The healthcare industry faces critical challenges ranging from fragmented care and clinical inefficiencies to increased patient consumerism, rising costs, and provider burnout. At the core of these challenges lies the quintuple aim of healthcare transformation, a framework focused on improving population health, enhancing the care experience, reducing costs, addressing clinician burnout, and advancing health equity.
We already know the industry will not get there by relying on disjointed electronic medical records (EMRs) and point solutions. Instead, an end-to-end care enablement system offers a proven path forward. This approach integrates vital solutions to address healthcare’s most pressing challenges, creating a comprehensive model that drives access and sustainability.
This article explores how end-to-end care enablement solves the five pillars of healthcare transformation.
1. Alleviate Clinician Burnout
Clinician burnout is one of healthcare's most significant challenges, negatively affecting both healthcare providers and patients. At the heart of this issue lies capacity constraints. Fabric's solution addresses these by employing a clinical expert system and conversational AI to automate essential yet time-consuming tasks, such as patient intake, documentation, and routing. By doing so, providers can dedicate more time to patient care and less to administrative burdens.
This intelligent automation cuts asynchronous visit work to just 89 seconds and enables video visits to be completed 2-4 times faster through automated intake processes. Additionally, streamlined workflows reduce in-person nurse work time by up to 10 minutes per patient. Reduced administrative tasks and improved operational efficiency alleviate clinician burnout and create a more conducive work environment for healthcare teams.
2. Reduce Healthcare Costs
Fabric enhances provider efficiency, reducing the time and resources needed to deliver quality care. This makes healthcare more affordable for patients and more profitable for health organizations. With rising healthcare costs, 35% of health systems experienced negative operating margins in 2023, and 30% of rural hospitals face closure risks. Efficient solutions are vital. For example, providers can conduct asynchronous virtual care visits up to 10 times faster and async-to-video visits 2 to 4 times quicker than standard office or video consultations. This efficiency cuts async visit costs to a third of a traditional office visit, while increasing the capacity to treat more patients.
Additionally, a conversational AI virtual assistant empowers patients to navigate healthcare services independently at any time, reducing costs by millions of dollars by reducing administrative tasks and easing the burden on contact centers. By adopting Fabric's virtual assistant, one health system achieved a remarkable threefold return on investment within the first year. Consequently, healthcare systems can extend their reach to more individuals, including underserved communities, while upholding high standards of care. The financial benefits, derived from enhanced efficiency, increased capacity, and lower overhead costs, play a crucial role in making healthcare more accessible and sustainable.
3. Expand Access and Health Equity
Health equity remains a core objective in transforming healthcare systems. Beyond lowering cost barriers and increasing provider capacity to treat more patients, Fabric's platform is designed to expand access to underserved communities. One health system found that their Fabric-powered virtual care platform in Alabama served patients in more than 40 counties across the state. The combination of a Digital Front Door® with Fabric’s virtual-first solutions broke down barriers and helped prevent delayed and avoided care.
By integrating automated two-way language translation, providers can better serve non-English speaking patients without incurring high translation costs. This prevents the need for a live translator for low acuity conditions while freeing up time for patients needing additional attention and translation.
Additionally, Fabric's platform utilizes asynchronous-first protocols and requires minimal bandwidth, allowing rural and low-income populations to access virtual care even in areas with limited internet connectivity. With flexible virtual and hybrid care options, patients can receive high-quality care from anywhere, eliminating the need to take time off work or travel long distances. This approach improves convenience and shrinks gaps in healthcare accessibility.
4. Maximize Consumer Care Experiences
As patient expectations shift toward a consumer mindset, healthcare must evolve to become more convenient, affordable, efficient, and accessible. By integrating conversational AI, patients gain 24/7/365 access to care resources, ensuring they receive timely support. This real-time availability enhances care coordination and creates a seamless experience across both virtual and in-person interactions.
Automating processes like patient intake, discharge, and follow-ups keeps patients engaged with their care plans, increasing adherence to pre- and post-visit instructions. By meeting the demand for consumer-friendly healthcare the moment a patient begins searching for care, Fabric empowers patients to take control of their health, boosting satisfaction and strengthening the relationship between patients and providers.
Read more about how a rise in consumerism will impact healthcare in 2025.
5. Improve Population Health
The culmination of reduced clinician burnout, more efficient care delivery, lowered costs, financial stability, health equity, and enhanced care experiences naturally leads to improved population health. Additionally, automating intake, symptom collection, and post-visit follow-ups enables providers to identify risks and triage patients to essential points of care faster. By allowing providers to treat low-acuity cases faster, a care enablement approach also creates more time for providers to spend with the patients who need it most.
Making quality care accessible to diverse communities while providing seamless patient experiences and automated engagement both in and outside the clinic greatly enhances adherence to care plans and improves long-term outcomes. Together, these elements foster a more efficient and equitable system across the continuum of care.
Building a Healthier and More Sustainable Healthcare Environment
Digital health transformation requires a robust, comprehensive approach. One that not only tackles the immediate challenges of clinician burnout and cost management but also champions equitable access and exceptional patient experiences.
Fabric’s end-to-end care enablement platform offers a viable pathway to realizing these goals, fundamentally redefining how healthcare is delivered and experienced. For healthcare leaders aiming to spearhead meaningful change, integrating such innovative solutions is essential. Download our comprehensive Guide to Digital Transformation and Care Enablement to learn more.
