Providers are seeing the clearest gains in back-office operations.

Healthcare providers can improve returns on technology investments by integrating digital tools into existing workflows, setting clear business goals, and focusing on administrative functions where productivity gains are easiest to measure, analysts said.

“The strongest use cases have a clearly defined baseline, measurable outcomes, and an implementation pathway that fits existing workflows,” Saleem Butt, a principal for healthcare services in Southeast Asia at L.E.K. Consulting LLP, told Healthcare Asia.

A KPMG report in May found that 57% of healthcare organisations are only breaking even on tech investments. Poor data quality, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, and weak governance remain the biggest barriers to improving returns.

Butt said healthcare providers should begin by identifying the operational or clinical problem they want to solve instead of adopting technology without a clear purpose.

He cited healthcare providers in Indonesia using digital billing and coding systems to process claims submitted to BPJS Kesehatan. The systems reduce administrative work, minimise coding errors, and speed reimbursements, he said.

Butt added that organisations should also account for implementation costs, including system integration, governance, staff training, and monitoring to ensure projects deliver lasting value.

Rohit Anand, director of research and analysis for medical devices at GlobalData Plc, said administrative functions such as documentation, scheduling, coding, prior authorisation, patient communication, and revenue cycle management deliver the clearest business benefits.

These functions reduce repetitive work and make productivity improvements easier to measure, he said. 

Anand added that tech projects are more successful when integrated into existing workflows and local payment systems rather than introduced as standalone initiatives.

Huma Naz, director of outpatient services and patient access at Pakistan’s Aga Khan University Hospital, said organisations should define the problem they want technology to solve before choosing a solution.

She said clinicians and other stakeholders should remain involved throughout implementation and that organisations should measure improvements in patient outcomes, operational efficiency, and quality of care.

Naz said high-quality data is a “fundamental requirement” because inaccurate or incomplete information could undermine decision-making.

She added that cybersecurity, privacy protection, and regulatory compliance should be built into projects from the outset rather than addressed later.

Stephen Sunderland, a partner and head of Southeast Asia healthcare and life sciences at L.E.K., said healthcare providers don’t need to wait for perfect data before expanding technology programmes.

Instead, organisations should focus on controlling data access and ensuring reliable outputs, particularly where inaccurate information could affect patient care, he said.

Sunderland said healthcare organisations should not compromise cybersecurity to speed deployment because trust is critical in healthcare.