The hidden costs of multiple point solutions

The healthcare industry is brimming with specialized technology solutions. From patient portals to billing systems, providers often find themselves piecing together a patchwork of “point solutions” to manage their operations. 

According to a recent survey, 60 percent of respondents use 50+ unique point solutions, 35 percent use 51-150, and 24 percent use 151-500 solutions to manage health system operations.Dr. Aaron Neinstein, Chief Medical Officer at Notable, shared, “We audited one health system to see how many different applications were sending out messages to patients, and it was upwards of 25.” 

While point solutions can provide substantial value to hospitals, health systems, and payers by addressing specific and unique needs, the hidden costs can significantly outweigh the perceived benefits, ultimately impacting productivity, efficiency, and patient care.

Here’s a look at four significant hidden costs and what you can do to address them.

1. Data silos. Each point solution operates in its own isolated ecosystem, creating fragmented data. This makes gaining a comprehensive view of the patient journey incredibly difficult. Staff and clinicians must spend valuable time searching across multiple systems, hindering effective care coordination and impacting decision-making. Did we mention administrative burden? This drain on resources could be better spent directly on patient care. 

2. Integration complexity. Connecting disparate systems requires custom integrations, often requiring significant IT investment and ongoing maintenance. These integration projects are costly, time-consuming, and prone to errors. The ongoing management of these connections—ensuring data flows smoothly and remains secure—further burdens the IT department. 

3. Workflow efficiency. Healthcare professionals must navigate numerous interfaces, learn different systems, and constantly switch between applications, disrupting their workflow and increasing the risk of errors. This fragmented workflow reduces efficiency and productivity at a time when healthcare is facing a significant workforce problem. Toggling between interfaces and apps also increases the potential for medical errors, which can lead to adverse patient outcomes.

4. Staff training and support. Each new system requires dedicated staff training, increasing overall operational costs. Ongoing support and troubleshooting for multiple systems also burden IT resources and can lead to significant downtime. This is a considerable hidden expense often overlooked during the initial assessment of a point solution. Notable simplifies this significantly with its user-friendly interface and comprehensive training resources, minimizing the need for extensive ongoing support.

The long-term hidden costs of point solutions—in terms of data silos, integration, workflow inefficiencies, and staff training—can be crippling. 
That’s why it’s critical to ask the right questions to ensure you’re buying a solution designed for efficiency and integration – before committing to a fragmented, costly approach. Here are some questions to ask:

• What is the solution's core functionality, and are the key features truly unique?
• How does it fit into our current workflows? 
• Does it use automation to enhance efficiency or require significant operational change?
• Does it offer interoperability with our existing systems?
• Does this solution integrate seamlessly via APIs, HL7, FHIR, or other standards?
• Can the solution scale as our organization grows or as our needs evolve?
• How quickly will I achieve value? Weeks? Months? Years?
  

Choosing the right healthcare point solution requires thoughtful evaluation to ensure it addresses an organization's specific needs while aligning with broader operational, clinical, and financial goals. This decision affects operational efficiency and patient care, making it essential to ask the right questions and understand the long-term value of the solution. Lastly, organizations should analyze competitive options, including whether platform solutions might better address the specialized use case while complementing the broader organizational strategy and needs.