What are some of the impending changes trends strengths or threats to the US healthcare system?
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Emerging IssuesContinued disruption will require health care boards to adapt their governance modelsIn these unprecedented times, what priorities should hospital and health care system boards focus on to prepare for 2021 and beyond? As organizations manage through the pandemic, we expect continued disruption to be the norm, and pathways to success will increasingly depend on collaboration, innovation, digitization and scaling ahead of the competition. Collaborative EcosystemCOVID-19 has exposed vulnerability at health care organizations across the globe on critical issues, including safety, equipment, data availability, and infrastructure. Early on, it became apparent that “going it alone,” in terms of depending on an organization’s own supply lines and capabilities, wasn’t possible. This led to ad hoc collaborations, with providers, suppliers and non-health-care companies jumping in to deliver resources and capacity to address the crisis. Successful organizations will build upon this mindset, finding ways to close gaps and innovate with partners that bring unique skills to solve problems. 1 More Strategic and Agile Supply ChainsSuccessful supply chains are becoming a key differentiator and vital part of the care delivery process in ways we have never seen before in health care. Getting it right requires strategic systems thinking around all functions in the organization. Among the topics for boards to consider:
2 Coopetition as a Viable StrategyCooperative competition, or coopetition, is a key trend in health care. While some providers view big-box stores, nationwide pharmaceutical chains and other new entrants as threats, other organizations see opportunity. Their strategy is to leverage the capabilities of these power players to lower the cost of care, increase downstream market capture and focus on core specialty services while remaining highly connected to the patient.
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Patient and Workforce Engagement3 Patient ConsumerizationToday we can receive goods the same day we order them, and track them minute by minute from order placement to delivery. It’s not surprising that patients expect the same high level of efficiency and transparency from their health care providers. Instead, some patients may have to wait weeks or months for an appointment and have only a vague idea of when exam results will be available. Organizations need to assess their current barriers to consumer satisfaction and deploy analytics and patient-centric technologies to improve the convenience, speed and transparency of care. For example, when a West Coast health system adopted precision scheduling practices to minimize wasted time between imaging exams, they were able to open up 5,000 new exam slots annually, so patients could be scheduled sooner. 4 Personalization of CareWhile patients want the convenience and ease of digital interactions, personalized care is still the touchstone of their loyalty. According to a 2020 survey of health care consumers, an “ideal” health care experience requires a personal touch, whether that encounter occurs virtually or in person. Patients say it’s paramount that clinicians take time to listen, show they care and communicate clearly. For improvement efforts to have teeth, they must be associated with programs that drive measurable outcomes. For example, a major academic medical center created a communication training program to teach doctors best practices to follow in interactions with patients. Within a year, the percentage of patients who “always” felt that the doctors listened, treated them with respect and explained things well rose by 9 points. 5 Workforce Diversity and SafetyIt will continue to be a challenge for providers to find the next generation of leaders to replace baby boomer executives who are retiring at a high rate. Other top issues include:
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Digital Acceleration6 Virtual CareWe will continue to see the emergence of virtual care solutions across the care continuum from telehealth visits to virtual hospital care and home-based care. In February 2020, less than 1 percent of Medicare primary care visits were conducted via telehealth; by April, driven by the pandemic, the volume had risen to 43 percent. This growth appears to have staying power as both patients and physicians adopt a new virtualization mindset. It will be important for organizations to align their virtual strategy with the changing needs of their markets, growth strategy and evolving payment models. This isn’t a silver bullet but instead is a natural progression to support providers and patients in a more meaningful way: Virtual needs to become the way organizations work versus a disconnected component of the strategy. 7 Artificial Intelligence and AutomationAI and automation are taking hold in health care at an accelerated rate as they have in other fields such as banking, media and retail. A few examples to watch:
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Business Growth8 Revenue DiversificationIn my conversations with chief information officers, data is becoming the currency of tomorrow and the infrastructure must support needs at scale. Expect to see large organizations making big investments to better leverage and monetize the use of data to improve productivity, enhance patient care and drive additional funding for key programs. We also see organizations monetizing data/intellectual property through relationships with nontraditional partners in pharma and big tech, and forming venture capital funds to manage downside risk related to unpredictable patient volumes and volatility of traditional nonoperating investments. 9 Mergers and integrationU.S. hospitals will exceed $320 billion in losses in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, according to AHA projections. Financial pressures will continue to be prevalent as more providers see a lifeline in partnering with larger organizations to remain competitive in today’s health care landscape. Expect to see more large health systems as organizations try to monetize large investments and drive synergies from scale. 10Payer ShiftsWith COVID-19 throwing historical utilization rates on their head and making 2021 projections nearly impossible to calculate, employers, providers and payers are forced to consider utilization, rates and risk as they model the coming year.
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Geoffrey Martin, MBA, ()is the global chief executive officer of GE Healthcare Consulting and based in Chicago.Please note that the views of authors do not always reflect the views of AHA. What are some future trends in healthcare?Ten trends for the next decade are evident: 1) more patients, 2) more technology, 3) more information, 4) the patient as the ultimate consumer, 5) development of a different delivery model, 6) innovation driven by competition, 7) increasing costs, 8) increasing numbers of uninsured, 9) less pay for providers, and 10) ...
What are the current trends and challenges within the healthcare systems?The healthcare industry has six big challenges ahead in 2021: rightsizing after the telehealth explosion; adjusting to changing clinical trials; encouraging digital relationships that ease physician burdens; forecasting for an uncertain 2021; reshaping health portfolios for growth; and building a resilient and ...
What are the greatest strengths of the US healthcare system?It has a large and well-trained health workforce, a wide range of high-quality medical specialists as well as secondary and tertiary institutions, a robust health sector research program and, for selected services, among the best medical outcomes in the world.
What is the biggest recent trend in healthcare?1. Behavioral Health Care: More Need, More Availability, and More of a Focus for U.S. Employers. Cigna saw a 27% increase in outpatient behavioral health visits. [PDF] in 2020 over 2019, and the trend has continued throughout 2021, said Dr.
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