabilities like AI or machine learning. Implementing a secure data storage infrastructure allows healthcare agencies to protect data, while enabling them to share that data safely with other stakeholders. 

Given that the amount of patient data will only continue to increase, it is important that healthcare agencies have the right foundational infrastructure in place. This infrastructure will allow data to be stored and shared securely enhancing patient care and research. Moreover, the right foundational infrastructure will continue to support mission critical work by being adaptive and flexible, empowering innovation for years to come.  

Learn how to implement the right foundational tools to empower growth here.