In an era where digital transformation is reshaping industries, Vijay Pillay stands at the forefront of innovation in the healthcare sector. With over two decades of experience, including pivotal roles as Chief Information Officer at FNB South Africa and Cyberworx Digital, Vijay has navigated the complexities of integrating legacy systems with modern technologies. His journey reflects a commitment to enhancing patient care through data-driven solutions and cultivating a culture of innovation within tech teams. In this interview, Vijay shares his perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in digital transformation, the role of emerging technologies, and how a collaborative, open environment can drive meaningful change in healthcare. Join us as we explore the personal insights and professional experiences of a leader dedicated to transforming healthcare through technology.
How do you define digital transformation within your organisation?
Having worked predominantly in the healthcare, insurance, and financial industries, a major challenge is the many systems in use—both legacy and modern applications. The integration of these disparate systems into a single customer interface is crucial to meet changing customer expectations. Through the application of new digital technologies, such as robotics, IoT, cloud computing, mobile apps, wearable devices, big data analytics, and chatbots, we have been able to improve the experience for both patients and providers during and after treatment.
A key benefit is the management of the vast amounts of data and the advantages of exploiting and leveraging this data to improve service offerings. This presents significant opportunities for structuring and customising insurance plans and managed care protocols. We have successfully automated several repetitive and inefficient processes using the latest technologies, which allows for seamless integration with internal systems.
Through the application of digital and virtual services, we have been able to grow and retain medical insurance members while improving provider relations. By measuring provider service through online applications, we have enhanced doctor-patient relationships and treatment outcomes.
What are the key obstacles you’ve faced during your company’s digital transformation journey?
The biggest obstacle we faced was the slow adoption of digital technology by both customers/members/patients and healthcare providers. Many healthcare providers have a greater reliance on and trust in paper/manual processes and tools to manage their patients. This reliance reduced the opportunity for the utilisation and adoption of digital technology.
The pace of adoption of new technology and applications significantly hindered our strategy of implementing a single electronic health record (EHR) system across multiple service providers. This system was intended to reduce the costs associated with repeat consultations and diagnoses, along with the associated expenses.
How do you foster a culture of innovation within your tech teams?
The healthcare industry, relative to most other industries, has been slow in adopting new and groundbreaking technologies in the service of members/patients. This has left many gaps in the end-to-end process and presents numerous opportunities for creativity and innovation.
We identified this as a significant opportunity for revenue growth and optimal patient outcomes. As part of the strategic roadmap, I included innovation as a key performance indicator (KPI) with different rewards and recognition for new ideas, regardless of the extent of their benefits. This encourages all staff to participate in the program. I also instituted a Friday afternoon, two-hour informal “innovation” session with refreshments for all attendees (non-compulsory), where ideas are discussed and considered for implementation.
A key aspect of creating a culture of innovation is ensuring trust, mutual respect, and openness within the team. Our philosophy encourages vulnerability across all levels, with the key driver being that “no idea is worthless or too small.”
Can you highlight a recent innovation that has had a significant impact on your business?
Creating an Electronic Health Record (EHR) has always been a critical requirement in the healthcare industry. Through new, robust technologies that allow for information sharing across platforms and systems, especially APIs, we were able to take this to the next level and implement it successfully.
Telemedicine also saw rapid implementation in our business, primarily driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. We adopted new technologies to fast-track this initiative and provide a reliable channel for virtual patient consultations.
What role do emerging technologies like AI and IoT play in your digital transformation strategy?
The healthcare industry is among the biggest generators of data, and this data holds a wealth of information that can change the way healthcare is administered and identify where new value can be extracted in treatment protocols. Successful and quick evaluation of patterns in data and behavioural indicators will help reduce overall costs and treatment timelines. Active monitoring of treatment outcomes will also allow for speedy interventions when patients are not responding effectively to prescribed medications and health interventions. Managing overall risk can be beneficial through the application of AI and Big Data. AI will be instrumental in combating cyber threats and managing regulatory risks, as well as facilitating the use of augmented reality and automated processes.