Healing Healthcare: From Friction to Flow State

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of “flow” for deep engagement and optimal performance could be the secret to happiness … and it could be the secret to improving healthcare for patients and those who care for them.

Flow is a useful metaphor for healthcare.

That’s because the work to improve healthcare is challenging, and you need a good challenge to achieve flow. You also need a good skillset, one honed to meet the challenge. Combine the two—high challenge and high skill—and your focus sharpens on the task at hand, like eliminating prior authorization bottlenecks and fragmented information sharing.

At Surescripts, we believe inefficiencies like these aren’t just operational challenges, but solvable problems.

Our 2024 Annual Impact Report highlights how we’re tackling these challenges head-on with purpose-built technology that automates workflows and connects the healthcare ecosystem more intelligently than ever before.

• One of my favorite examples is Touchless Prior Authorization, which automates the retrieval and transmission of clinical data and enables near-instant approvals with an average time of just 27 seconds.
• Another example is Sig IQ, as part of Medication History for Ambulatory. Sig IQ automatically detects and corrects problematic medication instructions by converting free-text directions into a structured, validated format.
• And then there’s Real-Time Prescription Benefit, which was used by nearly 900,000 prescribers in 2024. With automation and workflow enhancements, it saves patients an average of $82 per prescription and $1,146 per specialty medication.

But automation like this only tells part of the story. The other part of the story is about connections. And connections equal interoperability.

The 10,000-Foot View

The greater the connection, the greater the opportunity to meet the challenge of fragmented information sharing. To that end, our network connects millions of healthcare professionals and organizations, and it includes nearly all EHR vendors, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), pharmacies and health plans. On top of that, our network facilitates billions of health intelligence transactions every year.

But it’s not just “our” network.

We are all working to make this happen. That goes for my colleagues at Surescripts, each participant across the Surescripts Network Alliance, and every person and organization across healthcare itself.

In Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s talk about flow, he quotes a CEO who advised that you enjoy what you’re doing and feel like you’re contributing something worthwhile. I can relate. I enjoy what I do, and I feel that I am contributing to something worthwhile.

If you work in healthcare, chances are that you do, too. Together, we’re taking healthcare from friction to flow state.