It takes more than stellar service and good intentions to thrive in today's healthcare environment. While creative initiatives to keep patients healthy, such as health education resources or corporate wellness programs, are beneficial, effective care is what drives positive patient outcomes.

Investing in a robust tech stack empowers organizations like yours to drive real outcomes for their patient populations while simultaneously improving member satisfaction and accurately predicting health risks. Here are five types of tools your organization should invest in to make your current work easier and prepare you for the future.

1. EHR Software

EHRs consolidate patient medical history, including family history, lab results, medications, diagnoses, and provider notes. Well-maintained EHRs make it easier to identify health trends, segment populations based on clinical risk, and align all providers around the same information.

Modern EHR platforms are the backbone of many care delivery and population health efforts. Key features to look for in these tools include:

  • A comprehensive view of patient health that enables clinical staff to quickly understand care plans for each patient
  • Extensive care documentation that allows you to document any type of encounter, from annual physicals to chronic care management
  • Clinical decision support that guides evidence-based interventions
  • Efficient treatment orders that make ordering medications, tests, and procedures simple
  • Improved clinical intelligence that helps staff members avoid errors and adverse interactions as they document care and order treatment
  • HIPAA-compliant security measures that keep patient data safe
  • Secure data sharing for effortless coordination between patient care teams

To bill community members for the care they received, look for an EHR that integrates with your existing medical billing software. Or, invest in an all-in-one medical solution that comes with both EHR and billing capabilities. This will help your organization keep track of patient payments, determine which ones are overdue, and ensure you obtain funds as necessary.

2. Remote Monitoring and Telehealth Tools

Remote monitoring and telehealth tools empower patients to stay informed about their daily health and share that information with medical providers to inform treatment plans and interventions that improve health outcomes. Remote monitoring tools simultaneously collect important population health data and assess a specific patient’s condition. Here are a few examples of remote monitoring tools:

  • Wearable health trackers (such as smartwatches and fitness trackers) that can capture heart rate, sleep, and activity levels in real time
  • Home health devices such as blood pressure cuffs and pulse oximeters for regular checks
  • Remote patient monitoring (RPM) kits that are cellular-enabled and automatically transmit patient data
  • Condition-specific tools like continuous glucose monitors, spirometers, and electrocardiogram monitors

The right remote monitoring tools make it easier for organizations like yours to catch issues with patient health, build awareness, and provide preventative care.

Telehealth tools, on the other hand, enable real-time virtual care delivery. It’s essential for programs focused on mobility-impaired community members or communities with geographic barriers to medical care. These programs should support secure video conferencing (or phone calls) and visit documentation.

3. Patient Communication Systems

Effective communication tools help community members stay informed and connected to their care plans. Most importantly, they empower patients to take their care into their own hands and stay involved in their health.

According to PracticeSuite, the best communication system to invest in is a patient portal, as patients can use it to:

  • Schedule appointments
  • Get referrals
  • View lab results
  • Request prescription refills
  • Ask treatment questions
  • Download forms to fill out prior to a visit

Your patient portal should enable two-way, HIPAA-compliant, secure messaging between patients and providers. This feature allows patients to communicate with their providers anytime, which is extremely helpful for individuals with chronic conditions or questions about their treatment. For example, individuals struggling with mental health can discuss options for help without needing to physically visit a medical office.

On the other side, providers can also get in touch with patients in a secure, hassle-free manner. Since emailing and texting aren’t secure messaging options, a patient portal allows patients to read important messages from providers without meeting providers in person or making a phone call. Send community members reminders for preventative screenings, the results from tests and labs, promote wellness initiatives, or provide educational content tailored to an individual’s needs.

4. Population Health Management Software

To improve the overall well-being of a specific group of individuals, health systems need lots of continuous data about the communities they serve to establish a baseline level of health and monitor improvements or declines.

That’s where population health management (PHM) software comes into play. According to Arcadia, “the goal of PHM software is to provide proactive, value-based care through preventive solutions that reduce the risk of illness progression… PHM software works by gathering social determinants of health data (SDoH) and comparing it to the patient to contextualize their care needs.”

Key features of these solutions include:

  • Data aggregation and integration
  • Population health analytics
  • Integrated care management
  • Patient engagement
  • Referral management
  • Quality management

With these features, you can strategically target outreach to high-need groups; track trends across engagement, costs, and clinical outcomes; and access predictive analytics to prevent adverse health outcomes across your entire community. When used correctly, a PHM solution will empower your organization to transition from reactive care to preventive health management.

Since you’ll be accumulating a lot of data to support your PHM solution, you may also want to look into a data management tool. These solutions help with proper data governance, helping you get bad data (such as duplicate or inaccurate entries) out of your database.

5. Wellness Mobile Apps

If you want to enhance engagement and promote healthy behaviors within your member groups, a wellness mobile app does so in a fun way. These apps go beyond fitness tracking—they support and incentivize behavior change and offer real-time data collection.

With a tool like Givhero, you can create challenges with incentives for members to participate. These incentives often include prizes such as:

  • Gift cards
  • Health savings account (HSA) contributions
  • Donations to charitable causes
  • Health devices
  • Fitness gear

With prizes and gamification features such as leaderboards and digital badges, wellness apps are a top choice for encouraging members to make positive changes to their lifestyles. A wellness app will also come with data analytics and behavior tracking dashboards, which monitor member participation in challenges and wellness initiatives, allowing you to tweak your strategy as needed.


Investing in your tech stack creates the infrastructure that allows you to deliver higher-quality and more personalized care while helping you accurately predict an individual’s risk. Thoughtfully select tools across the categories above to build a system that supports your needs. Or, invest in a single medical management solution that includes all the capabilities mentioned above.