Why human connection is key to digital transformation in healthcare

Successful digital health transformation must be underpinned by leadership, culture and care – keeping clinicians and services users at the centre.

In brief

• Healthcare leaders must adapt to the rapidly evolving digital landscape and nurture necessary skills to motivate and lead transformation within their organisations.
• Digital technologies should enhance rather than replace human connections in healthcare.
• Leaders must recognise the emotional impact of new technology and provide necessary learning and emotional support to foster a digital mindset.

Health systems and their workforces are facing unprecedented demands. This has led to concerns that healthcare it is becoming dehumanised, transactional, generic, and lacking empathy and that it is turning into an industrialised “fixing people production line”.¹ ² If not addressed, there is a risk that healthcare will be depleted of care and that the very essence of being a clinician - forming deep, meaningful connections with patients and colleagues - which remains a profoundly rewarding aspect of the profession, will be lost.

In this context, a recent workshop in Dublin, co-hosted by EY Ireland and the TCD School of Medicine, served as an important reminder of the enduring value of human connection in healthcare. Using digital connectivity and climate change as key drivers for scenario analysis, this "Medical School of the Future" workshop provided a platform through which to consider the competencies and mindsets required for future medical professionals.

By bringing together a diverse group of medical students, healthcare professionals, academics, and policymakers, the workshop served as a microcosm of the broader medical workforce ecosystem in Ireland.

Need to ‘humanise’ healthcare

One of the key reflections from the workshop was the realisation that the process of coming together, sharing experiences, and collaboratively discussing the future of healthcare was as valuable as the outcomes themselves.

Indeed, in an era in which we are at a unique juncture in the history of medicine, with digital technologies set to increasingly reshape every part of healthcare, a key challenge is to ensure that human relationships are not sidelined in the pursuit of technological advancement. Digital tools should be seen as enablers of human connection, not replacements.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, for example, hold enormous promise in supporting data synthesis, interpretation and decision-making by clinicians and patients. However, these tools are incapable of sharing in either joy or sorrow, nor do they have the capacity to manifest genuine care and concern. They cannot replace authentic human empathy and compassion that are at the core of the doctor-patient relationship. Similarly, the 2023 EY Global Voices in Healthcare Study³ highlights that electronic health records can enhance discussions on health and treatment but may also contribute to "desktop medicine," where clinicians spend more time at screens, leading to increased administrative tasks, cognitive strain, and burnout.

Six key factors for successful digital transformation in healthcare

So, how do we ensure that humans are kept at the centre of digital transformation in healthcare?

Over the past four years, EY and the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School have advanced a research collaboration focused on identifying the key factors that underpin successful organisational change⁴. At the heart of the research findings is one simple yet powerful message: a transformation’s success or failure is rooted in human emotions.

And driving the positive emotions that are essential for success are six key factors: