The role of digital solutions in strengthening clinical governance

While the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting ‘new normal’ accelerated digital transformation in healthcare, the ongoing surge in technological innovation is now driving a deeper revolution, ensuring continuity and enhancing the delivery of careⁱ.  

Generally, digital transformation refers to the disruptive process of improvement that changes communication, information management, computing, and connectivity, ultimately impacting healthcare structures, operations, and business strategies.  

A common misconception about digital transformation is that it only entails the use of advanced technologies to handle clinical data flows. Digital transformation represents a broader organisational shift, aimed not just at digitising the healthcare environment, but at enhancing clinical governance, supporting clinical decision-making through better use of data, and driving resource optimisation to achieve operational excellenceⁱⁱ.

Digital solutions have significantly enhanced the efficiency of healthcare operations. By automating administrative tasks, digital systems lighten the workload on healthcare staff, enabling them to focus more on delivering quality patient careⁱⁱⁱ. Improving patient efficacy, effectiveness, and safety requires healthcare providers to take greater responsibility in reducing service disparities. Clinical governance identifies medical errors as a key factor in addressing poor and ineffective care. Given the complex nature of healthcare organisations where structure, processes, and management play a critical role in clinical outcomes, clinical governance backed by digital solutions focuses on integrated, comprehensive strategies and continuous quality improvement^iv.

The public health sector is characterised by a complex bureaucratic structure; however, recent advancements in information and communication technology (ICT) have played a crucial role in enhancing organisational alignment and the effective use of information to drive operational and organisational efficiency. ICT innovations have improved resource allocation, informed policy decisions, and expanded access to critical data for better decision-making^v. 

Unfortunately, in Australia, research highlights that the most frequently unmet actions among health service organisations were related to integrating clinical governance and applying quality improvement systems (actions 5.01 and 5.02), with only 45% meeting the clinical governance standard at initial assessment^vi. Clinical governance is a key element of corporate governance, ensuring that frontline clinicians, administrative staff, and board members are accountable to patients. However, with only 45% of health service organisations meeting these standards, it underscores the broader responsibility for HSOS to adopt digital health solutions to comply with these essential requirements. 

In an era where patient expectations are rising and resources are increasingly constrained, the role of digital transformation in clinical governance is no longer optional—it is essential. By embracing digital solutions, healthcare organisations can strengthen clinical governance frameworks, mitigate risks more effectively, and deliver safer, more effective, and patient-centred care. 

^{i. Wamsley, D., & Chin-Yee, B. (2021). COVID-19, digital health technology and the politics of the unprecedented. Big Data & Society, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20539517211019441 (Original work published 2021)}

^{ii. Mauro, M., Noto, G., Prenestini, A., & Sarto, F. (2024). Digital transformation in healthcare: Assessing the role of digital technologies for managerial support processes. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 209, 123781.}

^{iii. Mulukuntla, S., & VENKATA, S. P. (2020). Digital Transformation in Healthcare: Assessing the Impact on Patient Care and Safety. EPH-International Journal of Medical and Health Science, 6(3), 27-33.}

^{iv. Veenstra, G. (2022). Clinical governance and healthcare professionals’ motivation to provide care: a balancing act. [Thesis fully internal (DIV), University of Groningen]. University of Groningen. https://doi.org/10.33612/diss.245337131}

^{v. Malahleha, M. A. (2024). Enhancing the effectiveness of data management to improve data quality for evidence-based decision-making: A case study of Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital (Doctoral dissertation, Stellenbosch University).}

^{vi. Murgo M, Dalli A. Australian health service organisation assessment outcome data for the first 2 years of implementing the Comprehensive Care Standard. Aust Health Rev. 2022 Apr;46(2):210-216. doi: 10.1071/AH21299. PMID: 35235765.}