There is no denying the importance of hospitals and health systems in the United States, given how big the healthcare sector is: a $4.3 trillion healthcare industry.
The Covid-19 pandemic has strained hospitals and health systems, as they faced a number of operational challenges during its course and continue to do so.
Better Access to Care Outside the Hospital
The year 2023 will be an opportunity for the healthcare sector to put the greatest emphasis on quality outcomes, backed with actions that help toward this goal. Building on the quality of healthcare delivery will prove challenging considering so many hospitals continue to close, however leaders who uphold quality and focus on staff retention will lead the way throughout the year 2023! Because a stable and satisfied staff is able to deliver care in a consistent manner and consistency (repeatability and reproducibility) is what drives quality.
Over 600 rural hospitals in the U.S (30%) face potential risks of closing down in the near future. Equally alarming are concerns looming over inner-city hospitals facing similar risks of being closed down. This will affect millions in less-affluent neighborhoods, depriving them of access to emergency and critical care facilities.
Although hospital closure is not something new, 2022 added to the already burgeoning problem which very few people are willing to confront.
Maintaining access to good healthcare in both rural/urban settings should be a top priority. It would be encouraging to say, if in 2023, there would be some energy directed towards this specific issue that seems to be getting more out of hand year after year.
Hucu.ai is one technology that is leading the charge in streamlining care collaboration and transitions outside the hospitals. Through Hucu.ai, at-risk organizations can have better outcomes by giving real-time acuity visibility to front line workers so they can take proactive actions and therefore provide better and more timely care. All this results in a better bottom line with healthier patients!
Innovative Thought Process Among Healthcare Leadership
Many prominent health systems in the U.S experienced CEO turnover these past two years. That resulted in decades of collective industry and institutional knowledge being lost. The retiring CEOs were top-notch decision makers as their organizations were able to manage challenges during the pandemic.
The role of health system CEO is no longer the same as it was, it now holds a very different job description as now the times have changed.
Most Americans even today hold little awareness as to who sits on top of their local health set-up. The pandemic however brought hospital leaders into the limelight where most Americans looked to their expertise and leadership. The American public saw the faces of hospital CEOs, listened to them and read what they had to say more so these past two years than had ever been the case.
Now, greater responsibility falls on the shoulders of all the newly named healthcare CEOs, to build on their reputations as leaders who are there for their people in ways that prove both helpful and meaningful.
Those leaders will succeed who are able to eliminate organization layers and actively and aggressively take action to streamline processes inundated with bureaucracy and red tape, holding their organizations hostage from making any meaningful progress.
Healthcare Providers Drive Strategic Progress with Technology Support
2021 saw an upward trend for healthcare technology investments. This trend will very likely continue into the year 2023, if the healthcare industry is to ward off challenges caused by Covid-19.
Investments in healthcare technology are leading the way forward, by improving the interaction that goes on between providers, payers, consumers and the supply chain. This has assisted them as they strive to create better outcomes for patients: the ones who ultimately pay for this care.
Hospitals and health systems continue to face shortages in key areas: professionals, personal protective equipment and so forth.
Covid-19 exacerbated clinician shortages and provider burnout. Data from the American Association of Medical Colleges revealed that shortages in physicians could possibly range between 37,800 and 124,000 by the year 2034 in the United States.
This is something that all healthcare leaders should largely direct their efforts towards in 2023. Given that these supply problems prevail for another two or three years in hospitals and health systems, this will impact patient care, quality care outcomes and employee morale and well-being.
Hucu.ai increases job retention among providers by building on their job satisfaction. This is crucial given the scarce conditions most of them have been operating in over the last couple of years.
Remote Healthcare
Another trend that spiraled upwards during the Covid-19 pandemic was an upsurge in healthcare services being delivered remotely. Now, there is an increasing realization among both providers and patients that care can be administered at a distance in an efficient way for many conditions.
Evidence has shown that home-based care with closer proximity to a familiar setting induces better patient outcomes, and is cost-effective compared to in-patient care. Remote healthcare will definitely be a top trend in the future, given the shortage of medical practitioners across the globe and rising costs in delivering in-person healthcare.
Given remote healthcare is a rising trend, providers on duty require access to communication systems that enable them to constantly stay connected with each other regarding their patients.
Hucu.ai allows real-time communication between healthcare providers working in different locations.
Collaborative Team Care Efforts
2023 will be the year where collaboration among different team members leads the way forward in healthcare delivery.
Cross-collaboration among different members is key, and communication for that purpose is absolutely essential. Hucu.ai has brought different team members together, through secure and effective means of communication. It really contributes to the overall success of that team feeling, where members feel connected with each other and feel part of the team!
Sources
- The Top 5 Healthcare Trends In 2023 by Bernard Marr
- 5 trillion-dollar questions hanging over hospitals by Molly Gamble
- 2022: Four Themes Reshaping Healthcare in 2022 by Scott Donahue,Brendan Arniel, Will Hayden and Dalton Hoekstra
