When technological innovation starts with people, real impact follows

By focusing on healthcare professionals and their needs, digital services and AI can truly create value, says Jonas Ahlkvist, CEO of Aurora Innovation.

“Reports show that digitalisation in healthcare often creates stress rather than efficiency. We need to understand the challenges healthcare professionals face. Only then can we develop solutions that make a real difference in operations.”

In 2016, the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR) and the government agreed that Sweden should become “the best in the world” at using the opportunities of digitalisation and e-health. This led to major investments in IT systems and digital healthcare services. While digitalisation has improved accessibility and increased patient choice, studies also show that technology has caused significant stress for healthcare professionals. Why is that?

Having previously worked as a software developer, I clearly remember my manager saying: “If you’re going to build a system, you first need to understand the customer and their business.” Now, when I read the Swedish Association of Health Professionals’ report “Den dumma digitaliseringen” and see how healthcare has been negatively affected, I suspect that this crucial piece of the puzzle was missing during the digital transformation. The end user was lost even before the requirements were defined.

According to the report, some healthcare professionals today work across as many as 30 IT systems daily. Nurses have less time for their patients. Despite the ambition to reduce administrative work and free up time for core care, the report shows that administrative staff increased by 8% between 2019 and 2022, compared with a 3% increase in healthcare staff. Why does the need for administration grow alongside technological development? And how can we rethink our approach to actually free up time for healthcare professionals?

Start at the right place

I believe we need to shift our focus. Instead of aiming to be the best in the world, the goal should be to first listen to what healthcare professionals truly need — and then build systems that support them. At an early stage, we should ask: How can we help? What do you need support with? Which processes would make your daily work easier?

The answers to these questions are the key to systems that genuinely improve efficiency.

In “Den dumma digitaliseringen,” healthcare staff share a clear example of when a digital tool had the opposite effect. They describe still relying on pen and paper during patient visits, only to later transfer their notes into a computer — a time-consuming process that could have been avoided with a better understanding of everyday workflows.

Let clinicians, decision-makers and IT leaders work together

When healthcare professionals’ competence, experience and perspectives are taken into account, we can save both time and frustration.

In the projects I’ve worked on over the years, I’ve seen how strong the results are when healthcare staff, commissioners and IT leaders share a common forum where they can exchange ideas. This gives developers a solid foundation and the ability to create solutions that work for the organisation, the business and the end user alike.

I’m proud to lead Aurora Innovation. Here, we work closely with healthcare users and developers to create truly useful features tailored to real needs. With the help of our users, we have developed the communication solution Aurora teleQ, enabling professionals to work within a single interface while accessing multiple functions such as telephony, voice messages, chat, video and file sharing — all designed to simplify communication between patients and nurses. Automated scheduling of patient dialogue gives nurses more time for patients and creates smoother workflows for the organisation.

AI and technology are not simple answers to all healthcare challenges. But by listening to healthcare professionals, AI and technology can evolve to improve working conditions and reduce stress and friction. That is when real innovation happens.

Jonas Ahlkvist, CEO of Aurora Innovation