We all know that some complexities in healthcare are inevitable. Extensive organisations are required to ensure patients are cared for, understand their needs and balance their interests is no easy task. But the past two years have been particularly challenging for the healthcare industry, with some particularly stubborn healthcare issues emerging.
It seems that we have normalized the new normal – living in an unpredictable world with an explosion of innovations aimed at addressing challenges such as drug costs, administrative inefficiencies and patient information gaps.
With that in mind, what should we expect to see in 2022? Here’s what I’ll be watching:
- The interconnectedness of healthcare will become more urgent and present both opportunities and risks.
Employment, where people live, insurance coverage, health conditions, behavioral needs, and more have all changed dramatically over the past two years. At the same time, the healthcare industry is changing rapidly.health tech startup Raised a record $15.3 billion Chain pharmacies and grocery stores are under construction in 2020 Full service GP office, and new independent healthcare services are increasingly entering the market.
I expect the industry will generate more patient data from more sources than ever before, as providers grapple with these changes and general patient care continues to evolve. But the problem is that meaningful data isn’t always in the right place at the right time to the healthcare professionals who need it. A clear understanding of patients and populations leads to better healthcare decisions—no matter where they are made.
As we drive greater interoperability and innovation in healthcare, we also need to continually raise the bar for secure, complete and accurate information. I suspect there will be some concern and skepticism as new players who may be unfamiliar with medical data privacy and security standards open the door to enhanced information sharing.
- But at the same time… interoperability alone is not enough.
As the healthcare industry strives to improve healthcare interoperability, there will also be a growing realization that interconnectivity alone is not enough. This is why I believe we will see more adoption of smarter technologies based on advanced analytics in 2022.
Specifically, the healthcare industry will use clinical intelligence to combat burnout of healthcare professionals. For clinicians, balancing Covid-19-related responsibilities and patient care with myriad fax, phone, and communication issues is contributing to an epidemic of burnout.
Bringing actionable clinical intelligence into the care process in 2022 will also help address gaps in patient information and give providers and payers insights into patient visits, hospital visits, and admissions or discharges.
By receiving notifications in their electronic health record (EHR) workflow, providers will be able to proactively follow up with patients who are experiencing significant care events that plague the system, such as care errors, missed care interventions, and medication nonadherence.For example, patients whose discharge summaries were not received by the outpatient care team in a timely manner were 10 times more likely to return to the hospital.
- Ease of care and increased patient control over their clinical history will become permanent fixtures.
Despite reports of telehealth services flatten out, I believe telemedicine will start to recover again as we continue to practice social distancing to limit exposure to Covid-19. More and more providers are adopting virtual channels to serve patients, and more and more individuals are experimenting (and now preferring) the convenience of provider consultations via mobile devices.It may soon become a prerequisite for other patients, some health plans begin First need for telehealth visits.
Additionally, as individuals become accustomed to telehealth services and tracking their own health data (especially vaccination records), it will be easier for them to track other health and medication data as well. This year, we should expect more patients to realize the convenience of communicating their current health status, just as they communicate vaccine status.
- As we clear the boundaries and lenses for meaningful price transparency, the entire system will continue to be strained.
Unsurprisingly, the cost of healthcare, especially prescription drugs, is a concern for patients, care providers, technology developers, legislators and more. IQVIA Research It was found that out-of-pocket costs for retail prescription and non-retail medicines increased by $1 billion in 2020 to a record $77 billion. As lawmakers at the federal and state levels try to lower prescription drug costs, health IT and health providers are also grappling with the problem.
By 2022, we will see more prescribers have access to patient-specific prescription drug cost and coverage information at the point of care, so they can help patients start receiving more affordable medication.
- Health Equity Will Affect Care More Systemically.
It is well known that socioeconomic status, education, neighborhood and natural environment, employment and social support networks, and access to health care may influence our health more than our individual genetic code.
By 2022, we should expect to see more services emerge to enable healthcare professionals to more generally collect and access data on social determinants of health
But achieving health equity requires a multifaceted approach. Health organizations will increasingly look at the tools that exist today and understand how they can improve health equity. For example, by digitizing manual processes, such as handling prior authorizations or enrolling patients in specialty medication programs, care providers and payers can reallocate resources to support essential community programs that address the social determinants of patient health.
As we normalize the unpredictability and rapid change in this new normal, we recognize that the healthcare experience needs to be simple and technology must be accessible and intuitive to use at the right time. It requires intelligence to provide not only raw data, but also insights tailored to patients at specific moments of care. It must also be trusted to enable care teams to act with confidence. Not only must it be technically interoperable, but it must also be shared proactively and automatically with everyone involved in inpatient care.
I am optimistic about the year ahead because the past two years have shown that the healthcare industry will continue to demonstrate resilience, adaptability and dedication to delivering care in the face of major disruption to healthcare and society as a whole.
Photo: Getty Images, Andrei Popov
