Clinicaladjacent

Clinicaladjacent is a neologism used to describe activities, roles, and technologies that operate alongside traditional clinical care. It designates elements of the healthcare system that support clinicians and patients but do not involve direct hands-on treatment, such as decision support, health information technology, care coordination, and data analytics integrated with clinical workflows.

The concept emphasizes the broader ecosystem around patient care. Components commonly described as clinicaladjacent include clinical informatics, digital health tools, quality improvement initiatives, implementation science, and research operations that are tightly linked to care delivery. These elements aim to improve safety, efficiency, and outcomes by shaping how care is organized and delivered rather than providing the care itself.

Examples include electronic health record dashboards that synthesize patient data for clinicians, telehealth coordination, care management and navigation services, remote monitoring data integration, and workflows that support guideline adherence or regulatory compliance. The term also encompasses training programs, workflow redesign, and analytic platforms used to monitor performance and implement changes.

Because clinicaladjacent is not a standardized designation, it has limited formal usage in peer-reviewed literature. Critics warn that the term can obscure distinctions between care and its enabling activities, while proponents view it as a useful umbrella for describing the interconnected support systems that influence patient outcomes.